Need pond buddy.

[4x6x2gold]

 I am looking for someone with a pond similar to mine to get advice on various questions I have. I live in Ottawa and this summer built a 4x6x2 pond with a liner, skimmer and bio-filter in the waterfalls. I have 4 fish. two shubunkins and 2 comets. Anyone have something similar and lots of experience to share?

[asmackay]

I put in a pond that size last year and a bigger one last year, both over wintered fine with fish under the ice.  See my sig. for pictures.

What questions to you have.

[4x6x2gold]

Right now most of my questions have to do with wintering, because I am not sure if I can winter my goldfish or not, due to depth of 2 ft. Is your pond 2 ft deep too? I will attend a workshop on winterizing my pond this weekend and will probably have some questions answered. Another opion may be good too. Especially by someone who has done it. I bought a de-icer and a smaller backup pump that I found at Lowes for about 85% off. I was thinking of trying out the de-icer and putting the smaller pump in pond on plant shelf to help move water. I assume I will have to bring in waterfall pump for winter and drain tubes (how?) and waterfall weir. I assume I do this once water is below 45F. What do you do?

Also I have plants, my water lettuce is yellow and my water hyacinth are turnign black and never bloomed. I know I will be throwing them out come winter anyway, but when? I alos have and arrow head and some kind of reed-like thing. I think I can sink them below the surface and cut them back. I have some water mint that actually is the best looking plant in the pond, I was wondering if I can keep in in a bowl for the winter inside. How come you can't do the samt with water lettuce and hyacinth?

Any help would be appreciated. I have googled these questions, but answers are not necessarily climate specific.

[Anja]

Right now most of my questions have to do with wintering, because I am not sure if I can winter my goldfish or not, due to depth of 2 ft.

We have a small pond, too - about 250G. Ours is 2' deep, and we regularly overwinter our goldfish (regular and comet) and fathead minnows without mishaps. I don't think I'd try overwintering Fancies outside. Also, our goldfish spawned this year, and I'm thinking of taking the juvies out, depending how big they'll be when I check on them. If they're too small, I don't think they'll make it thru the winter. They need a certain body mass to survive those fasting months.

Talking of fasting, we don't feed our pondfish on a regular basis; they find enough on their own, but it's fun, so we do it occasionally. We switch to a high protein food when the water temp goes below 15°C and stop feeding at around 10°C.

As for de-icer, we only use ours when the airpump/bubble stone can't keep a hole open in the ice anymore.
(And we don't bother if it freezes over for just one night)

> I assume I will have to bring in waterfall pump for winter and drain tubes (how?) and waterfall weir. I
> assume I do this once water is below 45F. What do you do?

We shut off the pump and bring it (and the filter and skimmer stuff) inside once ice dams start forming around the waterfall, usually around second week of November.

> Also I have plants, my water lettuce is yellow and my water hyacinth are turnign black and never bloomed.
> I know I will be throwing them out come winter anyway, but when?

Are they in the shade? Ours are still green and blooming. They need a looooot of sunlight (which is why they don't overwinter indoors well). We normally throw ours out at the same time we move the tropicals indoors, before first frost (keep an eye on the forecast). But if they're turning black, I'd throw them out now, before they rot and foul your water.

> I alos have and arrow head and some kind of reed-like thing. I think I can sink them below the surface and
> cut them back.

Our perennials are planted directly in the gravel, but yeah, I cut them back before first frost (because that turns them all mushy and icky), to about a hand width above the waterline.

Hope that helps.

[asmackay]

My small pond is 30" deep and it's no problem to over winter.  I used a powerhead pointed at the surface to keep whole open. worked well except for  2 or 3 days (used boiling water to open the hole again).

I cut all plants to the water level and lillies to the top of the rizhome.  I left the marginals on the plant shelf 12" under over winter and they did fine in the spring.

all other pumps (water fall, pressurised filter) I turn off and leave at the bottom of the pond to keep them wet.  Remove the pressurized filter and store inside with o-ring stored in water container to keep it wet.

[4x6x2gold]

Thanks for all the information. I feel more optimistic about the fish making it through the winter now. The weird thing about my lettuce and hyacinth is that they get 5 hours of sunlight and continue to multiply and grow new shoots despite being yellow and blackish. My water also tests fine. Oh well they will be tossed soon anyway. We'll try again with them next year. maybe they need fertilizer.

