Wintering my small pond(first year)

[Scrapster1]

Hi, I live in Ontario, Canada and it can get cold here in the winter, -20.
I have a small pond around 200 gal, 24 inches deep. I have some goldfish and
plants (hardy lily, pickeral rush, hyacinth, water iris). At what
temperature should I begin to bring the fish in. As for the plants, which
will survive outdoors and which should I bring indoors. As for the pond
itself, how would I prepare it? Thanks.

[Iain Miller]

"Scrapster1" > wrote in message
.. .
> Hi, I live in Ontario, Canada and it can get cold here in the winter, -20.
> I have a small pond around 200 gal, 24 inches deep. I have some goldfish
and
> plants (hardy lily, pickeral rush, hyacinth, water iris). At what
> temperature should I begin to bring the fish in. As for the plants, which
> will survive outdoors and which should I bring indoors. As for the pond
> itself, how would I prepare it? Thanks.

If you are going to bring the fish in for the winter then make sure you do
it before the water temp falls below about 55 - that's when they start to
"shut down" & it would be more stressful to move them after that.

Dunno about the plants

I.

[Scrapster1]

"Scrapster1" > wrote in message
.. .
> Hi, I live in Ontario, Canada and it can get cold here in the winter, -20.
> I have a small pond around 200 gal, 24 inches deep. I have some goldfish
and
> plants (hardy lily, pickeral rush, hyacinth, water iris). At what
> temperature should I begin to bring the fish in. As for the plants, which
> will survive outdoors and which should I bring indoors. As for the pond
> itself, how would I prepare it? Thanks.
>
>

[Don Falconer]

I live in Whitby. Approx 200 gal pond and about 28 in. deep except for plant
shelves. This will be my second winter. I set the plants (pickeral rush,
hyacinth) on the bottom. Left my two Koi in the pond. Set a pot on the
bottom on its side for additional shelter for them. I used an air tube with
open end set about 8 in. below the surface as a bubbler. It bubbled all
winter. Even when ice covered it bubbled up and out the edge of the pond.
The fish and plants all survived fine. Last winter was unusually cold and a
good test I think so I plan to do same this year.
Don
"Scrapster1" > wrote in message
.. .
> Hi, I live in Ontario, Canada and it can get cold here in the winter, -20.
> I have a small pond around 200 gal, 24 inches deep. I have some goldfish
and
> plants (hardy lily, pickeral rush, hyacinth, water iris). At what
> temperature should I begin to bring the fish in. As for the plants, which
> will survive outdoors and which should I bring indoors. As for the pond
> itself, how would I prepare it? Thanks.
>
>

[dkat]

Curious.. why is that? I would think that if they were "shut down" that it
would be akin to being on tranqs... that is less reactive and less stressed.
DKat

"Iain Miller" > wrote in message
...

> If you are going to bring the fish in for the winter then make sure you do
> it before the water temp falls below about 55 - that's when they start to
> "shut down" & it would be more stressful to move them after that.
>
> Dunno about the plants
>
> I.
>
>

[Ian]

Your Hyacinth survived? I thought they were tropicals?

I'm out in Brampton, 750 gallons give or take, depth only 24". I dropped my
pickerel, hardy lilies, and a few others to the bottom of the pond for the
winter, all survived fine. The Cardinal plants were buried in the garden bed
and mulched, they never came back. All my hyacinth get mulched as I thought
they don't survive our winters.

I used one of the 100 watt de-icers, did the job last year.

"Don Falconer" > wrote in message
ble.rogers.com...
> I live in Whitby. Approx 200 gal pond and about 28 in. deep except for
plant
> shelves. This will be my second winter. I set the plants (pickeral rush,
> hyacinth) on the bottom. Left my two Koi in the pond. Set a pot on the
> bottom on its side for additional shelter for them. I used an air tube
with
> open end set about 8 in. below the surface as a bubbler. It bubbled all
> winter. Even when ice covered it bubbled up and out the edge of the pond.
> The fish and plants all survived fine. Last winter was unusually cold and
a
> good test I think so I plan to do same this year.
> Don
> "Scrapster1" > wrote in message
> .. .
> > Hi, I live in Ontario, Canada and it can get cold here in the
winter, -20.
> > I have a small pond around 200 gal, 24 inches deep. I have some goldfish
> and
> > plants (hardy lily, pickeral rush, hyacinth, water iris). At what
> > temperature should I begin to bring the fish in. As for the plants,
which
> > will survive outdoors and which should I bring indoors. As for the pond
> > itself, how would I prepare it? Thanks.
> >
> >
>
>

[Don Falconer]

Right you are. Hyacinth would not/did not survive.

