# My native outdoor tank



## neonfish3 (Feb 12, 2004)

Ever since I saw the post about the sunny tank in the street www.aquaticplantcentral.com/forumapc/showthread.php?t=5018&highlight=outdoor+tank , I wanted to try to do it myself. Also my wife won't let me set up any more tanks in the house. I have six in my living room and I live in a mobile home! She's afraid the trailer will tip over!
Anyway this is a pic of the second day after setup.








I have a lot of plants in there that aren't native but the tropicals will be replaced as I find more natives. The plants I've found so far and have in there are: horn wort, elodea, hair grass, moss,and my large unknown http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/forumapc/showthread.php?t=7167&highlight=wisconsin . Some one gave me the idea to ID it by growing it outside and see what it does.
The tank gets about 4 hrs. of full sun a day, and the rest is shade or filtered sunlight through the trees. I have a small light on it for night time viewing. I put an inch of dirt from my garden on the bottom covered with 2-3 inches of regular gravel. I am using all ferts lightly and excel. I will be adding pressurized co2 on Monday. I want to put native fish in there also. Maybe some minnows from the streams around here. I don't know. I did go to the bait store and bought a dozen small golden shiners. The guy at the store gave me about 40 of them($2.00), I put 10 of them in the tank and am going to use the rest of them tomorrow for fishing (multi-purpose pets).








Has anyone else besides trebol-a tried this. I know I'm going to have problems with leaves and stuff falling out of the trees. Also I'm worried about raccoons and other animals that might think its a feeding dish for them.
The tank does look great with the sunlight.
Just thought I'd share...
I'll keep this updated as things change.
Steve T.


----------



## Plattykins (Apr 3, 2005)

neonfish, maybe a screen material over the top would protect from leaves, raccoons, etc. It would help keep the fish in the tank in case of a rain storm overflowing the tank as well. Of course, the screening would have to be locked down somehow (can raccoons pull Velcro apart?) to keep the raccoons out regardless.


----------



## MiamiAG (Jan 13, 2004)

Hey neon,

Looking good. What are you going to do when the cold comes back?


----------



## Piscesgirl (Feb 25, 2004)

I think it's quite interesting -- will be nice to see it evolve. By the way, I'm in a mobile too -- how large is your largest tank? I've been working on setting up a 150 gallon 'indoor' pond, but am also worried about the mobile home so I've been dragging my feet!


----------



## Error (Apr 16, 2004)

I haven't kept any tanks outside, but I certainly have kept some tubs with both plants and fish.

I'd say that I was fairly successful with them. Fish in particular seem to really relish the sources of natural food and usually end up doing very well.


----------



## niko (Jan 28, 2004)

This is way cool! I have just been dreaming about an outside tank.

If the tank doesn't stay algae free may I suggest big water changes (50%) or so every 3-4 days coupled with good fertilizing. Drainage should not be a problem , and filling up with the garden hose should be fast too (with some way to prevent the water jet that is).

--Nikolay


----------



## neonfish3 (Feb 12, 2004)

I think...this will be fun.


> (can raccoons pull Velcro apart?)


Raccoons could drive my car if I gave them the keys! 
I have brand new locking lid Rubbermaid garbage cans that they tip over, pull the locking handles back, take the lid off, then strew garbage all over my yard! I put bungee cords across the handles but they chewed through them. 


> I'm in a mobile too -- how large is your largest tank?


Living room--55 gallon, 20 gal., 20 gal. long, 15gal tall cube, 7 gal., and 2 1/2 gal. Thats just the fish tanks, then theres 2 bird cages with 3 lovebirds in one and 1 parakeet in the other.
My daughters room has a 20gal. with a guine pig. My sons room has a 10gal with a hampster and a 10gal with 2 baby snapping turtles. Then I have 2 cats that live in every room! The 20 long in my living room is half land, half water with a bull frog, a leopard frog, a fire-belly toad with crickets for food that go *chirp*, *chirp*. .( ya.....It's a frigg'n Zoo!)


> What are you going to do when the cold comes back?


Freeze my arse. Then I'll have to take the tank down when the temps get cold. Maybe by then I can talk my wive into bringing it in the house! ( hmmm..."Honey..the bathroom would look good with a tank over here"...)


> Drainage should not be a problem , and filling up with the garden hose should be fast too


This is one of the great advantages! I accidentally filled it full, then put my arm in to the bottom to arrange some plants. Well, of course water went over the edge, no problem. I hate it when I do that, in the house. "Dammit,your getting water all over the floor again, Steve..etc.etc.." says the wife. It's amazing to me, that when your filling or draining the tank with a hose, it seems so slow, but that same hose when it falls out of the bucket or tank, how fast that water goes on the floor. 
Your right, outdoor water changes, Drain on the ground and fill with a hose is great.(yes, I do purge the hose to get the toxins out)
I have been cleaning out tree seeds ( I could plant a whole National Forest)and leaves every time I walk by (which I do, quite often). And doing a small partial water change every other day. 
So far, so good....

