mcloughlin2 Posted March 7, 2011 Share Posted March 7, 2011 Hi everyone, There was some interest in this topic so i thought it might be an idea to start this thread about my outdoor cichlid pond. I live in Blacktown, NSW and started playing around with the concept of outdoor UNHEATED setups a few years ago when I had large numbers of fish and not enough room inside. The concept started with some baby guppies that were placed in various tanks and tubs and it turned out they not only survived, they thrive. They grew to adult size very fast in my larger ponds and had very nice colours. The idea soon enough left my mind as other ideas took place, however when I had a very problematic electric yellow male harrassing some frontosas I was trying to breed I decided he would have to fend for himself in my large koi pond (Now decommissioned). Soon enough he too was forgotten only for me to notice that some of my priced goldfish and koi had damaged fins and marks on there body. Puzzled I assumed it was something else until I spotted the now much bigger electric yellow swimming amoung the elodia. This was now around 4 months after I originally placed him in the pond and was cooling down outside (Late March). I caught him out and found room for him in a display tank. This setup was original a replacement goldfish/koi pond. My neighbour had stolen the idea of using rainwater tanks cut in half as pond setups and set one up for himself which had turned out to be a brilliant pond with very little work to setup a large volume pond. I only had the room for one measuring about 1.2m and ended up getting a pond with that was 1.1m across (Diameter) and approx. 1m deep. This gave me a volume of about 1000l give or take and due to the depth was quite good for maintaining temperature and koi. The koi and goldfish lasted over a year before a carp caught by a family member was placed in there and almost same day the UV light broke - needless to say disease struck the pond and all but one goldfish died. It was then decided all the excess cichlids I had would be placed in this pond as an experiment over summer. Here's pictures showing the pond in its place. So enough of the rambling, here are the specs. Pond was setup and first cichlids place in November. Once it was established that the hardier cichlids were fine in the pond some more sensitive varieties were placed in. Filtration is a 1500lph pressure filter run by a 2500lph pump. Water is pumped out of pond into the pressure filter where it passes through some sponges and large coral pieces before being returned to the pond via two outlets. There is very little current in the pond unless I turn the outlets to side in which case a circular current (Like a whirl pool) begins. The pond used to have a UV light and if it broke over summer it would turn black with algae (Thats another story). However I havnt bothered to replace the UV light over this summer and water has remained crystal clear, which I put down to the now very well established potted plants. Substrate of the pond is just normal washed river gravel. It is about 2" deep and is never vaccummed. Whenever I bother to stir it up it rarely clouds the water. I assume it is kept clean by the fish and bacteria that feed from the bottom. There are several rocks in the pond now I keep cichlids to provide breaks in the territories and there are two ponds for the plants. Fish currently in the pond include; White convicts Red empress Zebras Electric yellows Albino brichardi Auratus Frontosa Calvus Mainganos Demansonis Silver dollars Gouramis Guppies L333 Swordtails Bristlenose Sterbei corys (These dont like those cooler days though, these would be better suited to slightly warmer climates as the cold fronts knock them around) These fish are basically the left overs from various tanks or deals made. I will be shuttng down this setup quite soon. The last few colds days have seen the pond get too cold for most fish and they are becoming sluggish. Temperature remains stable above 20C providing we don't have cold periods going for any longer then 2-3 days. Over heat waves in summer the pond once again maintain a nice temperature of low - mid 20s unless the period extended longer then 3 days. Over the large heat wave most fish remained towards the lower sections of the pond where it remain in the low 20s. Oh, before I forget this setup is at the back of a shelter in my backyard with the area behind it fenced and the roof does not extend above it so it gets only a small amount of direct sunlight. I have also trialled a discus in this pond with the mentioned cichlids, unfortunately it died after a few weeks. I believe this to be related to lack of food as the other fish are all aggressive feeders. I think that covers most things. I will try to get better pictures over the next few days when it warms up and the fish become more active. I will also need a nice sunny day and be home to take the pictures when there is no glare (Or setup an umbrella to stop it) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcloughlin2 Posted March 7, 2011 Author Share Posted March 7, 2011 Sorry I forgot to upload the video, that will have to wait for another day. I should add that there are none of the baby swordtails and guppies I promised in view (That I can see). This is due to the bullrout floating in the container in the pond. The babies seek shelter in there because its full of plants and moss and get eaten! There are still some present but in no where near the numbers they were pre bullrout days. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bwah Posted March 7, 2011 Share Posted March 7, 2011 this is great! almost better than a tank in some respects and the fish would agree! you'll regret shutting it down Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cyber_crimes Posted March 7, 2011 Share Posted March 7, 2011 Love it mate. No problem with jumpers? I want to do the same and fill it with Leptosoma Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcloughlin2 Posted March 7, 2011 Author Share Posted March 7, 2011 Never noticed a jumper before, though if one wanted too I probably wouldn't notice. There is usually at least 4" from the top of the tank to the water level so it would need a big jump! this is great! almost better than a tank in some respects and the fish would agree! you'll regret shutting it down I will miss it, it has definately been my favourite freshwater setup. Like I've said elsewhere to see these fish co existing is pretty amazing and really shows that cichlids are not as aggressive as everyone thinks. Although alot of people may think not being able to see a side on of the fish is a negative it really isn't something I miss in this setup. You can still view the behavours. I won't however regret not getting the electricity bill if I did decide to heat this over winter. It would be impossible to insulate this style of setup and still maintain an attractive appearance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ctaylor Posted July 2, 2011 Share Posted July 2, 2011 This is fantastic... a great experiment... I'm picturing a new use for the solar heated swimming pool.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lepperfish Posted July 2, 2011 Share Posted July 2, 2011 COOL!!! Don't shut it down!! This is awesomesauce. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yogie Posted July 3, 2011 Share Posted July 3, 2011 Did you end up shutting it down? Would be interested in how to would heat this without a huge budget for the electricity bill! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Topogigio Posted July 3, 2011 Share Posted July 3, 2011 I was recently speaking to this guy at an irrigation shop here in Victoria (Essendon) and he was telling me how he insulated his aquaponics setup (with something that for the life of me i cant remember what he called it, foam something?) anyways the temperature he says was a steady 16 degress which I though was quite good, considering how cold it is now. He also said that he can get some super dupa aquaculture inline heaters which are meant to be the bomb. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ctaylor Posted July 3, 2011 Share Posted July 3, 2011 his aquaponics setup (with something that for the life of me i cant remember what he called it, foam something?) I was reading the post for the exact same reason, I have been playing with the idea of aquaponics for a few months, looking at the growth rates of both native fish and the produce, Was initially looking into it to see if I could bulk up the size of some of my catfish as I had heard of guys dropping crates of them in to dams to bulk their size up before shipping them overseas. Would be very interested in finding out what kind of insulation he was thinking about... I am definitely going to experiment with this in the future... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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