I also have seen a couple baby fish who are pretty little. I will try to catch them and bring them in as I assume they won't make it through the winter.

Will the filter still be "alive" by next spring if I store it inside in water? Regular tap water?

Thanks so much, I don't have aquariums, so this is all new to me. Your patience and willingness to answer my questions is appreciated.

[Fishnut]

I'm not really good with pond plants, but I know some people buy some of the larger rubbermaid plastic boxes, put water in them and keep the hyacinths and lettuces alive in the house all winter next to a bright window.

The fish really should be fine...even the little guys.  You have the de-icer, so that's going to be handy for sure.  Just put it in the pond ahead of time so when you want to use it, you just have to plug it in or flick a switch. 

When the ice starts to form on the pond over night, it's time to shut down your filter.  You need to drain it and give it a good rinse because it's likely full of gunk.  If that gunk stays wet and in the filter, it will likely rot a bit before it freezes and rot some more in the spring before the filter and pump are turned on again, creating anaerobic bacteria.  That's the bad bacteria that smells like rotten eggs.  I would rather rinse out something that smells like pond gunk than rotten eggs.

I wanted to mention one thing about the fish.  You should be feeding the fish a low protein diet, like wheat germ pellets, right now now in order to prepare them for winter.  It's also very important that you stop feeding them when the temp of the pond goes below 10 degrees.  If they eat when they're cold their bodies can't process the protein in the food food and it can cause problems on it's way through.  Don't worry...your fish have likely been very well fed and they don't need to eat much...if anything in the cooler water.

[Anja]

Will the filter still be "alive" by next spring if I store it inside in water? Regular tap water?

I wouldn't think so. There's nothing to feed the bacteria, as your fish stay in the pond. We don't even bother keeping the filter material wet (just the pump; that has to sit covered in water so the seals don't dry out and crack). We usually 'jump-start' the pond in the spring with bottled bacteria just to be on the safe side.


Here's a picture from the end of May:

[4x6x2gold]

Anja,
Your pond is very nice. it has a similar look to mine. I will post a picture as soon as I can. thanks also to fishnut.

[Fishnut]

My pond has been under construction for the past year. Baby + career + busy weekends means no pond for Fishnut. My koi and goldies are inside and will be featured in a video at the september meeting though!!

[4x6x2gold]

I have placed a small pond pump about 10 inches from top of pond with spout pointing up. This has worked to keep a hole until the last few days. The hole has formed an ice bubble where the spout spurts up. I have a de- icer and have used it to make an open water spot again. I am wondering if I should turn off pump and just use deicer, or if gases still escape into this ice dome. Anybody?

[Anja]

We keep the air stone in year round to keep the pond supplied with oxygen. So far we haven't broken out the deicer yet. Our bubble hole froze over yesterday, so if it's still closed tomorrow, I think I'll pour some hot water on it to open it back up.

[4x6x2gold]

i am probably being overly cautious. So it is normal for the air bubble to freeze over sometimes? I guess it is sufficient to pour hot water over and reopen it up to release gases then. Thanks.

[Anja]

I'd think so. I'm rather paranoid myself  but I don't get worried until there's a solid ice cover for three days or more. When it freezes beck over as fast as we can pout the hot water, that's when we put the deicer in, usually after the January thaw. Just keep your eye on the weather. And I figure keeping my fingers crossed for the little guys down there now and then doesn't hurt either. 

[4x6x2gold]

yay! The fish are swimming and alive. Now I have to keep them that way through the spring and a eventual spring cleaning.

[Anja]

You saw your fish already? I'm officially envious. Our pond is still under a foot of snow. Except for the little bubble hole through which you can't see anything at all. 

[Cbellehumeur]

wow i still have about a foot and a half of snow plus the ice. I really hope mine are okay!

[Anja]

Woohoo! Yesterday we shut the air pump off for a bit to be able to peer into the hole, and all our minnows are alive. Didn't see any of the goldfish, but then, it's still quite icy, so I hope they're just still hibernating.

[Fishnut]

Don't forget everyone, fish should not be fed until the water warms up to about 10 degrees.  Their metabolism is still too slow when they're below 10.

[Anja]

Aaaaah, it's getting worse again: