Hey guys, need some halp. A bit confused on what direction I should go. The baby common goldfish I rescued off of craigslist need to come out of that 10 gallon quarantine. No luck finding a home for them yet and I don't want them to get stunted since they seem to have grown a little even with a once a day or every 2 day feeding. I do believe that they may stay fairly small since they were kept in horrible conditions from the person I got them from and probably the store/supplier. Plus the fiance is attached to them and I will admit I'm getting that way too, cute friendly pieces of crap..... And daily water changes gets old after a month and I want my bathroom counter space back haha. 
Preferably I would like to complete this build for less than 100 bucks, 200 absolute max. I just don't have any cash to really spare and I don't want to keep being guilty of mooching fish money off the fiance.
Does anyone have ideas on how to make like the most ghetto cheap crappy above ground pond ever? It would need to be at least 55 gallons, preferably more since it will be a while before I can get them a regular big tank. I have seen those farm stock tanks and intex kiddie pools but they are a little bit pricey and most are too big to look good inside. Would a home depot food safe storage tub be tough enough to be filled with water or would it bust? Would a blowup kiddie pool be safe or will I need a pond liner? I would prefer that the pond would go out on the patio also, but I'm bit worried about the temperature. Lately here at night it drops into the low 50's and sometimes 40's. Day is usually around the 60's. Would commons survive that temp swing ok or would I need to build insulation/toss in a heater? I would be able to construct a cheap lid from mesh or plastic or something similar. Luckily no birds really come on the patio except for a finch that likes pecking around. I haven't seen any raccoons or cats or possums either even with trash kinda all over in this neighborhood. Another issue is the power supply to the pond. This apartment is so crappy that there's no power outlet outside (and several other issues that are driving me up the damn walls jesus I hate this place the more I look at it). I would probably have to risk an extension cord out the sliding door. Kinda sketch in this neighborhood lol so I would probably have to be home when the filters are running, think running it part of the day could work? Is there some sort of battery powered pump or cheap and good power pack (like those truck power inverters minus the truck) maybe? Would wiring one up be difficult? I also was thinking it might be best to do plant only biological filtration though with lots of water changes. I have an absolute buttload of hornwort in all my tanks right now. I can also find stuff like duckweed or water lettuce off craigslist, a couple people have em and I'm sure I can just find them on a hike too but IDK about them with the cold weather. Another issue with that, is that I face north, so ZERO sunlight hits the patio except like an hour or 2 in the summer, and this apartment is a depressing mushroom cave. The ambient light has been just enough to grow some green onions on the fence and snake plants and pothos indoors.
I suppose I could just build it indoors by moving my kitchen table outside to be a patio table since we rarely use it anyways. I'm just worried about evaporation because the cheap paint likes to leak surfactant if I don't use the fans in the shower and kitchen, and I wanna avoid tripping all over cords, and I don't really wanna risk putting another giant tank inside for liability reasons even though the landlord is ok with me having tanks, and etc.
Also, do you think a beat up freebie (if I can find one) 55-75 gallon just plopped on the concrete slab out there would work ok for at least 6 months? It seems fairly level luckily. The water here is free thank god, not worried at all about water changes. It may take us up to a year to move from this apartment depending on the fiance's work situation. I'm sure I can find them a good home eventually but they need to get out of that teeny 10 gallon like now. If I can just set up something temporarily that could be easily torn down and setup again as needed that would be pretty sweet.
Thoughts?
Preferably I would like to complete this build for less than 100 bucks, 200 absolute max. I just don't have any cash to really spare and I don't want to keep being guilty of mooching fish money off the fiance.
Does anyone have ideas on how to make like the most ghetto cheap crappy above ground pond ever? It would need to be at least 55 gallons, preferably more since it will be a while before I can get them a regular big tank. I have seen those farm stock tanks and intex kiddie pools but they are a little bit pricey and most are too big to look good inside. Would a home depot food safe storage tub be tough enough to be filled with water or would it bust? Would a blowup kiddie pool be safe or will I need a pond liner? I would prefer that the pond would go out on the patio also, but I'm bit worried about the temperature. Lately here at night it drops into the low 50's and sometimes 40's. Day is usually around the 60's. Would commons survive that temp swing ok or would I need to build insulation/toss in a heater? I would be able to construct a cheap lid from mesh or plastic or something similar. Luckily no birds really come on the patio except for a finch that likes pecking around. I haven't seen any raccoons or cats or possums either even with trash kinda all over in this neighborhood. Another issue is the power supply to the pond. This apartment is so crappy that there's no power outlet outside (and several other issues that are driving me up the damn walls jesus I hate this place the more I look at it). I would probably have to risk an extension cord out the sliding door. Kinda sketch in this neighborhood lol so I would probably have to be home when the filters are running, think running it part of the day could work? Is there some sort of battery powered pump or cheap and good power pack (like those truck power inverters minus the truck) maybe? Would wiring one up be difficult? I also was thinking it might be best to do plant only biological filtration though with lots of water changes. I have an absolute buttload of hornwort in all my tanks right now. I can also find stuff like duckweed or water lettuce off craigslist, a couple people have em and I'm sure I can just find them on a hike too but IDK about them with the cold weather. Another issue with that, is that I face north, so ZERO sunlight hits the patio except like an hour or 2 in the summer, and this apartment is a depressing mushroom cave. The ambient light has been just enough to grow some green onions on the fence and snake plants and pothos indoors.
I suppose I could just build it indoors by moving my kitchen table outside to be a patio table since we rarely use it anyways. I'm just worried about evaporation because the cheap paint likes to leak surfactant if I don't use the fans in the shower and kitchen, and I wanna avoid tripping all over cords, and I don't really wanna risk putting another giant tank inside for liability reasons even though the landlord is ok with me having tanks, and etc.
Also, do you think a beat up freebie (if I can find one) 55-75 gallon just plopped on the concrete slab out there would work ok for at least 6 months? It seems fairly level luckily. The water here is free thank god, not worried at all about water changes. It may take us up to a year to move from this apartment depending on the fiance's work situation. I'm sure I can find them a good home eventually but they need to get out of that teeny 10 gallon like now. If I can just set up something temporarily that could be easily torn down and setup again as needed that would be pretty sweet.
Thoughts?
