DIY 45 gallon tub pond

[Chub_by]

Cool, I'll definitely have to give that a try in the next week or two!


I'm also in need of plant advice.
1. I still havn't repotted/replanted the canna that I got yesterday, should I?
2. I've been considering getting a pitcher plant, but i worry that it would eat too many of the insects that the fish reley on for their main food source. Do they actually trap enough insects to have an impact?

1. Yes, canna need big pots
2. No, they don't, as they don't need alot of insects, and the fish also have aquatic & other food sources. Go get one

 

[RLHam3]

Cool, I'm about to go back to the pond store and I may pick one up

 

[MissMaddylyn]

Thanks for the advice MissMaddylyn! How many gallons was the water tank that you used this for?

I think it was a 100gal stock tank.

 

[RLHam3]

Here are some gambusia that I picked up yesterday


and a pitcher plant (Sarracenia?) that will be going in the tub pond later today

 

[andyjs]

If you notice the pitchers getting really full of bugs, stuff cotton balls in them. If they get too full the bugs will start eating through them and the pitchers will rot. Also, keep this updated with how the pitcher does. They are usually from very nutrient poor soils, so I'm curious how all the nutrients from the fish waste will affect them.

Great looking pond by the way

 

[anarekist]

i love it!!

 

[RLHam3]

with the addittion of the pitcher plant!



also my canna's leaves and flowers have begun to wilt. One flower has fallen off and the leaves are looking a little brown around the edges. It gets full sunlight from about 2:30-sunset (8:00?). Any ideas what i'm doing wrong?

 

[RLHam3]

Hey everybody, just thought I'd give an update. The longwood canna didn't seem to be doing so well, but it is continuing to grow. A fewdays ago i noticed a few flower bulbs began forming at the top. I had o remove the pitcher lant because it keeps falling over



Up to this point, I have only put 6 gambusia into the pond. Now that the weather is beginning to warm up, i think its time to pur some cichlids in there. For this summer I have decided on firemouths. I picked up this trio a few weeks ago because i thought they were really pretty for their size. They will be going into the opnd this afternoon.

 

[Pyramid_Party]

Should go with native fish all the way. I got something like this in my backyard. But mine is a 55 gallon rubbermaid. Have had it up over a year and fish are even breeding. I got a Florida flagfish, bunch of pygmy sunfish, chubs, snails, clams, scuds, and a whole bunch of other organisms. I have tried different plants, water hyacinth, Iris, parrots feather, mini cattails (in a pot), duckweed, frogbit, hornwort, banana plant (lily), pondweed, anacharis etc. All worked out pretty good, right now I have mostly anacharis, sago pondweed, banana plant, hornwort, water hyacinth, and duckweed. With the growing population of fish I felt there might have not been enough natural food, so I started to seed it with daphnia and scuds, and the scuds now have a sustainable population. I have had this pond get up into the 90s and as low as the low 40s and all fish survived. However in the summer when the water got up in the 90s I added a garden umbrella and it cooled it down to lower 80s upper 70s. I have it partially buried in the ground so like the middle and bottom were cooler than the top portion. I do give the pond water changes ever so often too.

 

[RLHam3]

i love your set up! I actually have another 100 gal rubbermaid stock tank that I will be filling within a week and I've been considering native fish. though i will say that i'm not sure whether or not anything can beat out my love of cichlids.

so i'm guessing you leave yours out year round then? what are the warmest and coldest temperatures that you would say that your system has experiences?