r/miniponds

Was researching rice fish to add to a shrimp aquarium and stumbled upon the world of mini ponds.

I'd love to get a 30 to 40 gallon ceramic planter and do something on my patio. Unfortunately I live in the mountains out west (zone 6) with extreme heat, cold, arid conditions, low temps can reach -20 f. There are a couple small naturalized fish in my area, like mosquitofish and fathead minnows, but I don't live near many bodies of water and most local fish are either large stocked fish or are protected species.

I'm most interested in rice fish but dont know their cold tolerance. Alternatively mountain cloud minnows could work In low temps? Hardy goldfish breeds that don't get enormous? May grab a heater but don't know how efficient that would be in 40 gallons for anything other than keeping it above freezing.

interested in plant ideas too, especially floating plants, but there are a lot more local aqautic plants I can work with (cattails and watercress do just fine here)

Hi everyone! I’m planning to build a small aquatic ecosystem at my village house and would love some ideas from people experienced with Walstad / natural ponds.
I currently have a few options for the container:
An old plastic water tank that I can use as a tub
Buy a medium/large plastic tub
Build a small cement tank/pond specifically for this
My dream is to have something like a natural planted pond with fish, shrimp, snails, or whatever livestock would be suitable.
The biggest challenge is that this is at my village house, and I’ll only visit once every 1–2 months. So I won’t be able to:
Feed fish daily
Clean the tank regularly
Do frequent water changes
I’m hoping to create a stable biological ecosystem where plants, microorganisms, substrate, etc. do most of the work naturally.
I’m open to using a filter if it’s genuinely necessary, but ideally I’d love a no-filter / low-tech / natural setup.
What would you recommend for this situation?
Plastic tub vs cement tank?
What size would you recommend?
Which plants would work best?
What fish/shrimp/snails could survive with very little human intervention?
Would a Walstad-style setup work for this?
How should I design the substrate and ecosystem from the beginning?
What are the biggest risks if I’m away for 1–2 months?
Budget is also a consideration, so I’m looking for something practical rather than an expensive aquarium setup.
I’d really appreciate examples/photos of similar setups if anyone has them. Thanks! 🌱🐟