Easy unfiltered 60 gallon pond

[ustabefast]

I offered to take over care of my elderly neighbor's pond after her husband passed.
I threw in a few sickly water hyacinth plants I found, and they quickly took over.
I added a few of my 4 yr old white cloud minnows for mosquito control.
I did not think they would breed, but boy was I wrong. 100s of fish now.
So far this pond is super easy. All I do is add water and some occasional fish food.

 

[dudley]

That was so nice of you to help out the neighbor and add something nice for her to look at. About how large is that container?

 

[ustabefast]

I estimate the pond is 60 gallons or a bit more. There is an 20 inch deep depression in the center where fish can retreat to escape predators or extreme temperatures.

 

[samwoodblack]

Realy nice, but how it keeps fresh without filter?

 

[OrionGirl]

It isn't unfiltered...it just doesn't have a powered filter. Plants most definitely count as a filter. Hyacinth do an amazing job of remove wastes, plus they bloom.

I run tubs like this all summer. I don't put fish out anymore since I don't have space to deal with the fry, so now axolotls go in for biological control, and mosquito dunks for other pests. The first year, I had the vietnamese white clouds out, and there were thousands. More than I could catch, much less raise up. Great fish! Can't keep them out year round in the Poconos, but definitely possible in areas where it doesn't drop below 40. White clouds are sturdy enough to take it.

 

[ustabefast]

I'm hoping the white clouds in this pond can overwinter. It's in a sheltered area, open to the sky but surrouned by three walls.
Our temps here in coastal California usually stay above 40 in the winter.
Water Hyacinth does make an amazing natural filter and algae reducer, and with tiny fish, I think a pond can get by without a filter, but if this were my pond, I'd probabably spring for a sponge filter set up.

 

[pbeemer]

recognizing that it's been a year since the last post, how is that little pond doing?