new potted pond

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My son has bought a 20 inch wide by 20 inch talk plastic pot that we have set up as his new water garden. He also bought a pump and fountain kit for it. We filled it 5 days ago and added dechlorinator.

He wants a dwarf cattail and a water poppy for it. Maybe a hyacinth if there's room. For fish he wants a fancy goldfish.

I know we need to cycle this thing and I know how the nitrogen cycle works as I've kept a saltwater reef aquarium for years. However kick starting a cycle in a reef is a little different. People used to use fish but that is now frowned upon. I've been out of freshwater tanks for too long...

So what do we need to do to get this started?
Thanks in advance.
 
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Here's a couple of pics.
 

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In the bed..
 

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I am a big fan of the Rosy Red minnows and have put them in several half barrels and other small container gardens just to make sure no mosquito larva start growing. Dropping 3 or so into your container may work fine to cycle it and they can probably hang out with the fancy goldfish just fine. And at 11 cents each at our local petsmart the price is right. They also don't seem as aggressive toward other fish as mosquito fish can be. One fancy goldfish will make a lot more waste than even 3 Rosy Reds, so be careful how many goldfish you put in such a small area. I would only put one or maybe 2 Fancy Goldfish in and just trade them out for new ones when they start getting big.

One other thing to consider with fish in above ground containers is temperature. Especially if you are in a warm climate and it is a dark container that will heat up in the sun. If I put my hand in the water of one of my containers at the end of a hot day I can definitely feel that the water is warmer than my pond (and often colder in the mornings after the cooler night air). Good plant coverage of the water's surface will help keep the water and fish from overheating. I usually add some Frogbit or hyacinth on top if my other plants haven't grown to cover much of the surface yet.
 
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Thanks for the heads up on the minnows. I bet we could find some tomorrow over in Iowa City. We only planned on one goldfish, as we know their waste potential very well. :)

The pot is a tan color; we avoided the black pond liner for the reason of temp. I wasn't going to excavate if he didn't show the responsibility of upkeep, and having it above ground wasn't ideal. The pot gets good morning sun, is shaded during the afternoon, and gets more sun in the evening. Its also surrounded by flowers which should shade the pot itself. I think it'll be ok but we'll keep an eye on the temp. I believe I have a spare digital aquarium probe he can use.

Thanks for the reply. Does the cycle affect plants? Should we wait before adding? I'm used to marine aquaria and am suddenly aware how little I know about freshwater.
 
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You could always mound dirt around the pot to insulate it somewhat. I think the plants should be fine and the Rosy Reds aren't too fussy. Hope you son has fun with his water garden but watch out when he heads into the back yard with a shovel.
 
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Yes, the rosy reds are pretty tough. I cycled my small pond with them then added plants a week later, but only waited on plants because they hadn't arrived yet.

One thing you might consider is adding some sort of sponge pre filter in front of the pump if it didn't come with one. That will keep the pump from getting gunked up if leaves etc fall in, but more importantly it creates a good place for your bacteria to colonize and breakdown the waste from the goldfish when it is added later. These are never enough for a full pond but probably will work well for your container.
 
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Yes, the rosy reds are pretty tough. I cycled my small pond with them then added plants a week later, but only waited on plants because they hadn't arrived yet.

One thing you might consider is adding some sort of sponge pre filter in front of the pump if it didn't come with one. That will keep the pump from getting gunked up if leaves etc fall in, but more importantly it creates a good place for your bacteria to colonize and breakdown the waste from the goldfish when it is added later. These are never enough for a full pond but probably will work well for your container.

It did come with a sponge prefilter and cover. I figured it would serve as the primary biological filter, and of course we will only clean it with changed pond water and not tap water.

My wife is taking him today to get fish I think (I have to work) and he may as well get a hyacinth for cover until the others get here.

Do you think a cattail, poppy, and hyacinth would be too much for the pot?
 
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If you get a goldfish, I think the hyacinth will really help keep the water clean. They will spread so in the small pot just break off the runners and keep the main plant. Make sure you compost or throw the runners in the trash. I start spring with 2 hyacinth in my 3x5 header pond and usually by now am thinning and composting them, The cool weather this year has slowed down the growth way down but the surface is still almost completely covered.
 
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I would not suffer a fancy goldfish to live alone in that pot. I have 2 of them that are well over 200 grams each. What a miserable life that would be.

well, then we can get two. wouldn't want to have a depressed Goldie. we have a 30 gallon tank sitting empty thatt can house them over winter, and we plan on probably upgrading size next year. then growth wont matter.
 
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So he picked up 4 small feeder goldfish, a hyacinth, and a water lettuce. Those were bought local, and after a week or two he'll order the cattail and poppy. He's pretty pumped, and admittedly so am I. :)

The roots on the main hyacinth crown are very long, can we trim them? I see they are a lot shorter on the tiller crowns..
 

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So he picked up 4 small feeder goldfish, a hyacinth, and a water lettuce. Those were bought local, and after a week or two he'll order the cattail and poppy. He's pretty pumped, and admittedly so am I. :)

The roots on the main hyacinth crown are very long, can we trim them? I see they are a lot shorter on the tiller crowns..

I would leave the roots on the hyacinth. Hyacinth can be a pain to grow, sometimes they are picky for no reason. Better not decapitate it.

Keep in mind those feeder goldfish get big too. My comets are about 6 inches long and they started out as feeder fish.
 
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My son has bought a 20 inch wide by 20 inch talk plastic pot that we have set up as his new water garden. He also bought a pump and fountain kit for it. We filled it 5 days ago and added dechlorinator.

He wants a dwarf cattail and a water poppy for it. Maybe a hyacinth if there's room. For fish he wants a fancy goldfish.

I know we need to cycle this thing and I know how the nitrogen cycle works as I've kept a saltwater reef aquarium for years. However kick starting a cycle in a reef is a little different. People used to use fish but that is now frowned upon. I've been out of freshwater tanks for too long...

So what do we need to do to get this started?
Thanks in advance.
First can we say welcome to the forum from here in sunny Plymouth in the UK :happy:
Just be careful and find out if the plastic in the container isnt the type of Plastic that leaches out toxin's into the fishes water "not all plastics are safe and many of these pots now come from China where there isnt much in the way of regulating this type of plastic .
I found out that certain plastics can and do leach out toxin's when I was researching some lids to go on my 32" diameter filters.
We dont want to see your fish poisoned in anyway .

Dave
 

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