Outdoor Guppy Pond in Styrofoam Cooler

I became fascinated with the idea of keeping tropical fish outside this summer. While researching ways to do this, I came across some people making small outdoor "ponds" in styrofoam coolers. So I got one, filled it with water and extra plants, and added a few guppies. They have been thriving! The cooler is located on a part of my porch that gets morning sun and shade during the hottest part of the day. So far, with daily high temps near 100°F, the water temp has gotten no hotter then 80°F. Plants include: Guppy Grass, Hornwort, Java Moss, Java Fern, Anubias nana, Rosette Sword, Cryptocoryne wendtii 'green,' Duckweed, Giant Duckweed, Frogbit, and Salvinia minima. All plants are doing well, but the floaters especially have taken off.  Today, we added some more guppies and thought it would be a good idea to show how far this little "pond" has come in just a few weeks.

First Day: 5/28/15

The First Guppies

 A Few Potted Plants: Rosette Swords

and C. wendtii 'green'

6/5/15: Added divider to prevent floaters from covering the whole surface.

 6/7/15

Today: 6/10/15

Three New Guppies Added

I will update this as the summer goes on. I hope to get lots of beautifully colored guppies by the end of the summer. Look forward to a video soon on our youtube channel detailing this fantastic little "pond."

Thank you so much for reading. More videos coming soon on a new addition! Have a great week.

-Austin (Spialz)