"Ian" > wrote in message
.rogers.com...
> Your Hyacinth survived? I thought they were tropicals?
>
> I'm out in Brampton, 750 gallons give or take, depth only 24". I dropped
my
> pickerel, hardy lilies, and a few others to the bottom of the pond for the
> winter, all survived fine. The Cardinal plants were buried in the garden
bed
> and mulched, they never came back. All my hyacinth get mulched as I
thought
> they don't survive our winters.
>
> I used one of the 100 watt de-icers, did the job last year.
>
> "Don Falconer" > wrote in message
> ble.rogers.com...
> > I live in Whitby. Approx 200 gal pond and about 28 in. deep except for
> plant
> > shelves. This will be my second winter. I set the plants (pickeral rush,
> > hyacinth) on the bottom. Left my two Koi in the pond. Set a pot on the
> > bottom on its side for additional shelter for them. I used an air tube
> with
> > open end set about 8 in. below the surface as a bubbler. It bubbled all
> > winter. Even when ice covered it bubbled up and out the edge of the
pond.
> > The fish and plants all survived fine. Last winter was unusually cold
and
> a
> > good test I think so I plan to do same this year.
> > Don
> > "Scrapster1" > wrote in message
> > .. .
> > > Hi, I live in Ontario, Canada and it can get cold here in the
> winter, -20.
> > > I have a small pond around 200 gal, 24 inches deep. I have some
goldfish
> > and
> > > plants (hardy lily, pickeral rush, hyacinth, water iris). At what
> > > temperature should I begin to bring the fish in. As for the plants,
> which
> > > will survive outdoors and which should I bring indoors. As for the
pond
> > > itself, how would I prepare it? Thanks.
> > >
> > >
> >
> >
>
>

[Jerrispond]

>Right you are. Hyacinth would not/did not survive

I heard of someone in zone 6 who overwintered hyacinth by dropping them to 3
feet so I am gonna try that this year....will give report next spring
Jerri

http://www.fringeweb.com/Ponds/JerrisPond

[Nick Wilson]

Can you actually drop the hyacinth in though to bury them for next year or
should they be taken indoors? I have quite a few that purchased, and quite a
few more left from growing over this past summer - it would certainly be a
shame to see them die off and not recover. I see by reading that a fellow
overturned a pot and set the plants inside it -- seems to be a good idea.

--

Nick Wilson

"Ian" > wrote in message
.rogers.com...
> Your Hyacinth survived? I thought they were tropicals?
>
> I'm out in Brampton, 750 gallons give or take, depth only 24". I dropped
my
> pickerel, hardy lilies, and a few others to the bottom of the pond for the
> winter, all survived fine. The Cardinal plants were buried in the garden
bed
> and mulched, they never came back. All my hyacinth get mulched as I
thought
> they don't survive our winters.
>
> I used one of the 100 watt de-icers, did the job last year.
>
> "Don Falconer" > wrote in message
> ble.rogers.com...
> > I live in Whitby. Approx 200 gal pond and about 28 in. deep except for
> plant
> > shelves. This will be my second winter. I set the plants (pickeral rush,
> > hyacinth) on the bottom. Left my two Koi in the pond. Set a pot on the
> > bottom on its side for additional shelter for them. I used an air tube
> with
> > open end set about 8 in. below the surface as a bubbler. It bubbled all
> > winter. Even when ice covered it bubbled up and out the edge of the
pond.
> > The fish and plants all survived fine. Last winter was unusually cold
and
> a
> > good test I think so I plan to do same this year.
> > Don
> > "Scrapster1" > wrote in message
> > .. .
> > > Hi, I live in Ontario, Canada and it can get cold here in the
> winter, -20.
> > > I have a small pond around 200 gal, 24 inches deep. I have some
goldfish
> > and
> > > plants (hardy lily, pickeral rush, hyacinth, water iris). At what
> > > temperature should I begin to bring the fish in. As for the plants,
> which
> > > will survive outdoors and which should I bring indoors. As for the
pond
> > > itself, how would I prepare it? Thanks.
> > >
> > >
> >
> >
>
>

[John Burton]

While we're asking for inputs on wintering, what about this?

