christmas pond?

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RLHam3

RLHam3

Candiru
MFK Member
Oct 29, 2008
536
9
48
Georgia
hey everybody, so for christmas this year, my gf wants to give her dad the "makings" for a tub pond and she asked me to help out. I have aboiut 7 years of fish keeping experience, but have never tried an outside pond before so i have a few questions. let me start with the basic desiogn that i was thinking before i ask my questions.

tub:15-30gallon
plants: duckweed, anacharis, parrot feather, hornwort
river pebbles on the bottom.
fish:?

so here are the questions:
i live in atlanta, ga. are there any fish that could survive the winter in such a small pond? (gets below freezing very commonly)

is there any way to heat pond efficiently to tropical levels all winter? (even if it was a plastic tub?)

if i put enough of the right kind of plants and not too many fish) do i really not need a filter?

what other kinds of plants would you suggest?

any other tips would be really appreciated. (even if they seem like common sense)
 
RLHam3;4713368;4713368 said:
hey everybody, so for christmas this year, my gf wants to give her dad the "makings" for a tub pond and she asked me to help out. I have aboiut 7 years of fish keeping experience, but have never tried an outside pond before so i have a few questions. let me start with the basic desiogn that i was thinking before i ask my questions.

tub:15-30gallon
plants: duckweed, anacharis, parrot feather, hornwort
river pebbles on the bottom.
fish:?

so here are the questions:
i live in atlanta, ga. are there any fish that could survive the winter in such a small pond? (gets below freezing very commonly)

is there any way to heat pond efficiently to tropical levels all winter? (even if it was a plastic tub?)

if i put enough of the right kind of plants and not too many fish) do i really not need a filter?

what other kinds of plants would you suggest?

any other tips would be really appreciated. (even if they seem like common sense)
Click to expand...
If its a plastic tub you may not need to heat it in georgia just get small natives even though a 30 gallon is pretty small, if its deep enough you could probably a couple of Banded , Blackbanded or Orangespotted Sunfish, with some tadpole madtoms with the right filtration using native plants.
 
sorry, but tropical fish would probably be the goal (i guess my fall back could be gambusia though?)
 
Pond isn't big enough to keep any fish. Especially without a filter
 
any body think this is doable with small tropical fish? anyone? (even "no's" would be appreciated)
 
No, Its not possible, you might be able to get away with it in the winter with a good heating system but your main problem will be in the summer. In a few 90 degree days your fish will be fried. Honestly I doubt they would live in the winter though it might be possible like i said with a good heating system and a good filter with minimal fish. At minimum I would suggest a 150 gallon and even that would be pushing it as they are typically only 18 inches deep. No if you wanted to winter and summer inside and have them out in spring and fall with a heating system(not a deicer). Over all I would say dont even try it. What about getting him a 55 gallon inside tank. local pet super market has them on sale for 100 bucks, not to much more that a 50 gallon from Lowes.
 
no he wants a tub pond, i have plenty of aquariums lying around. So you were saying that a 20in tall tub would get too hot? my friend down the street has no problem with his guppies all summer long in this size. they just breed like crazy and get good colors (he does take them in for the winter though). they're in a pretty shady part of his yard and the top of the water is almost covered in floating plants so there's not much UV penetration.

the main thing that i'm worried about is the winter. what kinda heating are we talking?
 
Try it. If it doesn't work, drain and set-up in the following spring.

Can the tub be moved indoors on really cold nights or for a couple of weeks?

You will need a filter in the winter. If relying on plants for filtration, it is going to be hard to find plants that are basically evergreen and will live(thrive) year round.

I have used Swordtails for summer tubs. Basically, any livebear will do and produce mass amount of fry and also have great colors.

A good submersable heater might work....
 
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