r/miniponds

First mini pond build for me, so feel free to tell me what I could improve!

For the pond, I added a thin layer of soil, then a thick layer of lava rock.
I removed most of the soil from the plants and placed them bare-rooted directly into the lava rock.

Originally, I wanted medaka, but my local fish store advised against them and told me that Notropis would handle winters better in my area.
So I ended up getting 5 Notropis!

I wasn’t planning on keeping Notropis, so any advice is welcome.
I know they like highly oxygenated water, and I’m planning to add a small solar-powered bubbler.

Do they need sand, or is lava rock okay for them?

I’m also a bit concerned about the volume. The pond currently holds around 60 liters, and the seller told me that would be fine for them. Is that really okay long term?
If not, they can always go into my parents’ 7000L pond.

Feel free to share any advice or improvements for my mini pond setup!

I don't think I can pretend that I don't detect any ammonia. The pond has been running for 3 weeks.
My fish come in today. I have tanks I can put the fish in but I was really hoping I wouldn't have to acclimate them twice.

I currently have a 45 gallon mini pond set up with medaka and a bog filter. Getting excited to upgrade my set up. Just have to line this bad boy first!!!!

I’m in sunny South Florida, any idea what fish I should stock in it?

It's been up and running for about 6 years, I love sitting by it to watch the fish!

Mini-Pond 'Hoardiculture' For Apartment Dwellers

An in-ground pond isn't possible for most apartment and condo dwellers. Container water gardening is a viable alternative for patios, balconies, or backyards. A single tub garden can become the focal point of your outdoor space - Or, you can get totally out of control like The Waterlily Bear and build two dozen tub water gardens!🪷🧸🪷

Submersible LED pond lights can be a great addition to your water garden set up! A dirt cheap replacement pump for my bamboo Zen fountain included a little RGB submersible ring light for a color changing glow. Awesome!🪷🌈💡

This mini pond is about 30” wide and 20” deep. I went plant shopping yesterday totally NOT looking for a pond plant and then fell in love with this water lily. I’m wondering if I can make it fit or if this will end up like the step sister in Cinderella trying to make the glass slipper fit 😂
Is it ok if some of the leaves are partially out of water? Or do I need to start planning a bigger pond?

Started a mini pond over a month ago and suddenly became addicted. I made another one. I can’t stop, I have minnows in one and two goldfish in the other.
There’s a gator in there. What should I name him?

We’ve had this plastic container set up as a mini pond since early April. It holds around 200L of water and currently has a few medaka, pond snails and aquatic plants. Over the past weeks temperatures were around 16°C on average. Our garden faces south/southwest, although trees behind the house provide shade during the hottest part of the day.

What I find interesting is that several very warm and sunny days, we barely have any string algae. However, the water itself is slowly becoming greener.

Could this simply be because the pond is still young and biologically “maturing”, or could something else be causing it?

Another thing I noticed: algae growth only appears lower on the walls of the container, not directly near the top/waterline. There’s a green band forming a bit deeper underwater. The water level has always remained the same (up to the overflow hole), so it’s not an waterline mark.

Does anyone know why algae would grow in this specific pattern, and whether this is normal for a young mini pond?

I’ve made a very cheap and simple patio pond. The container is a 27 gallon plastic tote, which cost me about 10$ from the local box store. Inside I have an air bubbler and floating solar fountain. In the middle, planted in a terracotta pot is a tiger lotus. There’s java fern and Anubis from a fish tank I tore down in there too. The floaters are from the local canal. I have a few mosquito fish which have just given birth darting around as well. Nothing but floaters in the smaller pot to the side. Might have to do something with that soon. 55$ all in I’d say.