fountain/pond container

Question
Hi, Brigitte.  I hope I'm addressing this question to the right person, as it's a little odd.  I have a very large copper pot that I'd like to make into a fountain or perhaps a small pond.  I want to protect the copper from the water and obviously I want to protect any plants from the copper should I decide on a pond.  Can you tell me of any substance I can use to coat the inside of the pot to protect it from the water and protect plants from the interaction between the copper and water.  I live in Central Florida, so I need a pretty tough substance to survive the climate.  Also, city water is loaded with chemicals.  Thanks in advance for whatever suggestions you can give me.  Sandy Koogler

Answer
You could probably coat the container with Polyurethane (you may have to rough the surface a little and use several coats). My concern would be that the container (metal) will heat up too much in your climate for goldfish to survive. You would really need to aereate a lot. Also, you can use de-chlorinator to remove some of the heavy metals in the water. The better ones will do that.
Hope that helps!