Yes, that is about all they can be, reflection ponds. I still would go with one low budget water hyacinth. Unless the water is way, way out there like a toxic, or acidic soup they will work and probably thrive. Multiply like crazy and should be free. They are used industial for water treatment and sludge ponds for water purification. They are natures filters, and I use them here and there with success. Plus they are free and look pretty cool when they form dense mats and bloom.
Also I think converting another p nd into a bog or water aquatic plant area is a great idea. The water hyacinth pond is going to need a place to put whatever dead material is left on the bottom before the rainy season. Get soem shallow lilies, for the deeper parts, some nice marginals and a bunch of callas, canna and flowering lilies and irises for little islands you could make everywhere from the excessive runoff sediment. This is actually sounding like a fun project, but still, not enough funds. I think you have to go way out of the box here with low budget fixes and trial and error. You could end up with 5 real nice but unique ponds. The reflective pond concept is just not going to work the way it is set up.
They all are merely sediment traps and algae farms now as it stands.
