xenxes's Balcony Planter 24g - "Mud Bucket"
 

Current Status (6/17):

Not really a pond, more of a puddle in a bucket. But it works ;) If you want to see the rest of my balcony, there's a thread here.

Tank Progression Pics

http://img401.imageshack.us/img401/8...840mediumb.jpg


http://img821.imageshack.us/img821/6...610mediumv.jpg
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No filtration, no movement (just wind), no water changes (just topoffs from old tank water), feed liberally: 0/0/0 ammonia/trites/trates, TDS ~400 but I add a little aquarium salt:
http://img207.imageshack.us/img207/3...018mediumh.jpg
Walstad / plants + worms ftw :)

Equipment:
- 24" Walmart Planter ($26)
- MGOPS, sand, river rocks, lava rocks (good porous biomedia)
- Lighting: sun; powerhead: wind; filtration: plants ;)

Flora:
- Frogbits, RRF, Dwarf Water Lettuce, Salvinia Minima
- Petco Lily
- Banana Plant
- Mixed Moss

- Water Cress
- Water Mint
- Variegated Water Celery
- Pennywort

- Trying Flowering Rush & Blue Pygmy Lily from Seeds

Fauna:
- 2 RCS (I think)
- Pond snails
- ~20 platies



Original Post
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Been wanting to play with a bucket of muddy water for a long time (since living conditions won't permit me to do a real pond). So I finally picked up the largest plastic Walmart planter I could find (24" across round, $26). Decided not to go with the wine barrel, too heavy.

Calculated capacity is around 24g. Threw in some dirt, river rocks, lava rocks on the bottom (what I had lying around). Filled in a measured ~20 gallons of water. So far it isn't leaking ;)

Not sure what to plant, probably clippings from my tanks.

Pics in the morning, too dark right now, and water is brown/black.

Made some impulse buys @ 2AM (someone stop me :()

Have the following coming:

- Water Cress
- Water Mint
- Variegated Water Celery
- Pennywort
(Edible water garden!)

- Flowering Rush Seeds
- Blue Pygmy Water Lily Seeds

Just realized lilies take ~6 months to grow out from a seed, ugh. And my balcony doesn't have full sun. This'll be fun.

Ok, YOU definitely have MTS. lol. 8 already, and u starting a bucket now. awesome!

pics pics!

bro you shoulda told me i have pennywort growing in my 30B downstairs, i would've RAOK'd u some :)


- thefisherman

I dunno man. Where's the pictures?!?! At least show the bucket of mud.

Lol I don't want to, it's still muddy.

Re DIY from your other post, all I have done was chop off 4 wood blocks. All lighting I bought have been premanufactured, just set it up.

For this I don't know how I would run a power cord outside unless I drilled a hole in the wall or left the balcony door open. I might be able to shine a desk lamp inside towards the bucket but that would look awkward. Solar powered is too weak (no direct sun), battery powered is a hassle, nah I won't look at it at night lol.

Hehe thanks fisher, it was a combo order, was pretty cheap.

Blah, I snapped a few photos, cloudy day so pretty dark:

http://img29.imageshack.us/img29/9573/img9339medium.jpg
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It looks pretty small for the area, but I settled for a cheap plastic bucket (biggest @ Walmart that looked decent)

My balcony:

http://img221.imageshack.us/img221/1...9345medium.jpg
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Very cluttered, all our camping stuff is outside.

Fairy shrimp jars:

http://img802.imageshack.us/img802/3...9346medium.jpg
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Much better hatch rate and survivability compared to last time. I guess they like temperature fluctuations outside? Wind also provides a lot of surface movement.

HAHA! Somebody is out of control.

(Looks about 10,000 less cluttered than my balcony during the summer months, though, so I can tell your addiction hasn't gotten too bad yet)

Wow, that's a great view and nice plants :)

That's a nice bucket! hey, wanna DIY a small fountain in there...? :)

Lol I wish, is there a way to do a fountain without electricity?

There are a few solar fountains on the market but I'm not sure how big they are. Maybe a little spendy, as well.

Omg, of course Amazon has it. Not sure it's worth $71?

*Edit: just found one for $37, reviews aren't too bad.

Should I get it? I should get it. Not sure if north facing balcony gets enough sun though.

Evilbay has it for $15! I'm biting.

That view looks sweet.

Good call. $15 is worth it, in my opinion. Even if it only works for a season.

Be sure to post photos!