The Planted Tank Forum banner

My container pond's final home. Finally!

10K views 42 replies 9 participants last post by  Kehy 
#1 ·
So after being set up for 2 years at my college apartment, me, and my pond have come home. In a surprisingly short amount of discussion, my mother-who-art-in-charge is allowing me to set up my pond, this time buried. She seems to be of the opinion that I would prefer it unburied, and it is a fun pot, but I've learned from the past that temperature swings are not fun.

The place where it is to be is not necessarily the best, but I'll take what I can get. I was expecting more of a fight in the first place, and it's a spot that needs some love. It's under a very trimmed, very tall conifer, which might not be great, behind a rosebush (not bad really, should shade it some), and right by the water meter...which could get interesting. If I need to, I think I could pile dirt around the partially buried container, but that might look dorky.

I'm hoping I can keep the pond stocked year round, but I'll make sure there's room for fish if I need to bring them in.

Location: Western WA, zone 8
Pond size: ~20' x 19" (14" at base, expands upwards), 20 gallons
Planned fauna: 2 longfin leopard danios, possibly 4 more
Planned flora: water hyacinth, dwarf water lettuce, duckweed
aponogeton, golden creeping jenny, ludwigia repens, C. Balinese, whatever else I can plunder from my limited supplies

More to come and be decided later! Along with pics, I bet ya'll would like pics
 
See less See more
#2 ·
You can pile up dirt around it, but not just dirt. Build a wall around it with something nice. Natural = rock.
Formal = brick.
Somewhere in between = a 'gravity block wall' system: shaped blocks of concrete that interlock to make a wall. Some have cut outs so you could plant in the wall, but yours is so small I would not bother. Plant in the ground around the wall.

You can make the raised area a lot bigger in one direction, and keep the wall much closer to the pond on the other side. That way the whole area becomes a raised bed with a pond off to one side.
 
#5 ·
So after much ado...Mother dearest won't let me bury the darn thing. Grr. Not even partially buried. Nope, she thinks the tub is cute. I kinda think it's an eyesore after staring at it for 2 years.

But returning to the main event! (before wandering off again)

This week I did about 20 hours of yard work to gain mother's approval for the pond. The biggest part of this was cleaning out the flowerbed the pond now resides in. 6+ months of neglect, and before then never getting the deep cleaning I needed, this was a challenge of the ages. It took me two days, about 9 hours. :D

Given that mother dearest is on a camping trip this weekend (she took my cat with her), I figured it'd be nice to surprise her with a mostly-finished pond (waiting to receive a solar pump). I also wanted to give the pond a nice stable resting place, so I set a couple pavers for the base, and then added some moss-covered broken pavers as stepping stones to the pond. First time doing any of that, I'm quite proud of them. Also gave me a place to deposit some of the many small plants that I had bestowed upon the deck, and were getting in the way.

For the pond itself, I know mother wants me to get mini cattails, but mine died, and I don't know where to get more. In the meantime I had a hanging planter thingy with golden creeping jenny that I'd had on the pond before, so that went on it (yes, that stuff can go fully aquatic too) and a cutting from an unidentified house plant that can root in water. I also wanted to have some water movement (hence solar pump), wanted to clean the surface of the pond, and have a water feature that broke the surface of the pond. I figured out all three.

I made what I hope will work as a surface skimmer and general filter (that bit would be better at the bottom of the pond), and will allow the otherwise weak solar filter to break the surface of the water. It's hot glued to the side of the pond. Didn't seem to be damage to the pond, but for the record, Dasani bottles melt at just about the same temp as hot glue, lol. I put some bio media in the bottom (not pictured) and will add filter floss when I get the pump to go in it.

Flora:
  • Water hyacinth
  • dwarf water lettuce
  • Golden creeping jenny
  • ???
  • duckweed
  • Crypt. Balanese
  • Java fern
  • ??? aponogeton
  • water onion
  • submerged golden creeping jenny

Planned Fauna/Fauna
  • Unexpected Ramshorn snail (henceforth known as Larry)
  • 2 longfin leopard danios
  • 2-4 longfin zebra danios
  • Possibly white clouds? Dunno

Bump:
Bury the MoFo. I went from a 6g to an 18g then finally to a 28g buried tote. I plan on replacing the 28g with a 4x2x2' raised wooden pond by the end of the year.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6MNw9QqXYaM

28g container goldfish minnow pond pt 5 - YouTube
Very nice...wish I could've done something like that
 
#7 ·
lol sorry, was going to put them up yesterday, but I went and saw Guardians of the Galaxy.

Pics!

The tub, ~20 gallons

A little bit of the flowerbed. This was the initial location

The actual location after several hours of weeding.

Pavers and stepping stones set, doing a test run

The base turned out nicely. I'm rather proud of it.

Here's what I hope to be the surface skimmer. I probably got it too low to work for that, but should still mostly do what I want.

The plants in the pond (not updated, I'm too lazy to go take another one right now, lol)

Overall view from another angle, you can see a few of the tiny plants I added.
 
#8 ·
Are you 100% sure that holds 20g? Looks awfully small. Unfortunately, as it sits above ground, it may get way too hot for any fish if it gets any direct sun. My above ground tub sat under 4 hrs of direct sun and I lost all of my minnows within days of set up. That's why I decided to fully bury it.

btw, is there a reason why you cant bury it? I was thinking maybe Mom didn't want you to ruin her landscaped yard but it looks to be a big ol empty dirt section of the yard that can easily be returned back to normal if you decide to remove the buried tub.
 
#9 ·
From what I calculated it's 20 gallons, but I don't have it filled to the rim, so maybe ~15 gallons (didn't fill with buckets, so couldn't really measure). And don't worry about the heat, since it's later in the summer the hottest it will be is about 85. Since I moved back it's been in the 65-75 range, so ok for coolwater fish like the danios and white clouds. Still haven't decided if I really want white clouds though.

I really really wanted to bury the ugly thing, mostly because of the temp swings. Mother dearest who owns both the house and the money thought it looked really cute and didn't want it buried. Guess who won out on that one?
 
#10 ·
If you really want to know, get a 5g bucket and see how many gallons your tub actually holds. If you decide to get minnows, get rosy reds. From a distance, they look like little goldfish. If you click on my 2nd video above, the first few fish that swim up are actually rosy red minnows.
 
#11 ·
Eh, not that important to me. I'll keep my stocking within common sense levels and go by the bio feedback I'm getting. Chances are I'll stop after 6 danios, I need to get my 2 some buddies.

I have never seen rosy reds for sale in the state of Washington. Not once, as feeders, bait, or otherwise. I don't actually mind, I personally think they're a bit bland, but they would be an option...if they were here. Danios are a bit boring too, but they've grown on me, and maybe having 2 (heck, maybe 3 if I feel like it) color varieties of the same fish could be fun. I've got my long fin leopards (zebra danios without the zebra), I can get regular zebras, long fin zebras (most likely), and snow white zebras. Oh, and glowfish, but they're expensive and kinda ugly. Choices!
 
#12 ·
Got my solar pump in today. As predicted, my surface skimmer can't really do that, but should be a nice place to hold loose stems, and does give me a place to sit the pump where it will break the surface. A friend of mine traded me a bunch of dwarf water lettuce for some marselia, so hopefully algae will be a lot more controlled here than it was before.

Ordered some rotala as submerged oxygenating plants. Hoping they can take the rough life without co2, and that the fish will provide enough nutrients. The pump should help with the co2 some, since it's aerating the pond pretty well it seems I think I would have preferred it to make a stronger current, but as it is, it should be fine. I think I'm overthinking things.

I did find a place that sells pond plants locally, but they only have floaters (taken care of), and bog plants. It won't be proportional, but I'll have to go with the bog plants that can take deep water since I can't find anything to use as risers. Cattails would probably work, there might be a few others. I might take a look tomorrow, but I'm really on a budget. Might have to go without.

If I don't get a plant tomorrow, I think I'll add the fish...maybe. Nothing is certain. Oh well.



 
#13 ·
I do a lot with bins outside as well. Get ready for danios to breed! I got HUNDREDS of fry in one bin from 6 Danio choprae I put outside this late spring.

Another option if you want the bin less visible is to get other pots or tall plants to put around it. I use stock tubs (livestock waterers), and then plant large plants around them (some marginals that can trail into the water) or build boxes around them to help insulate. I have been doing it for about 7 years now, and it really works out great.

As for fish, there are SO many cool options that people dont' often think about. I breed all sorts of crazy stuff outside, but one easy thing to find are paradise fish.
 
#14 ·
Where do you people find these fish? I've seen Paradise fish once in Washington (on the other side of the state). Hahaha

I had the danios in the tub for months before, and no breeding. I think I ended up with two females, but hopefully the new fish will bring boys to the tub. Since mother dearest is staying home today, I guess I'll be passing on the bog plants. I did make a point of planting stuff with the same neon-green around the tub, so once that grows in, it shouldn't be as obnoxious.

Here's some pics of the pot that I had cattails in. I kept it since I noticed little sprouts in it, and they've been developing slowly. No idea what the round-leaf plant is, possibly forget-me-nots. I did notice what I'm pretty sure baby cattails, which is really cool. Too bad they're too small to put in the pond any time soon!


 
#15 ·
Welp didn't get the danios moved yesterday. Today it's been a constant downpour, and it's going to stay that way for at least 24 more hours, if not longer. Thank you Washington, I didn't need to get anything done outside or anything.
 
#16 ·
I had a big post all typed up and then the internet ate it. It is a cruel thing indeed.

Got a pretty good amount of yardwork done this weekend, about 16+ hours. Mostly weeding and trimming. I'm making a point of not letting the front yard slip back into its former ugliness. Besides, unemployed college student needs to earn their room and board privileges. Mother dearest tells me to get a job, then in the same breath asks me to do more yard work and thanks me for it. Much like my other hobby, she doesn't like that I waste time on it, but asks me to do custom work...

Oh well.

During the yard work I snagged a clipping of a vine that I'm hoping will root in the water. I also realized that my pump was a bit too powerful, sending water out of the pond. I took off the fancy fountain nozzle, and that solved that issue. But then the skimmer couldn't keep up with the pump, so I grabbed an xacto knife and figured that one out. And then I realized that the water level was rather low, but once I filled it up, it would make the work I did on the skimmer pointless...

I decided to finally add the fish. I was just going to add the 2 danios, but then I was able to easily catch the 3 stray heterandria formosa in that tank, and I knew those are really hardy fish too, and I didn't want them in that tank. (FINALLY I HAVE ROOM FOR WILD BETTAS!) The danios really needed the swimming room of the pond. So 5 fish went in the pond. The danios are about 2 inches long, the smallest H. Formosa is about 1/4". I think all 3 of the H. Formosas are male, but I've never noticed them breeding in the pond much, except for right before I moved from across the state.

One of the reasons why I've been nervous about putting fish in the pond is that there really aren't many submerged hiding spots in the tank. The neighborhood cats have figured out the pond is a good waterbowl, and I figure the racoons will notice pretty soon too. So the fish had to be able to hide. I ended up just submerging several clean plastic plant pots. It's not pretty, but it should be effective.

I've already noticed algae in the pond, but oddly enough, no little critters like daphnia or copepods. Means I'll have to keep up on feeding the fish, but I do have to be careful about overfeeding, since Larry the snail can't clean it all up.

Mornin' pond

The modified skimmer

Now stay out!

I'm not really that mean. I just don't want them in that tank. It's my largest, but clearly too small for them.
 
#18 ·
Hopefully this helps. Please excuse the bad drawings and messy handwriting, this is pre-morning tea.

