Hi all, this will be my first official post . I started this container pond about a year ago. It has been great fun, and i have had somewhat better luck with plants outdoors than i have had indoors. The pond is stocked with 3 pond comets and 2 australian rainbows. There is no filter but lots of hornwort instead:icon_lol:. there is also a dwarf water lily which should flower in a couple of weeks now. I also have a couple of bog plants on the side shelves.
Your pond is overstocked quite severely and your goldfish will be stumped. Comets need 30 gallons for one fish then 15-20 gallons for every additional fish. They are meant to grow 10-14" whilst I should think yours will top off at 6"
Although the volume is sufficient for a comet, IMO, the dimensions of your container are not. Adult comets can get a foot long with no problem. Turning around would be an issue in that container.
Your pond is overstocked quite severely and your goldfish will be stumped. Comets need 30 gallons for one fish then 15-20 gallons for every additional fish. They are meant to grow 10-14" whilst I should think yours will top off at 6"
Nice pond. How do you like your stargrass (Dichromena latifolia)? I have some of that and it is a nice plant, very different.
I agree it would be wise to give those fish much more room. Have you had any issues with this pond overheating in the summer? I would think that especially in your climate and with it being rather small and up off the ground that it could quickly become too warm for those goldfish.
Hi all thanks for the comments. The container is actually a preformed plastic container. the hottest I have measured the water temp at during the summer is 76 degrees. The lilly and the hornwort shade most of the water surface. I have also been fortunate enough to have my golddfish spawn for the first time. I am now in the process of re - homing them. I love the stargrass, it is very hardy, and i have had very little problem maintaining it, which is a big deal for me:icon_lol:. Anyway, here are some updated pics of the pond.
Hi all thanks for the comments. The container is actually a preformed plastic container. the hottest I have measured the water temp at during the summer is 76 degrees. The lilly and the hornwort shade most of the water surface. I have also been fortunate enough to have my golddfish spawn for the first time. I am now in the process of re - homing them. I love the stargrass, it is very hardy, and i have had very little problem maintaining it, which is a big deal for me:icon_lol:. Anyway, here are some updated pics of the pond.
Thanks for all the comments
Got the container and all the plants for 100 bucks at local water garden
This is the first time I have tried anything outside, and it has been a great experience all the way. Container ponds rock!!!
For anyone who's interested, Lowe's sells whiskey barrel repro's that would make a perfect container pond, IMO. They are about $30 if I remember. I don't know what volume of water they hold, but they are 19" diameter at the top. Made out of fiberglass, they are perfectly water-tight.
At what temperatures have you kept fantail goldfish (do you leave them outside over winter ?) Mine seem to be having a little bit of trouble with the cold.
Had a hard freeze. 1 inch of ice in houston!!! Anyway my golds appear to be handling it fine, and have not yet managed to kill of that indestructable hornwort.
The heat is back in houston, and my dwarf lily is loving the light. I will post pics soon as the leaves are covering the surface, and 1 flower with 3 buds coming.:icon_smil
how often do you guys fertilize dwarf lily's? mine seems to have slowed down after the initial spurt of blooming. i know that they can produce one bloom a week when in good shape.
I dont fertilize mine, they are already too big as it is. On the botom i have layer of 2-3 inches of heavy loam and in the late autum ill dismantle everything and put again in spring with new loam, which is enough of fertilizing for a season
Needed a new place for some guppies... they exploded once I planted my aquarium!
Saw this, and thought... perfect solution! (until winter arrives... hmmm)
Went to Lowes, got a whiskey barrel repro like Church mentioned. It's only 15 bucks. It's all one piece. It has no "drain plug" in the bottom... so it is watertight. The barrel is small, it only holds about 12-15 gallons.
Got a bag of pea gravel. 4 bucks. Got 4 pond plants (red lily, mare's tail, water parsley, corkscrew rush?) all on sale now at Lowes! Less than two bucks each.
Grand total... $26.
Dumped some pea gravel on the bottom. Did a partial water change in my aquarium (was due)... and pulled out all the anacharis that was beginning to over grow and shade it. Also some small bits of golden pennywort, and baby tears and java fern made their way in also.
Used the 5 gallons of aquarium water as "starter" for my barrel. Then filled the barrel. Put the pond plants in. Water was quite cloudy from the pea gravel (didn't wash it...). Looked markedly better this morning. I'm guessing it'll be fine in a day or two.
Looks decent to me already. Can't wait to see what happens to my low tech outdoor planted tank! LOL
While roaming around in the Home Depot this week, I saw that they had a black 35-gallon patio pond that looks remarkably similar to the one pictured for about $30. This might be another option in addition to the whiskey half-barrels.
Hey all it's been a long time! Finally found time to update this thread, will have new pics up soon. I have since moved on from planted tanks, and currently am working on trying to run a marine reef setup. However, I still have this container pond, and a lot of the fish are still the same! Updates to follow
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