Thanks! I need to get some of those for my little tank. The cannas are growing well, but I just found out they have the canna virus and should be destroyed.

Bummer. My little lysimachia experiment is going okay. Nothing too great but they are growing in their little pot floating in the pond. The ones on land are doing much better with lots of little yellow flowers. I mulched around that bed to try to keep them plants moist as it drains pretty sharply.

When I get some, I'll try some in the water, and more of it in some pots and in the ground. The flowers sound pretty!

The ones in the ground are finally jumping forward and are covered with lovely yellow flowers. The fellows in the pond not so much but I do see growth. I need to climb in the pond and put in some plant tabs. It's the only way I can get to them. A little tricky as the bottom is not even and very very slippery.

That sounds like an adventure!
Do you know if the plant tabs are ok to use with fish? Or maybe I won't need them with all the fish waste.

Oh yes. The tabs are made for ponds with plants and fish. I got them from Texas Water lilies and have used them for several years. Just don't use them often enough. I have also used the stakes that you put into the pots that are supposed to slow release all summer. Water celery and marsh marigolds are going gang busters. So while I have no flowers they do provide health for the pond and fish through their roots.

That's good to know. I'll check them out.
I had fancy goldfish last year, but the winter killed them off. I think there wasn't enough oxygen for them and the temp went too low for them. This week, I'm getting mosquito fish. They are cheap and hardy and will keep the mosquito larvae eaten. We're already seeing the wigglers in the water.

Did you keep a hole open in the ice (assuming you had ice)? To degass the water? I run a pump all winter pulling water from the deeper end where the fish sleep to the shallow end, 'lofting' it by about 2' to introduce oxygen. The fish sleep in deep caves (I have no idea how big but 20 fish sleep there, ranging from the big guy who is over a foot long and girthy to the smaller fellows about 3-4" long.) All survived this last winter.

I have had big outdoor ponds in the past, but now all I have is an 800 gallon holding tank in my greenhouse. It keeps the temps in there more stable and helps keep the humidity higher. It has a solar aerator which only runs when it's sunny. It doesn't have any other filtration or heating. Right now the water is around 80 degrees, but it goes down to about 55 degrees in winter. No ice, due to a small heater in the greenhouse during the winter.

That's great that your fish all survived the winter. I'd love to have nicer fish, but would need to add more aeration, filtration and heating. Here are some pics from last year:

What a neat idea to have the 'pond' in your greenhouse. Talk about symbiosis. Ummmm. Is that the correct word. The water and plants help each other with heat exchange and humidity. Our environments are so very different. But such a fun hobby.

I agree, it really is a fun hobby. I'd love to have another outdoor pond but we are on top of a hill now. There are natural ponds down below us, but they have all dried up due to the drought. It's really sad because so many different critters used it daily. The tank is an integral part of this style of greenhouse.
http://geodesic-greenhouse-kit...