Could this work?

Question
I'm soon getting this water feature, and it's a stone trough with a little cascading waterfall. It's really nice but it would look better with fish.

The trough holds 20 gallons. It doen't have a filter so to speak, but it has a tube about 1-inch wide that sucks the water from the trough and takes the water up to the waterfall. Then the water falls gently down into the trough. The water is really well aerated.

I really want to put fish in it, but I have 2 questions:

~ Could I adapt the tube to function like a filter? If yes, how?

~If possible, what fish could I keep in it and how many?

Thanks tons!  

Answer
Hi Prue;

You could attach a filter to the intake tube. You will have to check in your local home and garden center or fish store that sells pond supplies. The type of filter I have in mind is a plastic mesh box with filter media inside to catch the fish waste and grow beneficial bacteria colonies there that eats fish waste.

I would keep cold water fish in it, even if it's indoors. Most homes don't get above 70 most of the time and tropicals need 75 or higher consistently 24 hours a day. Three young goldfish would be appropriate and will grow plenty large in there as long as you make regular water changes to keep the water quality good. Goldfish get 6 to 8 inches long and live to be 10 or more years old. Even with a filter, you will have to replace 25% of the water every week, just like in an aquarium.

Followups welcome

At Your Service;
Chris Robbins

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