Essentially the skimmer's entire purpose is to take water from the surface and circulate it. By taking water from the surface, it draws in whatever surface crud is relatively close by. A coffee filter on top of the filter floss (polyester batting actually, same thing but 3 times cheaper) allows for easy disposal of whatever gets into the skimmer. I haven't yet added the floss or the filter, I've been trying to hunt down my mother's sewing supplies with no success, so I think I'll just cannibalize a stuffed animal. That sounds horrible, LOL.

The slits in the skimmer should keep the fish out of harm's way (doesn't work with Larry the snail though), and should keep the biomedia wet, even when the pump's not working.

The setup:

At rest:

In action:


As I've said before, the slits in the skimmer are also very useful for holding loose stems and cuttings. Heck, even if everything else is ineffective, that's still useful to me!
 
#20 ·
Fortunately, I don't have much duckweed in the pond. Don't really know why, but I've never had issues with it overwhelming the pond. It does grow, just not explosively. Even if it did, the slits are big enough that it would go into the skimmer and I could just catch it in the coffee filter and toss that. That's actually one of the main reasons why I decided to add it to the design.

Yesterday, before I added the fish, it was actually working fairly well. It's partially blocked by the pot of creeping jenny, so not nearly as effective as it could be, but it was pulling in stuff from a decent distance. The main issue I could see was the dwarf water lettuce crowding around the skimmer and that blocking out the flow, but there's not a whole lot I can do about it, aside from moving it away.

Now that there's more water in the pond though, it's significantly less effective. Should've placed it higher, but I was measuring where the bottom of the creeping jenny pot would hang, forgetting I like the water higher than that.
 
#21 ·
So I did finally get my rotala in last Thursday, but I kept forgetting to update. The danios seem to be doing alright, and at least 1-2 Het. Formosas are still around. Really hard to say on those though, tiny tiny little fish that likes to hide in the ridges on the side of the pot, and is somehow well camouflaged in a neon green pot.

The plants seem to be doing ok, nothing too exciting to report, other than it really really helps to have plant-appropriate gravel when you're trying to plant stems. I only have really large gravel, and some rotala stems came loose. On the emersed bit, the forget-me-nots have decided to bloom again, which could be a curse in the making. This yard has lived through several waves of forget-me-not invasion, and it hasn't been too long since we got rid of them. Still looks cute though. The unknown houseplant is rather sunburnt, but the new leaves seem to be ok. Too small to really be in the sun much though. Apparently I also got some random microsword/hairgrass somewhere. I hope it lives, seems to be doing alright. I'm thinking about setting up a no-tech bowl for the little stray plants I've gathered, but I don't have a light for it.

I'm thinking that within the next couple days I'll get 2 more danios. Mine could really really use some friends. Since the LPS doesn't have leopards, I'll just go with regular longfin zebras.


 
#22 ·
After a week of delays (this seems to be the norm) I finally got another 2 fish for the container. 2 snow white danios, a white version of the zebra. They look fantastic in the pond, and I'm glad I can see them much easier than the leopards. While they were acclimating, the Het formosas just had to come see what was going on. Funny seeing a fish try and impress something 3 times its size

The snow whites and the leopards immediately hit it off too, and they were happy to shoal together (with a random Het formosa that thinks its a danio). The snow whites also brought the leopards out of seclusion, and for the first time since moving, they actually came to the surface of the water. I'm really impressed with them. Still thinking that the last 2 fish will be longfin zebras, if only so there's even numbers of everything.

Now though, I'm having to think about how the pond will deal with the winter. I'm starting to question how to insulate or protect the pond. I live in zone 8, which can have winters down to ~20 degrees. Some of the plants might be able to handle that, but the fish... since it doesn't appear that mother-whose-word-art-law will allow me to build a structure around it to insulate with dirt, I'm looking at making a greenhouse with pvc and plastic sheets, which should hold in some heat (snow is not an issue here). I don't know how effective that would be, but it's a possibility. I'm also thinking about trying to move the pond to a covered woodshed at the side of the house, but the pond does take up a fair amount of room, and people use the shed almost everyday during the winter. That would probably keep the pond from freezing at all. All things to think about I suppose.

