Greeting, aquarists. I have a small (30 gal tall maybe? Forget) tropical plant tank with laterite under the gravel and a home-grown C02 setup, and a few tetras/zebra danios/cory cat that is doing really well. A while ago I got a plastic pack of "Water Lily" bulbs from PetSmart, and one of them sprouted, and it is turning into a massive plant with large, reddish, crinkled leaves, covering much of the surface already. I'm afraid it will shade out everything else, and I'd like to move it elsewhere, but am not sure where/how. My alternatives are a 20 long that's not currently set up, or a 250 gallon pond in the garden with a hardy lily, a fountain, and some large goldfish.

Would this beautiful lily, that is currently growing in 70 degree water, suffer if it went out in the pond, with our weather currently ranging from 45-85 degrees? Would it do well in the 20 gal set up outside with a heater, so I could use the sun for lighting, or would it really be best in an inside tank? Do you have any suggestions for digging it out of its current location without damaging the roots too much? With good care, can I expect this plant to last for several years? I'm trying to decide if what I really should do is set up a tank with marginal and emergent plants, in either the 20 gal or a 50 gal (that I have no good spot for but...)?

Thanks in advance!