Should I turn OFF my waterfall at some point?

3000gal pond with 8 comets and 1 koi. Deepest point is approx 2feet. I'm a
zone 6a or 6b (???)....

Input?

--
~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=

john burton
Bach 50B3
Bass Trombone, Charleston NeoPhonic Orchestra
South Charleston, West Virginia

[Bonnie]

John Burton wrote:
> While we're asking for inputs on wintering, what about this?
>
> Should I turn OFF my waterfall at some point?
>
> 3000gal pond with 8 comets and 1 koi. Deepest point is approx 2feet. I'm a
> zone 6a or 6b (???)....
>
> Input?
>

I suggest you turn off the waterfall. If ice develops the
water can be diverted out of the pond and you could loose a
substantial amount of water before you'd realize anything
had happened.
Use a air pump with airstone hung 3-4" below the water
surface to maintain an opening in the ice. This will allow
any gases to escape.

--
Bonnie
NJ
http://home.earthlink.net/~maebe43/

[~ jan JJsPond.us]

Yes. When your pond's temp falls into the 40s it's time to stop the
waterfall. It just cools the water faster and keeps it cool. Whereas with
slow circulation or an air stone the ground with keep your pond warmer.
Cover it and it will often remain ice free. ~ jan

>On Mon, 29 Sep 2003 08:41:52 -0400, "John Burton" > wrote:

>While we're asking for inputs on wintering, what about this?
>
>Should I turn OFF my waterfall at some point?
>
>3000gal pond with 8 comets and 1 koi. Deepest point is approx 2feet. I'm a
>zone 6a or 6b (???)....
>
>Input?

See my ponds thru the seasons and/or my filter design:
http://users.owt.com/jjspond/

~Keep 'em Defrosted~
Tri-Cities, WA Zone 7a
To e-mail see website

[Tom Shea]

for what it might be worth:

I'm in billerica MA, about 25 miles from NH border...always been fine for
leaving my koi outside with a small waterfall return from the shallow end,
along with an airstone.... never brought my koi inside (6 years).... this last
winter soooooo bad, for sooo long that everything froze, right to the bottom
(24 inches) except in one small 36 inch pocket, but this was way too small for
6 12 inch koi and no upper outlet for gas exchange. I bought a pond
heater.... and thawed my way thru with buckets of hot water trickled onto the
ice.. placed the pond heater in, and it kept an open hole and only cost about
$25 a month during temps of 10-20 deg farenheight every koi made it... very
pleased... much happier leaving the koi outside if possible...yeah, they grow
more slowly, but the joy of seeing them moving for the first time out there
during the first thaw is better than the first flowers coming up...

T.

Scrapster1 wrote:

> Hi, I live in Ontario, Canada and it can get cold here in the winter, -20.
> I have a small pond around 200 gal, 24 inches deep. I have some goldfish and
> plants (hardy lily, pickeral rush, hyacinth, water iris). At what
> temperature should I begin to bring the fish in. As for the plants, which
> will survive outdoors and which should I bring indoors. As for the pond
> itself, how would I prepare it? Thanks.

[Leon]

Hey all,
Looking for some advice.
New pond about 2 months old.. Pond is sitting between two houses and little
of an echo factor early morning.
The amount of frogs that have moved in sounds like
a frog convention.. Really loud in the early morning.
Neigbors 3 doos down and across noticing the noise.
Any suggestions in how to give the No Vancancy Sign to the frogs.. Thought
of trying to place moth balls around the edge of the pond? A thought.
Any ideas would be of help
Thanks

[Gale Pearce]

