Check out my outdoor Molly pond! Plant filtered only.

[TropicalPond6]

Hi I just wanted to share a fun project I’ve been working on for the last few months. I have a 90 gallon outdoor pond with heater, bubblers... and no mechanical filter. I started it in July 2019 and all my fish are happy and thriving. The water is clear and fresh.
I have various colored Molly’s, zebra fish, and a fun little school of bloodfin tetras who mostly swim at the lower level and are too fast for photos.
The plants keeping the water clean are Dwarf Papyrus, Corkscrew Rush, Dwarf Water Lily, Hyacinth, Hornwort, Anacharis, and Canna Lillies planted in a dollar store basket. You can see the white roots growing profusely in the water.
We also have pond snails and planaria who eat algae and microorganisms.
The fish are fed a small amount of food, but also eat decaying plant matter, algae, and scuds (tiny pond shrimp) who breed and live in all the plants.

I would love to hear your comments and thoughts, or if you’ve ever done something similar. Thanks for looking!

 

[Quin]

Whoa, that looks awesome! Where did you find your plants?

 

[TropicalPond6]

Whoa, that looks awesome! Where did you find your plants?

Thank you! It’s been so much fun. I sit out there every morning and sprinkle some food while I drink my coffee.
I got the underwater plants from the pet store, and the reeds and hyacinth from our local nursery. The Cannas were languishing in our back yard. Originally I placed them in a terra cotta pot in the pond, but they stayed small and became root bound. A couple months ago I replanted into a gravel basket... and they just exploded with roots and new growth.

 

[Quin]

Thank you! It’s been so much fun. I sit out there every morning and sprinkle some food while I drink my coffee.
I got the underwater plants from the pet store, and the reeds and hyacinth from our local nursery. The Cannas were languishing in our back yard. Originally I placed them in a terra cotta pot in the pond, but they stayed small and became root bound. A couple months ago I replanted into a gravel basket... and they just exploded with roots and new growth.

That must be so relaxing! Keep us updated if you add anything

 

[TropicalPond6]

That must be so relaxing! Keep us updated if you add anything

Thank you I will! I’ve been cautious about overstocking it, especially since the Molly’s keep multiplying lol. But I would love to have a few other fish varieties so let me know if you have suggestions.

 

[JuiceBox52]

Thank you I will! I’ve been cautious about overstocking it, especially since the Molly’s keep multiplying lol. But I would love to have a few other fish varieties so let me know if you have suggestions.

What it your Gh?

 

[TropicalPond6]

What it your Gh?

Do you mean Ph? Honestly I have never tested a single thing. I just see how the fish are doing and they are incredibly happy.

 

[JuiceBox52]

Do you mean Ph? Honestly I have never tested a single thing. I just see how the fish are doing and they are incredibly happy.

No, I mean GH, you can find it on your local water providers website. Mollies need a GH of at least 250ppm or they will have shorter lifespan, and other livebearers need at least 200. I'd like to know before giving stocking suggestions

 

[TropicalPond6]

No, I mean GH, you can find it on your local water providers website. Mollies need a GH of at least 250ppm or they will have shorter lifespan, and other livebearers need at least 200. I'd like to know before giving stocking suggestions

Ooooh haha shows how little I know. We have pretty hard water in our area but I will check on that.

 

[TropicalPond6]

No, I mean GH, you can find it on your local water providers website. Mollies need a GH of at least 250ppm or they will have shorter lifespan, and other livebearers need at least 200. I'd like to know before giving stocking suggestions

Ok so our water provider gives the hardness as 79.5 ppm

 

[JuiceBox52]

Ok so our water provider gives the hardness as 79.5 ppm

So I would reccomend not getting any more livebearers what about some white cloud minnows?

 

[Crispii]

Or Medaka?

 

[TropicalPond6]

Ok so our water provider gives the hardness as 79.5 ppm

But, does grave

So I would reccomend not getting any more livebearers what about some white cloud minnows?

Those are pretty, but prefer water colder than we keep it. And to keep numbers down I would probably not get other varieties of Livebearers. I would love some little corys but I don’t think I would ever see them down there lol

 

[JuiceBox52]

But, does grave

Those are pretty, but prefer water colder than we keep it. And to keep numbers down I would probably not get other varieties of Livebearers. I would love some little corys but I don’t think I would ever see them down there lol

Yeah you wouldn't be able to see them. How about some larger types of tetras?

 

[TropicalPond6]

Or Medaka?

Cute those look like tiny koi