Streetwise Vermont Outdoors

[Streetwise]

I setup some tubs this year, so I would have an outdoor way to visit my folks and share my hobby. I set these up just like my organic soil Walstad aquariums. This is a boring video of the process:

 

Edited July 23, 2020 by Streetwise

[Bill Smith]

Good stuff! I'm thinking of setting up about 6 such tubs with various stuff in them. Being that I'm in Southern California, I can keep them going year-round with a bubble filter of some kind and a heater!!

[Streetwise]

I did a tub checkup on Thursday, but I haven't gotten a polarizing filter yet, so it wasn't worth filming, but I really wanted to do something outdoors.

I spend most summers sailing after work on Lake Champlain, but not so much this year. I decided to take a bit of a hike and film the lake and some dinghy racing that was going on. It turned out to be a really nice day. I just put down the tripod, and relaxed. When the battery was about to die, I did a little walk back. Cheers.

 

Edited July 26, 2020 by Streetwise

[Streetwise]

I got a chance to visit the outdoor tubs today. My 80+ parents have been good at feeding them. Cheers.

 

[Streetwise]

I am starting to prepare for winter. Initially, I planned to bring the tubs down into my folks’ basement, but I don’t think my 80-year old mom was happy about choosing a place for them, so I suggested getting a 15 gallon tank for the entryway. I hadn’t heard back, but I went and picked up a black silicone 15 and a matching stand, and brought them over.

To my surprise, they suggested using a bigger table in the living room with a larger tank, because they wanted to watch the White Clouds, snails, and Neo shrimp that they have been taking care of all summer!

I’m going to keep the 15 in case I move, but tomorrow I’ll go pickup a 29 gallon or maybe larger. Hopefully it will fit all the Mopani wood, and maybe even the moss island!

Cheers

[DaveSamsell]

3 hours ago, Streetwise said:

I am starting to prepare for winter. Initially, I planned to bring the tubs down into my folks’ basement, but I don’t think my 80-year old mom was happy about choosing a place for them, so I suggested getting a 15 gallon tank for the entryway. I hadn’t heard back, but I went and picked up a black silicone 15 and a matching stand, and brought them over.

To my surprise, they suggested using a bigger table in the living room with a larger tank, because they wanted to watch the White Clouds, snails, and Neo shrimp that they have been taking care of all summer!

I’m going to keep the 15 in case I move, but tomorrow I’ll go pickup a 29 gallon or maybe larger. Hopefully it will fit all the Mopani wood, and maybe even the moss island!

Cheers

@StreetwiseIt won't be long here either in the mountains of Pennsylvania, in seeing some frost in the next couple of weeks or so.  Time goes by so fast it seems.  It feels like just yesterday was the 4th of July, lol.  

[Streetwise]

I went to visit my folks today to setup a new network appliance/AP, and check on the tubs. I'm going to setup a 29 gallon or 40 breeder in their living room to move the White Clouds and Neo shrimp inside. I filmed a quick clip of my mom feeding the tubs. I was wondering why she was asking for more Xtreme Nano!

 

Edited September 7, 2020 by Streetwise

[Streetwise]

I will be breaking these down soon and moving the shrimp and White Clouds inside. I learned a few things with my first summer running tubs.

I impulse-bought a high-light sword from an LFS employee for the tubs. Candi said don’t cut it up; another aquarium friend said go for it. I cut it up to fill multiple tubs, and I cut the roots down for easy planting.

Candi was right, and the tubs were in the shade. The swords rotted all summer and never established. If I run tubs next summer, I will stick to lower light plants, and put the tubs in better-lit outdoor places.

The White Clouds and Neos are so hardy that I only lost one shrimp who climbed out.

I’m going to move everything inside to a 20 or 29 gallon, and take my lessons. My 80+ folks are looking forward to an indoor tank after taking care of these tubs over the summer, so that is very nice.

Edited September 11, 2020 by Streetwise
Details

[Streetwise]

Final photos before I pull the plants and wood. Bittersweet, I must say.

Edited September 20, 2020 by Streetwise

[Rikostan]

I've so many outdoor tubs and ponds over the past few months. Informational posts like yours have motivated me to look into for next year!

[Streetwise]

Thank you @Rikostan

Planted tanks got me back into the hobby, and I'm enjoying running ecosystems. It was really cool having tubs outside this summer. Next year, I hope to start much earlier, and also plant smarter relative to the sunlight.

