Thanks again to all who responded, I certainly appreciate it. Just following up here for the moment to say I ended up purchasing an EasyPro LA2 Stratus KLC setup. I'll post again when it's up and running, just in case another newbie like me wanders onto the forum someday with the same question as mine.
A whooole lotta folks on this forum sure do know ponds backwards and forwards, and I enjoy reading various posts even if they're not particularly relevant to my tiny patch of water. It seems everyone has one thing in common: it's a heckuva lotta fun to have a pond!
For my wife and I, the sound of the tree frogs is worth the price of admission, and no end of neighbors comment they're grateful for that too! Plus the dragonflies, bats, songbirds, mallards, herons ... kinda sorta makes you glad to be upright and vertical rather than, well, the other.
