I'm toying with the idea of trying to make a small pond for my balcony. My fiancee isn't so keen on me getting another tank just yet and I can't really blame her, but she was interested when I mentioned putting a small pond on the balcony. I want to use something simple like a heavy garbage can or storage container, possibly something more visually pleasing like a barrel if I can make it work, as the pond.
It can get reasonably cold in the winter, so at some point I'll need to be able to haul the thing inside. As such I don't plan on making it very large, probably only 30G and certainly no more than 50G. My balcony has a SE exposure so I imagine I'll have an abundance of sunlight. Fortunately my balcony is set into the building so I should be able to provide enough shade to keep the water from cooking the fish. I am concerned that with such a low volume of water I may not be able to handle temperatures outside of the 60-80F range, which may kill this idea right away.
Assuming the ambient temperature won't be too much of a problem, what other problems might I face? What other equipment will I need? I imagine I'll want a filter, but what else? I don't have an outlet available on my balcony so I'm trying to keep my electrical devices to a minimum.
I'm really not even thinking about what fish to put in yet. Right now I'm thinking I could do small goldfish, white clouds, or bloodfins. I don't want to get attracted to fish while I'm still not even sure if this is feasible.
It can get reasonably cold in the winter, so at some point I'll need to be able to haul the thing inside. As such I don't plan on making it very large, probably only 30G and certainly no more than 50G. My balcony has a SE exposure so I imagine I'll have an abundance of sunlight. Fortunately my balcony is set into the building so I should be able to provide enough shade to keep the water from cooking the fish. I am concerned that with such a low volume of water I may not be able to handle temperatures outside of the 60-80F range, which may kill this idea right away.
Assuming the ambient temperature won't be too much of a problem, what other problems might I face? What other equipment will I need? I imagine I'll want a filter, but what else? I don't have an outlet available on my balcony so I'm trying to keep my electrical devices to a minimum.
I'm really not even thinking about what fish to put in yet. Right now I'm thinking I could do small goldfish, white clouds, or bloodfins. I don't want to get attracted to fish while I'm still not even sure if this is feasible.