Steve T.
Wheww...
...and only one word wrong.


----------



## Piscesgirl (Feb 25, 2004)

Sounds like your mobile is full, lol! Well, I was hoping you'd say you had a 150 gallon in there, and then I would feel better. But,maybe that isn't true -- 100 people could probably tell me it would be fine but the one person who says I'm going to sink into the ground will freak me out! Oh well....If I ever do get the 150 gallon rubbermaid indoor pond up, then I'll let you know and you call tell your wife "see! we can fit more tanks!"


----------



## MissMinerva (Aug 16, 2004)

Would you be able to put some darters in there? I'm seriously thinking about snagging a few from a local stream! ;-)


----------



## neonfish3 (Feb 12, 2004)

Johnny darters are on my list of fish to look for. When I was a kid, (35yrs ago) I used to find johnny darters, red-bellied dace, stone rollers in a stream by our home. I'm going back there on tue. to see if I can find them again. There are alot of very beautiful native fishes around here, and some odd ugly ones too. Last year in a cold spring fed stream, my son and I collected a couple of Slimy sculpin(*Cottus cognatus).* Most unusual fish I've ever seen, 3-4 inches, tan with black mottled bands, HUGE pectoral fins, eyes on top of its head, mouth that went from gill to gill. We let them go after observing them for awhile. I didn't think I could replicate their habitat, as it was ice cold.

*Piscesgirl*- I do think it could be done. If you supported it like how a water bed is done with alot of cross braces on the floor to spread out the weight.

Steve T.


----------



## Error (Apr 16, 2004)

Does that tank heat way up during the day...?

It might get too warm for native fishes if it does.


----------



## neonfish3 (Feb 12, 2004)

> Does that tank heat way up during the day...?
> 
> It might get too warm for native fishes if it does.


Woooosh.......the sound the wind makes when it leaves my sail. thanks 

Its 82 f. here right now. And 86.5 f. in the tank.
But really I had thought of that before. I'll be looking for slow running streams with warmer water to try to find some natives. I could use some small Bluegills, Perch, Sunfish, Bass, Crappie, Bullheads from small lakes that do warm up a lot during the day. Then when they get to big, just.......... eat them. J/K 
I really don't want larger predatory fish, because I would have to do something with them and I know it's not a good idea to release them. Besides the money I'd have to spend on live food for them. Then there's the legal issue, I think its unlawful to keep game fish without a license or permit. I have kept Crappie and Perch before, very cool. 
But they eat a lot, and are very messy, and they think the plants are in their way to get to the food.
I'm not sure what I'm going to do about fauna yet.
The golden shiners are doing good so far, and are eating. You ever seen thrasher sharks go after one piece of food, its like that, they just go bonkers at feeding time. 
It would make a good commercial for TetraMin.
Steve T.


----------



## Error (Apr 16, 2004)

neonfish3 said:


> Woooosh.......the sound the wind makes when it leaves my sail. thanks
> 
> Its 82 f. here right now. And 86.5 f. in the tank.
> But really I had thought of that before. I'll be looking for slow running streams with warmer water to try to find some natives. I could use some small Bluegills, Perch, Sunfish, Bass, Crappie, Bullheads from small lakes that do warm up a lot during the day. Then when they get to big, just.......... eat them. J/K
> ...


LOL!

I think some darters or some dace might be okay. I kept rainbow darters in my tropical tank for some time.


----------



## neonfish3 (Feb 12, 2004)

Well its time for an update.










I really wasn't having much luck with the native plants. What I did find would die. The tank is in the high 90's everyday. Highest ever measured was 104 degrees. But the tropicals have never looked better! 
The R. rotundifolia is a bright orange-red on the whole plant. I think I have one stem of Nesaea penticulata that is also MUCH redder than in the house. The HZ is starting to have bloom buds, I can't wait to see that. 
The only native fish I have in it are 2- 1 1/2"inch Large mouth bass. I caught them with a small net right out of their spawning nest.( I'm 95% sure they're bass, they were so small it's hard to tell)

I really thought to tank was going to be harder to do than it is. I do have to clean the glass every week. I do do water changes every day, just a little bit, to cool it down and clean the floating debris from the trees overhead. I usually don't take any water out, just put in the hose and let it overflow for about 4-5 minutes.( can't do that in the house!!!) I do add small amounts of Po4, potassium, and iron. No KNO3 or I get algae. I also have pressurized CO2, but I haven't tested any parameters in a long time so I don't know what they are.

It's very hard to take pics of the tank in the daylight because of all the reflections. I brought my 65 watt 6500k light from inside to take pics of it at night
....anyway thought I'd let ya see how it's doing...
Steve T.


----------



## Piscesgirl (Feb 25, 2004)

Plants look like they are growing great! No algae at all?


----------



## Bert H (Mar 2, 2004)

Steve, it looks fantastic! I wouldn't have thought that would have remained algae free. Good job!


----------



## Sir_BlackhOle (Jan 25, 2004)

That tank looks good! Now you should let those plants grow up out of the water and see how they look!


----------