Sorry I never caught your question sooner - I am in SW Ont (35 mi from
Windsor/ Detroit) - 24" deep is ok in my area for leaving fish in pond -
mine is 17" in shallow end and 26" in deep end, although a bit larger ~ 1000
US gals - my water iris sits on a shallow shelf - 6" of water and freezes
solid every year - no problem, always comes back (10 yrs) my hardy lilies
stay in the shallow end and don't freeze - I never get more than 6" - 7" of
ice - the water hyancinths (floating type - is there any other?) I have
always disposed of - never heard you could leave them in the pond as is
mentioned farther down in this thread, but worth a try - don't know anything
about pickerel rush
If you leave your fish outdoors, be sure to run an airstone, or heater (I
prefer the airstone as it is much easier on hydro)
Gale :~)
"Scrapster1" > wrote in message
.. .
> Hi, I live in Ontario, Canada and it can get cold here in the winter, -20.
> I have a small pond around 200 gal, 24 inches deep. I have some goldfish
and
> plants (hardy lily, pickeral rush, hyacinth, water iris). At what
> temperature should I begin to bring the fish in. As for the plants, which
> will survive outdoors and which should I bring indoors. As for the pond
> itself, how would I prepare it? Thanks.
>
>

[Sean R. Kerns]

Man, I wish I had this problem. I have trouble enough keeping one or two
frogs around my little pond, and when the cats get one or two of them, I'm
back to square one. Everyone always says frogs will find their way to your
pond, but I've yet to experience that...

Sean


"Leon" > wrote in message
m...
> Hey all,
> Looking for some advice.
> New pond about 2 months old.. Pond is sitting between two houses and
little
> of an echo factor early morning.
> The amount of frogs that have moved in sounds like
> a frog convention.. Really loud in the early morning.
> Neigbors 3 doos down and across noticing the noise.
> Any suggestions in how to give the No Vancancy Sign to the frogs.. Thought
> of trying to place moth balls around the edge of the pond? A thought.
> Any ideas would be of help
> Thanks
>
>

[groovy]

"Leon" > wrote in message
m...
> Hey all,
> Looking for some advice.
> New pond about 2 months old.. Pond is sitting between two houses and
little
> of an echo factor early morning.
> The amount of frogs that have moved in sounds like
> a frog convention.. Really loud in the early morning.
> Neigbors 3 doos down and across noticing the noise.
> Any suggestions in how to give the No Vancancy Sign to the frogs.. Thought
> of trying to place moth balls around the edge of the pond? A thought.
> Any ideas would be of help
> Thanks

You could clear away the vegetation from around the pond and make it
drier around the edges. With no moist places to hide they will lose
interest.

[~ jan JJsPond.us]

On Wed, 15 Oct 2003 00:02:32 GMT, "Leon" > wrote:

>Hey all,
>Looking for some advice.
>New pond about 2 months old.. Pond is sitting between two houses and little
>of an echo factor early morning.
>The amount of frogs that have moved in sounds like
>a frog convention.. Really loud in the early morning.
>Neigbors 3 doos down and across noticing the noise.

Just noticing or complaining?

I had an amazing amount of treefrogs this spring, you should have heard
them, not one neighbor complained. Course several of them have ponds of
their own. Maybe you could put up some acoustic panels to deaden the sound?
Otherwise I'd be apologetic to the neighbors, than I'd explain it's only a
seasonal phenomenon.

If the neighbors are still unhappy ask K30 on how to catch frogs. My
original frogs were brought in by a friend who's hubby couldn't sleep
because of the frog music. ~ jan
See my ponds thru the seasons and/or my filter design:
http://users.owt.com/jjspond/

~Keep 'em Defrosted~
Tri-Cities, WA Zone 7a
To e-mail see website

[Cybe R. Wizard]

On Thu, 16 Oct 2003 16:40:56 -0700
~ jan JJsPond.us > wrote:

> Maybe you could put up some acoustic panels to deaden the sound?
> Otherwise I'd be apologetic to the neighbors, than I'd explain it's
> only a seasonal phenomenon.

Another alternative is a white noise generator in the bedroom of the
sound-afflicted one. There are some pretty nice ones out there with a
whole catalog of soothing sounds from which to choose.

Cybe R. Wizard
--
Unofficial "Wizard of Odds," A.H.P.
Original PORG "Water Wizard," R.P.
"Wize(ned) Wizard," A.P.F-P-Y.
Barely Tolerated Wizard, A.J.L & A.A.L

[bjt]

Can you talk about heater / airstone alternatives? I live in New England,
have a 4 foot deep pond and have always battled ice. I'm tempted to get one
or more of the floating heaters but would like to benefit from the group's
experience. Thanks.

Brian Tarbox

"Gale Pearce" > wrote in message
...
> Sorry I never caught your question sooner - I am in SW Ont (35 mi from
> Windsor/ Detroit) - 24" deep is ok in my area for leaving fish in pond -
> mine is 17" in shallow end and 26" in deep end, although a bit larger ~
1000
> US gals - my water iris sits on a shallow shelf - 6" of water and freezes
> solid every year - no problem, always comes back (10 yrs) my hardy lilies
> stay in the shallow end and don't freeze - I never get more than 6" - 7"
of
> ice - the water hyancinths (floating type - is there any other?) I have
> always disposed of - never heard you could leave them in the pond as is
> mentioned farther down in this thread, but worth a try - don't know
anything
> about pickerel rush
> If you leave your fish outdoors, be sure to run an airstone, or heater
(I
> prefer the airstone as it is much easier on hydro)
> Gale :~)
> "Scrapster1" > wrote in message
> .. .
> > Hi, I live in Ontario, Canada and it can get cold here in the
winter, -20.
> > I have a small pond around 200 gal, 24 inches deep. I have some goldfish
> and
> > plants (hardy lily, pickeral rush, hyacinth, water iris). At what
> > temperature should I begin to bring the fish in. As for the plants,
which
> > will survive outdoors and which should I bring indoors. As for the pond
> > itself, how would I prepare it? Thanks.
> >
> >
>
>

[~ jan JJsPond.us]

Airstones can be used until the weather is really bad and then one can toss
in the heater. A cheaply made air stone can be had using drip system parts.
Tubing, connectors and leaky tubing are similar in size to aquarium hoses,
and even better suited to being outside. Also the leaking tubing is rubber
and won't vibrate a hole into your liner like an air stone could. Thus, if
using an airstone, keep it away from the sides or bottom of a liner pond.

Another alternative is just agitation the surface, I use a slow flow that
skims the surface and exits thru my skimmer to the filter. I reduce my
summer flow of 1500 gph to 300 gph in winter. ~ jan

>On Sun, 26 Oct 2003 10:36:32 -0500, "bjt" > wrote:

>Can you talk about heater / airstone alternatives? I live in New England,
>have a 4 foot deep pond and have always battled ice. I'm tempted to get one
>or more of the floating heaters but would like to benefit from the group's
>experience. Thanks.
>
>Brian Tarbox
>
>"Gale Pearce" > wrote in message
...
>> Sorry I never caught your question sooner - I am in SW Ont (35 mi from
>> Windsor/ Detroit) - 24" deep is ok in my area for leaving fish in pond -
>> mine is 17" in shallow end and 26" in deep end, although a bit larger ~
>1000
>> US gals - my water iris sits on a shallow shelf - 6" of water and freezes
>> solid every year - no problem, always comes back (10 yrs) my hardy lilies
>> stay in the shallow end and don't freeze - I never get more than 6" - 7"
>of
>> ice - the water hyancinths (floating type - is there any other?) I have
>> always disposed of - never heard you could leave them in the pond as is
>> mentioned farther down in this thread, but worth a try - don't know
>anything
>> about pickerel rush
>> If you leave your fish outdoors, be sure to run an airstone, or heater
>(I
>> prefer the airstone as it is much easier on hydro)
>> Gale :~)
>> "Scrapster1" > wrote in message
>> .. .
>> > Hi, I live in Ontario, Canada and it can get cold here in the
>winter, -20.
>> > I have a small pond around 200 gal, 24 inches deep. I have some goldfish
>> and
>> > plants (hardy lily, pickeral rush, hyacinth, water iris). At what
>> > temperature should I begin to bring the fish in. As for the plants,
>which
>> > will survive outdoors and which should I bring indoors. As for the pond
>> > itself, how would I prepare it? Thanks.
>> >
>> >
>>
>>
>

See my ponds thru the seasons and/or my filter design:
http://users.owt.com/jjspond/

~Keep 'em Defrosted~
Tri-Cities, WA Zone 7a
To e-mail see website