New Lily Barrel!

[Frisbee]

So I finally got approved to get a pond barrel! I ordered some Egyptian sacred blue water lilies and assorted lotus seeds (they have not arrived yet cause I just ordered them last night) then I got a big bucket/barrel thing and mixed some soil and fine gravel/large sand for a nice heavy substrate. I then added a layer of river rocks and began to fill with water. It was pretty murky and some debris where floating on the top, so I skimmed most of the debris out and removed a few gallons of the murky water and continued to fill. It's not as murky as it was, but I still quite murky. My plan is to just add water lilys and pond snails till summer comes around and the masquitos start breeding, then ask to add some fish for the sake of eating the masquito larvae. (It's all about getting more fish right? lol). What do you guy think? Will this work? Do I need a heater to prevent the Lily barrel from freezing over? I know the pond snails could handle that, but not so sure about the lilies.

 

[SM1199]

That sounds like a neat idea! You could consider overwintering your lilies somewhere indoors. I'm honestly not sure how cold lilies can tolerate, but I'd imagine if it doesn't reach too low, they'd just come back next year. If you're concerned you could get a small pond heater of some sort.

 

[Frisbee]

That sounds like a neat idea! You could consider overwintering your lilies somewhere indoors. I'm honestly not sure how cold lilies can tolerate, but I'd imagine if it doesn't reach too low, they'd just come back next year. If you're concerned you could get a small pond heater of some sort.

That's kinda what I was thinkin, I'm more concerned about the lotus, cause that would never fit in my indoor fish tank so I would have to leave it outside even during our usual snow storm (we usually get about 6 inches to a foot every year). The pond will be in the greenhouse, so it won't get direct snow fall, it will just freeze over a few times a year, that's why I'm thinkin a small pond heater.

 

[SM1199]

That's kinda what I was thinkin, I'm more concerned about the lotus, cause that would never fit in my indoor fish tank so I would have to leave it outside even during our usual snow storm (we usually get about 6 inches to a foot every year). The pond will be in the greenhouse, so it won't get direct snow fall, it will just freeze over a few times a year, that's why I'm thinkin a small pond heater.

Even better - I was under the impression it would be fully outside. Sounds like they'd do great just with a small pond heater. Good luck, and make sure to show us all once it's set up!