Edited September 20, 2020 by Streetwise

[Streetwise]

I made a trip to the shoreline of Lake Champlain recently:

 

[Dancing Matt]

I am thinking through tubs for this spring and one thing I have been noticing is that people seem to be doing fine without an air stone, has that been your experience? I have a shallow container (over 30 gal) that I want to use for white clouds but will have some difficulty running air to it... I am also tempted to try a dirted substrate capped with a mixed gravel, would I need sand also/instead?

[Streetwise]

@Dancing Matt, I had a lot of fun running my tubs with just nature and a little food. You might be able to stock more, or keep more sensitive species, with an air-stone or sponge filter. My bio load was very small with young White Clouds, and Neocaridina.

If you want to try organic soil, it can be really rewarding. I tend to use 1.5 inches of soil, but my cap recipes have evolved with each new tank or tub, gradually getting smaller. I am currently doing a thin layer of gravel, like Peace River.

I would really recommend getting Diana Walstad's book, The Ecology of the Planted Aquarium. 

She talks about testing soil and cap with a bottle test:

“Before setting up the tank, hobbyists can test the soil beforehand by setting up a “bottle test”. I put ½ cup of soil in a bottle, cover it with ½ cup of gravel, and carefully add water without disturbing the two layers. The hobbyist can see beforehand how the soil will behave once submerged or whether it generates severe water turbidity. A good soil should not.”

Excerpt From: Diana Louise Walstad. “Ecology of the Planted Aquarium.” Apple Books. https://books.apple.com/us/book/ecology-of-the-planted-aquarium/id661029773

[Streetwise]

I moved my 20 gallon tubs indoors last fall, and it was awkward getting them inside. I want to do outdoor stuff on a yearly basis, and I don't want to move tubs twice a year.

From now on, I am going to use buckets, commercial food containers, or small tanks, which I can carry without draining water.

Edited February 21, 2021 by Streetwise
This is for Vermont weather.

[FrozenFins]

Look forward to seeing what your doing with your outdoor tubs!

Was curious if you do anything for a overflow system?

Edited March 17, 2021 by JamesB

[Streetwise]

I have a new reason to be excited about this summer! I watched @Bob's recent video of @Cory's outdoor pond, and got really inspired. My cousin and her family live in a really cool spot near Camel's Hump in Vermont. About 15-20 years ago, they put in an artificial pond with an overflow system, so they could swim and enjoy nature. I'm not sure of the size, but it is 20 feet deep in the center!

I've been having a hard week (year), and I texted my cousin with a long-shot idea. They agreed to let me add Neocaridina shrimp and White Cloud Mountain Minnows to the pond!

I hope to film and photograph some cool stuff for the forum.

Cheers!

[Isaac M]

Wow that is so beautiful! Please keep us updated on how the neos and white clouds do. Thank you sharing @Streetwise, I always enjoy your posts! 

[Streetwise]

I found out that their now-adult kids put carp in the pond years ago. I’m going to evaluate the pond edges for cover and hiding spots, and perhaps add some wood that carp can’t get into. This will be a big experiment!

[Isaac M]

Oh my, it will definitely be interesting to see how this plays out. Hopefully they can breed enough to keep their population going. 

[Streetwise]

I hope by carp, they meant Koi! I will still have to think about how to let the White Clouds and Neocaridina survive with larger fish, even though I trust these species for the cold. I may be dropping in large pieces of wood to shallow parts of the pond.

[Isaac M]

It would not be possible to block off a small area where you can add them and as they breed, they can venture out of the small area on their own? 

[Streetwise]

@Isaac M, that is a terrific idea. I have thought about measuring the height of the overflow tube that you see in the distance and burying my tubs below that level.

However, I would like to just give away those tubs, and see what I can achieve with woodsy cover. I would like to try to have some Neocaridina and WCMM thrive at the perimeter, and survive under ice.

 

[Isaac M]

@Streetwise I do not see why it would not work, at lakes and rivers, you always see the minnows and baby fish at the perimeter of the water. I would just imagine that you would need to add enough fish and shrimp to start the colony. And add some driftwood around the perimeter in the open areas. 

[Streetwise]

I just had an awesome first day on the water. My friend took out her standup paddle board, and I took a rowboat and we explored the shoreline of Shelburne Bay on Lake Champlain. I also collected some plants, and would love some help identifying them!