As a fellow aqua-anything enthusiast, I truly appreciate the time you spend to make these videos. Anyone who has a water feature knows the amount of attention they require to keep on keepin on... so kuddos to you my friend for taking the additional time to make/edit/share the videos that you do. Because it all requires extra time and attention, and you do it for us.
Ive been keeping ponds without any pumps for years.. I usually dont bother with the UG filtration to the bottom (can you tell I'm old school?).. Instead I just don't add any substrate and rely upon plants in pots and floating plants to keep the ammonia in check.. So one advantage in NOT circulating water in small ponds is when your in very hot circumstances like moist parts of Australia when it gets very hot in the middle of summer.. What I found was when I used pumps in these small ponds because the water was circulating the whole pond got very hot and that tended to knock the fish around more than when i didn't have any circulation.. When you DONT have the water circulating, I find the water will only heat up at the top and stays cool down deep so the fish can go down there and not be affected by the hot water so much.. Also.. word of advice.. Watch those white mountain clouds with the Medaka's.. Ive found white clouds usually end up chasing and nipping the fins of the Medakas..
@geckopete That’s kind of how I have my small container ponds, no substrate, just plants in pots sitting on a couple old bricks. I haven’t had any big problems so far. I don’t have fish, just have tadpoles and frogs ( well I have one small fish but I don’t know what it is and I didn’t put in there on purpose 🤷♀️😂) I did have a pump running in one pond 24/7 for a while, but I turned it off and everything seems happy - I’m just hoping it stays that way 😬
I don't put substrate, I just drill holes in flower pots, plant them with scortia stones or pebbles. Eventually algae grows around the edges of the pond which takes care of oxygenation. Thanks for giving me a new project. ✌
Thanks mate. I've caught up a little and watched some of your no electricity set ups. Super helpful. Small money saving idea, wrap the barrel with a large plastic liner or sheet and duct tape. Saves running water for three days while the wood is initially soaking in. Maybe it'll work. Also love your underwater shots mate. Therapeutic.
I put a small feeder hose into my barrel pond that runs from my automatic yard watering system. It keeps it topped off and adds A small amount if water movement. A solar fountain adds some movement when the sun is out as well.
Thank you so much for making this video. I followed your advice as well as I could. I used net wire cooling racks tied together and cut to fit for the false bottom. Two months later, the water is crystal clear and my white cloud mountain minnows are swimming happily!
Hahaha made me laugh the clay that is baked I was looking for three brands later I got you show it! Lol good! Now question for ya I have iron ore from the mines in WA can I use it? They use it in gardens roadside landscaping so I got a bucket full for my pond and aquariums to try clay was holding me back. The Doc. on YT that steered me to the anoxic filter asked him and he said (give it a go ) as an iron source . Any input will be appreciated. Now the pond is getting one or two and all my aquariums. Love your thinking and your videos hope we get it right cheers
Hey Kev, do you reckon a couple of small gold fish would be happy in a set up like this? In the process of building my first little pond.(I will add a small solar pump with sponge filter to mine) Cheers
I’m watching even though I’m not setting up one of these. You always mention some helpful hint that works across the board. Thanks for all the advice! 😊
I think so if you increased the water volume. The wine barrel is only 100 litres. I personally don’t think that’s enough room for a goldfish to grow. That’s why I stick to small fish in small bodies of water.
Loving watching your videos - they are informative and practical. I have cut a wine barrel in half and want to make a small fish pond, obviously that is some time away as its dry as a bone. I intend to make a bog filter, but my question is would this bottom arrangement also be benefical to the health of the pond.
Yes I’ve seen other RU-vid people in the states with rice fish. No at this stage I’m not feeding them, it’s spring here and there’s plenty of insects around they get plenty of natural food.
So, the no filter barrel I made is working very well, thanks to your tips. One thing though, after I put in hornwort, after 3 or 4 days, it seems like the fronds get really nasty looking, is that to be expected? I hate to say, I have taken out what I have and hosed it off so that the fronds are clean and bright, but it’s getting nasty looking again. Is this normal and not a bother for the hornwort? All the other plants are doing well and the water is pretty clear otherwise.🤔
I’m not sure why this is occurring. Some aquatic plants that are sold are grown out of water and when they are submerged they freak out a little. I’m not sure if hornwort is one of them. In any case if it was me I’d just take it out. I have no patience for things that aren’t easy.
This is the exact one I used www.bunnings.com.au/aquapro-240-x-240-x-150mm-medium-square-planting-basket_p2940003?region_id=116395&gbraid=0AAAAADtbEB_UBZGEt7MJo-a02PDG1d670&gbraid=0AAAAADtbEB_UBZGEt7MJo-a02PDG1d670&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIz4a1jueo-AIVC5JmAh1W8wMnEAQYASABEgLKs_D_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds
Not that I’m aware of. I’ve had this running a few years now. All I do is top up the water and remove some algae and plants, from time to time. It’s under an arbor so it also gets a water change when it rains heavy.
@@DEXTER-TV-series this worked better than my pond with movement and a bcb. However I think for a no movement pond, father fish/ walstad is much better.
Could you theoretically do something like this AS a "bogless bog filter".. i.e. a half ibc goldfish pond pumped up into a barrel with the plants and maybe a couple of white clouds that then overflows back to the Goldie's?
Does the water flow up through the media in the barrel? I think it would need to, if it were to have any biological filtering impact. Otherwise it’s more just a place for sediments to settle in.
@@Ozponds it's setup like your budget bog filter in a bucket style. I've got a false bottom and a layer of medium largish sponge before a couple of anoxic baskets and other plants. Then overflowing into the main IBC
Thanks Kev for the wonderful video. I've been meaning to make this setup for my backyard but couldn't find some items like biological tube media for the false bottom. I appreciate it if you can point me in the right direction as to where to get them from in Australia, cheers
I can’t find those tubes online in Australia. You can buy them from china but they are made for aquaculture, so they are sold in bulk. I got mine from an old fella who was selling his aquaponic system. Anyway a good way to create the false bottom is using aquarium under gravel plates. You’ll find them in any pet store, eBay, Amazon whatever you prefer 👍
Ponds going pretty good. Little algae at the moment to start spring. Hopefully as the bacteria and plants hit their stride that will dissipate. Look up middle creek farm on Facebook for rice fish. 👍
