Same thing in doing now! We bought our house in October so I'm just getting the pond started.
Saltwater can be expensive unless you are a mad scientist like me. I don't pay for all that expensive junk that can be built for dirt cheap, and my tank has a special chamber for food production. Maybe I'll put up a small thread on my system for ya...although I am a premium member on a fish tank site. Maybe I'll just link that to the thread for pics lol. Save me a few photobucket hours o uploads haha.
Ponds are a must if you have the space. Nothing beats the smell of a stagnant pond after a lighting storm! Haha. (I hope he learned to keep a backup next time lol)