Only one pic today, but here's the link to an update video I shot. I was rather enjoying watching my fish.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ILaM0fQObB0&list=UULP7s9TCOEkaa01mEv3qMig

Just one pic
 
#24 ·
Aside from the bright color of the planter, it's coming along pretty nice. I was at home depot today and was looking at their half barrel($19.99). It's 22" wide at the top and seems to be pretty sturdy.

Is it out of the question to bring the tub indoors when it gets below freezing?
 
#25 ·
Space is at a premium inside the house during winter. I could conceivably move the pond into a workshop/storage building we have, but it's not well insulated (but has a new roof) and there's no heat there. There are outlets though, so perhaps mother dearest would allow me to add a heater or two, and set up a light. And if I happen to stack a bunch of styrafoam blocks around the pond, maybe put the pond on some scrap carpeting or something...

That may be a possibility. Thank you :icon_bigg
 
#26 ·
As long as the tub is indoors and away from the wind-chill, your fish should be ok. No need to go the extra mile. Maybe just a desk top lamp with a 13w cfl to keep the plants alive.

BTW, why would you need permission to add a heater to the tub? You keep referring to your mom as Mother dearest...have you seen/heard of the movie coincidentally named "Mommie Dearest"?

Also, I'm liking the snow white Danios more and more by the minute.
 
#27 ·
BTW, why would you need permission to add a heater to the tub? You keep referring to your mom as Mother dearest...have you seen/heard of the movie coincidentally named "Mommie Dearest"?

Also, I'm liking the snow white Danios more and more by the minute.
She's the type that's very concerned with energy waste, yet pointedly ignores comments about the many electric heaters in the house when we have a woodburning fireplace that's almost always going in the winter. She doesn't even like me having extra lights for plants- even cfl's and LEDs. I might end up adding the heater and just not mentioning it. I'll be trading the solar pump for an equally powerful (or rather, weak) electric pump from a broken filter. What's one more cord?

I'd heard of the movie, but never really looked into it. Ironically, our last name is Crawford (for the time being).


And yes, the snow whites really are growing on me by the minute. If the lack of even numbers of types wouldn't bug me to no end, I'd get more of them. They look even better now that they've adjusted a bit more.
 
#29 ·
Not a whole lot to report on, other than Winter is coming. Slowly, but it's coming. Average temps during the day are in the low-mid 70's. The fish are doing fine in the cooler water, seeing as they are coolwater fish. I'm debating changing or including goldfish food to their diet since the extra fiber would help move food through their digestive systems. The danios are getting very used to me, and the leopards have stopped being so reclusive. Their colors are getting even more stunning, whites and pinks with gold, and grey with blue and gold. Very very very pretty and active fish, I love them in the pond, but boring in a tank. With the winter situation uncertain, I've decided to hold off getting any other danios.

The Het formosas are barely visible usually, but they're there. A mature female I added last Monday seems to have figured out this whole pond thing. Not a big surprise, she was one of the fish I had in the pond before I took it down and moved. She never really liked being in the tank anyways.

Plantwise, nothing really to report. The unidentified tropical seems to be putting out leaves that don't get sunburnt anymore. The water lettuce is now at acceptable infestation levels. The little tiny bit of microsword or whatever I got way back when seems to be flourishing- it's at least doubled, if not tripled. Still barely visible, lol. Now having trouble with algae, the string algae has returned.

Mother dearest was actually ok with me moving the pond to the shed to the winter, but pointed out that the shed also freezes (along with our wonderful home-grown potatoes that get ruined from the freeze). Maybe with insulation around it, and sitting on some padding to protect it from the floor, it'd be ok? Also, I do have a heater for a 20-30 gallon tank somewhere, but I forgot what wattage it is.

I also might be able to convince her that just for the winter, it might be ok to bury the pond. We've got open garden space that goes unused in the winter, and we don't have rocks here. When it freezes here, the ice is less than 1" thick- pretty warm winters from where I came from! I wouldn't be able to bury it where it currently is, because of tree roots and possible water pipes.



Also. I think my filter works. LOL
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top