$100 diy pond

Jacob92677

Dovii
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Oct 16, 2019
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South Orange County CA ?? USA ??
Thanks for the ideas guys
I Was think maybe some large fancy goldfish
But some fancy guppies would be pretty neat too agree the koi will just out grow the space

idk If platys or swordtails would survive the brutal California winters ? ?
I haven’t checked the temp but it’s a Bit cold in the am

anyways bit of any update my filter kept clogging up so I went back to the drawing board still didn’t spend any cash just used stuff I found laying around I have lots of free time currently

so I took apart the filter and submerged the powerhead on one side of pond and with some thick filter floss wrapped the intake of the pump (to stop debris from clogging intake )
Then I attached a 1/2 hose which feeds up
To a other side of pond and to a old planter my wife had sittin in the garage , I attached it to my fake treee and then drilled out a hole and attached a elbow from a old sponge filter to create a neat little water fall like feature,
It drops into some sponges I’ve hidden down below along with some Other media ,
So fars its been running flawlessly Since my last posting and my few feeders are loving it ?? all my plants seem happy and the water is crystal clear
So far the budget pond has been a hit with the wife and kids it’s very peaceful to just Stare
At

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Jacob92677

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Oct 16, 2019
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South Orange County CA ?? USA ??
That's about the best $100 spent that I've seen for a while. Beautiful upgrade for your balcony. Sure going the give lots of pleasure watching it grow out. Great job!
Thank you luc70
That means a lot to me coming from you! Seeing the caliber of your pond builds
I’ve read thru your pond builds threads and I dream to have something of that size one day.
thanks for checking mine out
 

Luc70

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Thank you luc70
That means a lot to me coming from you! Seeing the caliber of your pond builds
I’ve read thru your pond builds threads and I dream to have something of that size one day.
thanks for checking mine out
Thanks for the big compliment Jacob..appreciate it.
I always enjoy a project that's done with 'materials lying around', but yours turned out great.
Really like the filter return. Really looks like it belongs there!
Keep posting how it develops!
Cheers,
Luc
 
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Jacob92677

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Oct 16, 2019
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South Orange County CA ?? USA ??
Are real (climbing) plants going to be added around the pond later on? Or is that a problem with the heat & sun?
i do to plant real plants around the pond
I just had these fake ones laying around
I wanted to research what plants would do best to grow on my patio
As far as weather it’s fairly nice here all year around 50-85 degrees for the most part
 

duanes

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Some small fish that could easily stand drastic temp fluctuations are Macropodus opercularis (the common Paradise fish (paradise gourami)), originally from Korea, they take temps down as low a 50'F(maybe lower, there are serious winters in Korea) and heat into the 90s"F. I had them in my rain barrels in Wisconsin to keep the mosquito larvae population in control, spring thru fall.
They used to spawn in the rain barrels.
Tanichthys albonubes (White Cloud mountain minnows) are also a good choice, native to China where it gets cold.
But even small goldfish will out grow 40 gallons very quickly.

and even 1 koi needs a few hundred gallons, you might want to wait until you evolve to a 300 gallon Rubbermaid for those.

 
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Ozzie73

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That's awesome! I tossed a couple of the Tuff Stuff 110g's out on the patio for HRP and Calico convict growouts. Now I'm seeing a Home Depot trip in my future this weekend to grab some pavers....lol. Thanks for the post!
 

MrsE88

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Yeah I don’t think most people know just how big fancy goldfish get. I lost mine before they hit 3-4yrs old due to a harsh winter, but I’m sure they would have grown more.
My sons ryukin had to be brought inside when it developed a swim bladder problem. It went into a 65g and made that tank look small.
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I miss those chunky faces.
 

Jacob92677

Dovii
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Oct 16, 2019
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South Orange County CA ?? USA ??
Yeah I don’t think most people know just how big fancy goldfish get. I lost mine before they hit 3-4yrs old due to a harsh winter, but I’m sure they would have grown more.
My sons ryukin had to be brought inside when it developed a swim bladder problem. It went into a 65g and made that tank look small.
View attachment 1422843View attachment 1422844View attachment 1422845
I miss those chunky faces.
Those are amazing! So neat so see them
That’s size I had no idea
 
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