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 L# Coldwater, Watergardens, and Ponds
  L# Outdoor Summer Tank
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SubscribeOutdoor Summer Tank
T/A
 
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Mega Fish
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male usa
This summer I plan on using a plastic storage container to move some plants and fish outside.
I'm leaning towards a container that is about 25 gallons.
My main goal is to have the plants grow a lot. I'll be using Hornwort & Willow Moss. The fish that I put in there will be used strickly for producing nitrates and other wastes that plants use.
In that size container(25 gallons) would 1 White Cloud, 1 Zebra Danio and 1 Platy produce enough nitrates to support quality plant growth?
Post InfoPosted 06-Apr-2006 06:59Profile PM Edit Report 
bettachris
 
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male usa
personallly i would go with a school of white clouds, as a school would be better than 1, and they handle a wider range of temps better. and to avoid mosquitos, i would go with some male mosquito eatters.
Post InfoPosted 07-Apr-2006 02:24Profile Homepage Yahoo PM Edit Delete Report 
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Mega Fish
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male usa
Well, thanks for your thoughts, but I won't be doing either of those.
This whole idea is to use what I already have, fish, plants, plastic container,...
I only have 1 WCMM and 1 ZD. They are both the sole survivers of their schools. And I don't plan on keeping either of these species once these two remaining fish are gone.

Would it be possible to maintain plant growth without fish in the container, by just adding different fish foods to the water? Or is there another way?
Post InfoPosted 07-Apr-2006 07:08Profile PM Edit Delete Report 
bettachris
 
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male usa
you can add a plant substrait to the base, i am not a plant expert, but i know that drfostersmith.com has under substraite, special plant iron rich gravel which will benefit your plants.
Post InfoPosted 08-Apr-2006 02:09Profile Homepage Yahoo PM Edit Delete Report 
gnr4ever8794
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male usa
Why not add a few rosey red feeders? They're cheap, and U.S. natives so they can handle about anything you throw at them weather wise.
Post InfoPosted 09-Apr-2006 18:32Profile Homepage AIM Yahoo PM Edit Delete Report 
bettachris
 
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i wouldn't go with that, only b/c they all tend to be sick and the last thing you would want is sick fish in there with the fishes they have already.
Post InfoPosted 09-Apr-2006 20:48Profile Homepage Yahoo PM Edit Delete Report 
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Mega Fish
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male usa
Although I wouldn't mind using some rosey red minnows or even just regular fatheads, what would I do with them when winter comes around again?
I wouldn't have room in any of my tanks for them.
That's the main reason for using some of the fish that I already have.


I guess I'll just give it try, once the weather is right. This setup will be on a 3rd story deck, if that will make any differnce. The house will shield the container from morning until just after noon. The plants should still get enough light, plus algae should be at a minimum since the container will only recieve about 6 hours of direct light.
Post InfoPosted 11-Apr-2006 05:48Profile PM Edit Delete Report 
Sideburns Dave
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male canada
you should use peat granules to plant in, it will tint the water and you will see less algae. Use small baskets for your plants.
Post InfoPosted 12-Apr-2006 19:01Profile MSN PM Edit Delete Report 
weird22person
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Why do you want to use fish to produce nitrates? Anyway you do it fish waste from 3 small fish will barely make a dent in the nutients needed for plant growth. You can add the fish if you want but the best way to achieve any niticable growth will be to use ferts or to use old water from an existing tank.

20 Gallon Long:
Aquaclear 300
2 Bolivian Rams, Mikrogeophagus altispinosus: Gumby and Pokey
Post InfoPosted 12-Apr-2006 21:04Profile AIM MSN PM Edit Delete Report 
T/A
 
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Mega Fish
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male usa
"you should use peat granules to plant in, it will tint the water and you will see less algae. Use small baskets for your plants."

Well I'm not actually going to plant these plants. I will be floating the Hornwort. And if I actually use this, Willow Moss will just be dropped in and allowed to grow were it pleases.


"Why do you want to use fish to produce nitrates? Anyway you do it fish waste from 3 small fish will barely make a dent in the nutients needed for plant growth. You can add the fish if you want but the best way to achieve any niticable growth will be to use ferts or to use old water from an existing tank."

Well since I have the fish already I just figured I'd use them to produce the nitrates that the plants need.
Thanks for mentioning about using old water from other tanks. I was thinking about trying that, so now that you mentioned it, I'll have to do that.
Post InfoPosted 13-Apr-2006 04:29Profile PM Edit Delete Report 
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