1/2 Barrel - gravel and plants question

On 22 Aug 2005 02:13:04 -0700, wrote:

Thanks for the replies so far.

It sounds like I can get either the small river rock pebbles or the pea
gravel from the construction section. Which one is better? Is the
pebble smooth surface preferred or gravel rough surface? Anything
related to beneficial bateria here?

Still debating about the sunken pots vs lining the bottom of the barrel
with soil, how thick a layer of soil do I need? Can I use regular
nursery pots instead of the aquatic pots (more holes). It might be
easier to plant with the bottom soil layed out than having about a
gallon pot for each plant, right?

I am thinking of using a regular nursery pot up side down and cutting a
door out for the fish to hide in the shade and also use as a "plant
shelf".

I have trouble locating a dwarf water lily. Can I get a regular water
lily? Where do I look for these because aquarium stores don't sell
floating plants.

I have read about they don't like ripples, the pump valve adjustable
and I am running it for aeration, I could make it very gentle if
needed.

I am in Northern California do you think I can run it during the winter
here? It might get to 32F at the coldest point of the year, but with
the fountain pump I don't think it would freeze.

Thanks again


Some notes:

Larger rocks are easier to remove & replace when cleaning, and they
hold less sludge. I use 1-2-inch river rocks in my barrel pond,
thinking of removing those, too.

If you do the inverted pot with a cutout, run a lighter flame over the
cut edges after making the cut. This will round the edge of the
plastic so the fish won't get cut while passing through.

Water lilies can be found in any nursery that sells pond plants. There
are also native lilies that can be found in local ponds. In addition,
my local Lowes and Home Depot sells them.

I wouldn't put a layer of soil in the bottom for the same reasons soil
isn't used in aquariums. Fish sewage builds up and becomes toxic. Rock
can be rinsed and reused, soil can't.

HTH
Mike


Mike Patterson
Please remove the spamtrap to email me.
"I always wanted to be somebody...I should have been more specific..." - Lily Tomlin

Thanks for all the replies.

I found some aquatic soil made by schultz and it is a clay granite, not
muddy stuff like I thought so I am going to use that, and then a layer
aquarium gravel over it. I am trying to keep the tank clean as
possible here, my liner is 20 gallon.


I found some 4" square black nursery pots, can I use these for now,
plants don't always need to be in a gallon pot, right? Since it would
take up a lot of space in a 26" round barrel, the 4" pot and some 6"
round pint pots I found should be ok.

Aquatic soil says shade cloth can be used to line the pots, which is a
plastic material and I have some so that is what I am going to do.

About the goldfish do I have to feed them? I am planning a 10 day
vacation next month. To create a better eco system (if we could call
it that) should I add a piece of river rock or aqurium rock for algae
and beneficial bacteria to grow?

wrote in message
ups.com...

About the goldfish do I have to feed them? I am planning a 10 day
vacation next month. To create a better eco system (if we could call
it that) should I add a piece of river rock or aqurium rock for algae
and beneficial bacteria to grow?
=========================
The beneficial algae will grow on everything under the water so adding a
rock wont matter that much. If you only have 2 small goldfish they may find
enough to eat for 10 days. I know mine wouldn't. We leave our fish for
long weekends but any longer than that and I have someone come over and feed
them at least every other day.
--
McKoi.... the frugal ponder...
EVERYONE: "Please check people's headers for forgeries
before flushing." NAMES ARE BEING FORGED.
~~~ }((((o ~~~ }{{{{o ~~~ }(((((o
http://www.hyphenologist.co.uk/killf..._troll_faq.htm

"Reel Mckoi" wrote in message
...

wrote in message
ups.com...

About the goldfish do I have to feed them? I am planning a 10 day
vacation next month. To create a better eco system (if we could call
it that) should I add a piece of river rock or aqurium rock for algae
and beneficial bacteria to grow?
=========================
The beneficial algae will grow on everything under the water so adding a
rock wont matter that much. If you only have 2 small goldfish they may
find enough to eat for 10 days. I know mine wouldn't. We leave our fish
for long weekends but any longer than that and I have someone come over
and feed them at least every other day.
--
I dunno....I had a goldfish in a barrel for five years and never fed him a
thing. Thought he might be a little lonely but otherwise he did fine.

--
J.D. Stone
http://www2.itexas.net/jdstone

Really, and just what scientific method did you use to come up with
the 10 days or is this just your opinion?

On Mon, 22 Aug 2005 21:45:12 -0500, "Reel Mckoi"
wrote:

===
wrote in message
glegroups.com...
===
=== About the goldfish do I have to feed them? I am planning a 10 day
=== vacation next month. To create a better eco system (if we could call
=== it that) should I add a piece of river rock or aqurium rock for algae
=== and beneficial bacteria to grow?
============================
===The beneficial algae will grow on everything under the water so adding a
===rock wont matter that much. If you only have 2 small goldfish they may find
===enough to eat for 10 days. I know mine wouldn't. We leave our fish for
===long weekends but any longer than that and I have someone come over and feed
===them at least every other day.


==============================================
Put some color in your cheeks...garden naked!
"The original frugal ponder"
~~~~ }((((o ~~~~~~ }{{{{o ~~~~~~~ }(((((o