Butterfly

My banana plant (Nymphoides aquatica) is blooming. For the last several years I have put plants and fish outside in tubs. This is this years efforts at summer tubbin' ;
banana plant bloom

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fish_r_friend

cool pix I think i saw the same post over on plantgeek what kind of fish do you have in the tubs

Butterfly

Yes I posted it at plantgeek.net also In the bottom tub is a three yr old goldfish, an Albino Rhino plec and a couple of guppys with banana plants, anubias and water hyacinth. In the top tub is two angels and a platy with more banana plants and java moss. In the planter was three tadpoles who have turned to frogs with parrots feather, various crypts, java fern, chain swords. There are also several pieces if mint and lemon balm rooting in the water.
Carol

Marc

Cool! I didn't realize Banana plants even did that. :

Butterfly

Marc under the right conditinon banana plants will grow surface leaves and sometimes bloom. These already had surface leaves when I got them from Dino so he had done half the work for me already . A lump (node) formed about 2 inches down the stem from the leaf and about six little stems grew out of the lump and at the end of each stem was a white - five petaled bloom.
My crypts are in the box at the top, I'm hoping they will grow out of the water and bloom also, thats my summer tubbin' goal this year.
Carol

Isabella

That's a cute little plant Do you mean Carol that you take your goldfish and the pleco outside in the summer and keep them in containers shown in the pictures? Do you have filters over these containers? I suppose a heater isn't necessary as it's hot in the summer. But the temperature nevertheless must fluctuate a lot outside, especially when it's getting dark and at night, then again at dawn. Is that OK for tropical fish? That gave me an idea. Could I take one or two of my plants in a container and grow them outside in my backyard over the summer? In don't think I could take my neons or angels outside ... lol. They'd get sick from sudden temperature drop at night, wouldn't they?

P.S. Do you have something in the containers to provide hiding places and shaded areas for the fish? It must be too hot to be in the sun all day for fish. Also, doesn't the sunlight, all day long, raise the temperature of the water to be way too hot?

Butterfly

Isabella this is what first hooked me on putting plants and fish out for the summer. The article is old enough that the pictures are unfortunately not still there. If you want to see mine I'd be glad to post them
http://www.plantgeek.net/forum/viewt...=summer+tubbin
This is the third summer the goldfish has gone outside and the second for this particular pleco. Their colors get much brighter and they eat like pigs. Even the colors on the angels in the top tub intensify dramatically.
Our temperatures stay pretty steady once it gets warm it stays there.There are lots of plants and rocks in the tubs for shelter.
The tubs are 25 G each and the planter holds 10-15 so thats 60-65 gallons of circulating water, this helps to cool and oxygenate the water. there is also an extra pump in the bottom tank that makes a little fountain of water. The top tub is almost completely in eh shade and the bottom is in the sun only a short time.
there are six fish in the tubs total, 1 goldfish, 1 Albino Rhino plec, 2 angels 1 guppy and 1 platy, so the ratio of fish to water is fairly low. I love putting plants out they multiple faster than I can use them and at the end of the summer I have lots of extras. But this years goal is to see how many will go emersed and bloom.
Now to answer your question: yes you could put plants out side for the summer but if your not going to put fish out(lots of people use guppys or mosquito fish) then you will need to feed them. thanks for teh interest
Carol

Gunnie

Wow!

Isabella

It has to be so much fun! I'd love to try that After all ... what can be better than sun, the only natural light there is? Also, constant availability of fresh air probably also plays a big role. Only I don't think I could do that with the temperatures we get here, and with how suddenly the temperature where I live can drop at night. During the day it can reach 85-90F but feels like 95-100F because of humidity. Then at night .... while it is still humid and hot, the temperature drops dramatically, as there is no sun to warm up the air and the ground. Here is a typical summer week in NYC:

Friday: 89F day, 72F night
Saturday: 87F day, 69F night
Sunday: 91F day, 72F night
Monday: 97F day, 76F night
Tuesday: 98F day, 73F night
Wednesday: 92F day, 74F night
Thursday: 92F day, 73F night

All of the above are only in terms of temperature, EXCLUDING humidity. Humidity makes it feel 5-10 degrees hotter than it actually is. This particular week is pretty stable, but beginning next Saturday it will be 84F day and 69F night - a rather sudden transition from Thursday which is 92F day, 73F night.

Is such a weather pattern safe for keeping fish like neons and angels outside during the summer? If yes, is it safe to keep the containers with fish directly in the sun (all day)? (With plants and rocks to provide shade.) Won't the sun raise the temperature too much? I bet the water would be around 90F ... won't they die in water this hot? This is because the air in NYC is HOT ... the air itself! It's not just sun ... but humidity makes the air itself very hot, even when you sit in a shaded area. There's just nowhere to hide from heat in NYC in the summer, unless you go home and turn your A/C on (or if you have central A/C). Or should I keep them in shade all day (if it would be safe for me to keep them outside)? But if I do that, the plants will get no sunlight ...

Butterfly

Do you have a place that gets a little morning light but is in the shade the rest of the day? that could work for you
Carol

Isabella

I suppose I could find such a place in my backyard. So, will even 10 degree temperature drops over a 24-hour period be OK for my fish? I always hear how careful one has to be about changing the temperature in your tank - but now I hear about this "Summer Tubbing". SO after all, it's not dangerous for fish when the temperature drops or goes up a few degrees during the day/night? I wonder then ... should I even keep my heaters on in my tanks during the summer? If sudden temperature drops won't hurt the fish outside ... why should they hurt the fish inside?

Isabella

Oh no ... there's no way I am taking my fish out this summer. I had 98F IN SHADE in my backyard today, and in the sun it was 105F. I don't want to fry my fish, no way ...

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Butterfly

Isabella I'm so sorry i didn't realize intil now you had asked a question.
When the temps drop inside usually they drop under 80F and almost all the nasties (ich,fungus etc.) thrive at temps under 80F and die over 80F. Out side the temps in the summer are not under 80F even when they fluctuate. The conditions(temps, rain, light) are closer to nature and frequently stimulate spawning. Since my tubs get enough shade they don't get too hot either.
Carol

Isabella

LOL ... that's OK I didn't even remember that question, lol. But thanks