container water garden pond

[samw]

I built this container water garden pond for my condo balcony 5 years ago. It is made of 2 wooden pots and powered by a mini-jet 404 which brings water from the bottom container to the top one. It holds 7 gallons of water.

Here's an update. Currently it has a Helvola and a Perry's Baby Red lily, a dwarf Papyrus and various other plants, and 8 Rosy Minnows.

Just waiting for some sun now so that the Perry's Baby Red lily can bloom.

[wkndracer]

nine point five!

[ncharlie]

Are you filtering the water as well?

I am looking to make a water garden too and need some pointers!

I saw these gardens on vacation and fell in love!

Thanks for listing the plants!

Subscribed!

[Vicky]

Those are really sweet! What do you do with the plants in the winter?

[samw]

Thanks all.

ncharlie: I don't have a filter as it is a small pond and is very easy to just do water changes. I'd scoop out the water and use it to water my potted plants.

vicky: I have no problems keeping the lilies underwater over winter. The winter temperature in my area is 33-43F. When temperature does fall below freezing, the ice layer is usually thin so the rhizome below the ice doesn't freeze and the plant can stay dormant. The lilies and parrot feather are hardy to zone 3 (-40 to -30 F) and papyrus is hardy to zone 8. This is the first time I've kept those marginal plants in the photo. Id probably take the marginal plants above ground for the winter although they are supposed to also survive in the water under the ice as long as the roots don't freeze.

[RipariumGuy]

I love it! So beautiful and compact!

[samw]

Some new pics with the Perry's Baby Red in bloom.

[firefiend]

This project is crazy gorgeous! What are the mechanics here? It looks like a pump brings water to the top bamboo fountain but how does it grain to the lower barrel? Is that a drip spout I see at the bottom of the top barrel?

Is it difficult to control the pump flow so that it doesn't fill faster than it drains?

[the planter]

wow! id really like to try something like this actually

[samw]

Glad to see that this project is well received. There's a hole on the bottom of the top container where there is a fitting and some plumbing for the hoses on both sides to connect to. The fitting is secured by a bulkhead. So water is pumped from the bottom hose to the top hose through the fitting. The hose on the top feeds water to the bamboo spout.

The top container has a tall 1/2" diameter overflow pipe attached to the bottom spout. This drains the water to the bottom container. There is a strainer on the overflow opening to prevent clogging by big objects such as leaves or fish. The pipe can drain at about 150gph and the pump has 20-106gph capacity.

Originally Posted by firefiend

This project is crazy gorgeous! What are the mechanics here? It looks like a pump brings water to the top bamboo fountain but how does it grain to the lower barrel? Is that a drip spout I see at the bottom of the top barrel?

Is it difficult to control the pump flow so that it doesn't fill faster than it drains?

[BradH]

Nice!!

[xenxes]

Beautiful

[menoseloso]

are there any updates we can see? looks very nice

[doncityz]

Very beautiful. It's an art.