Pond Boss Forums AQUATIC VEGETATION Balance of plants in the environment More grasses... in 250g totes?

I was curious if anyone had tried something like this.

I'd like to get more natural grass cover, putting it in sections of the pond it currently isnt but has lots of fry especially, without letting it go nuts.

Has anyone ever gotten a large tote filled with vegetation of anykind and sunken it? Have a guide on doing it? Photos?

CityDad , I haven't but I would really like to do the same thing with eelgrass. I'm just not sure if it spreads by seed or roots.

If I did that, this is what I would use.

40 gallon stock tank

I can usually get the used 275 gallon totes around here for $20-$50. The price seems to depend on the nastiness of the residual product that needs to be scrubbed out.

They should be easier to clean if you are cutting off the top.

I see people using them for a million different options. I have quite a few set up at the farm as drip irrigation reservoirs for new trees. The cages ARE NOT rusting in that scenario. I hope the cages would last a few years immersed in the pond.

Ideas: I think you could use them for plants at several different pond "elevations". You can cut off the plastic shell at your preferred height and still use the cage.

For "wet foot" shore plants you could set the tote at the shoreline and open the bottom valve for wet soil at the roots and dry soil above.

For shallow water plants, you could put good topsoil in the tub and set it at your preferred water depth. You could probably even fence the cage to keep turtles out - small fish in as needed.

Finally, you could probably support the shell off of the bottom of the cage with some "floor joists". You could put in appropriate soil for water plants and make the soil depth at the optimum water depth. The lower part of the tote cage in the water would be both fish structure and fish shade.

Obviously - I really like your idea. I may have to pick up another set of totes the next time somebody is selling them at a good price!

Fire- I was going to use 55g barrels or 250g totes since I can get em farily cheap p easily. Ive got a 250g right now that I had a few ideas for, and I think this is the one that might stick. Unless I make that water tower first... Remember I have a LOT of pond to work with, I can go big with anythinng I can afford to

I have been hanging 5 gallon buckets off my dock to grow lilies, water primrose, pond weed, and lotus. This is small scale compared to your larger totes/barrels, but seems to work well for me. I do this to keep the crawdads from destroying them. I have had good success with two of the hybrid lilies, marginal success with the water primrose, the jury is still out on last years lotus, and the APW may or may not reappear this season...the occasional craw that somehow gets into the bucket (hanging several feet off the bottom) can really do a lot of damage to the APW in one day.

If your soil in the pond is fertile and the plants you choose spread by seed or fragmentation, they will get out and spread. The soil in my buckets tends to diminish over the course of the year and I add an additional 1/2 to 1 gallon in the spring to top it off. My buckets have holes in the sides at the desired soil level that way I can pull them up and check them for craws and general inspection. This my not be a concern for permanent placement however, but should you choose to pull a "tote gone dead" out of the pond...holes at the soil level will make it lighter as you get it out of the water. You may find that you should fertilize the totes of soil regularly depending on the fertility of your water and the plant's needs.

QA- I'm not super worried about spreading, the water drops off sharply a lot in the areas I want more protection for small fish, so this stuff would be hard pressed to prosper in these areas, especially after it fills upwhich is most of the reason for the totes/barrels. Does that make sense? Going to try to match plants from stores with what I have so I'm not introducing new species.