cold fish

[Scott M.]

I have a pond that is around 3 1/2 feet deep. Right now, my thermometer
indicates that it is 0.1 degrees Celcius down there at the bottom. The Koi
and Goldfish
are still alive but isn't that a little too cold? It's not even winter yet.
I have a bubbler to keep the surface clear and a floating 1250 Watt heater
if I need it later, but I was thinking of lowering a low wattage heater to
the bottom of the pond just to make sure the poor fish don't freeze. Is this
a good idea?

BTW, my pond photos are at
http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/murchison_home/album?.dir=/bad7&.src=ph&.tok=phmK9ICBHtrk1kvG

Scott

[Ka30P]

Scott wrote
> I was thinking of lowering a low wattage heater to
>the bottom of the pond just to make sure the poor fish don't freeze. Is this
>a good idea?

Hi Scott, you've got a kind heart :-)
Mother Nature designed fish to survive the cold. As long as they don't freeze
solid they'll be fine. You've done the right thing in preparing to keep a hole
open in the ice
with your bubbler and floating heater on standby.





kathy :-)
3000 gallon pond
800 gallon frog bog
home of the watergardening labradors
zone 7 SE WA state

[Derek Broughton]

Ka30P wrote:

> Scott wrote
>> I was thinking of lowering a low wattage heater to
>>the bottom of the pond just to make sure the poor fish don't freeze. Is
>>this a good idea?
>
> Hi Scott, you've got a kind heart :-)
> Mother Nature designed fish to survive the cold. As long as they don't
> freeze solid they'll be fine. You've done the right thing in preparing to
> keep a hole open in the ice
> with your bubbler and floating heater on standby.

And there are even stories of goldfish surviving being frozen in the ice -
but rpg doesn't advise trying it.
--
derek

[Bill Stock]

"Scott M." > wrote in message
...
> I have a pond that is around 3 1/2 feet deep. Right now, my thermometer
> indicates that it is 0.1 degrees Celcius down there at the bottom. The Koi
> and Goldfish
> are still alive but isn't that a little too cold? It's not even winter
yet.
> I have a bubbler to keep the surface clear and a floating 1250 Watt heater
> if I need it later, but I was thinking of lowering a low wattage heater to
> the bottom of the pond just to make sure the poor fish don't freeze. Is
this
> a good idea?
>
> BTW, my pond photos are at
>
http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/murchison_home/album?.dir=/bad7&.src=ph&.tok=phmK9ICBHtrk1kvG
>
> Scott
>
>


Hi Scott,

The general advice is to put in a bubbler to keep the ice open. You might
also need a floating de-icer in colder climes.

However, being paranoid. I built a cover for mine and put a 300 watt heater
on the bottom. The heater hasn't kicked in yet, as the pond is still 42F. My
pond is not quite as deep as yours, so I was concerned that it would become
a solid cube of ice in January. If this works out well, I may try to raise
the temperature above 50 earlier in the spring, so I can start feeding
earlier. Although I suspect 300 watts won't be sufficient.

Where are you located BTW?

[Scott M.]

Hi all,

I am located in Carp, Ontario, which is now part of Ottawa. I am on a two
acre rural subdivision lot.

Scott




> Hi Scott,
>
> Where are you located BTW?
>
>
>

[Nedra]

Hi Scott,
I remember the time my thermometer dropped to 19 degrees F. I wondered why
the pond wasn't frozen solid. I have 13 koi... and at that time as many
goldfish.
Someone here suggested I buy another thermometer... I did and that solved
the
problem. lol

My pond stays about 35 degrees F. all thru the winter here in Missouri.

Nedra

"Scott M." > wrote in message
...
> Hi all,
>
> I am located in Carp, Ontario, which is now part of Ottawa. I am on a two
> acre rural subdivision lot.
>
> Scott
>
>
>
>
> > Hi Scott,
> >
> > Where are you located BTW?
> >
> >
> >
>
>

[RichToyBox]

You may want to check the calibration of your thermometer in a glass of ice
water. The bottom of the pond should be nearer 39 degrees at this time of
year, or possibly even warmer. Ground temperature should be heating the
bottom of the pond, some.
--
RichToyBox
http://www.geocities.com/richtoybox/pondintro.html

"Scott M." > wrote in message
...
>I have a pond that is around 3 1/2 feet deep. Right now, my thermometer
> indicates that it is 0.1 degrees Celcius down there at the bottom. The Koi
> and Goldfish
> are still alive but isn't that a little too cold? It's not even winter
> yet.
> I have a bubbler to keep the surface clear and a floating 1250 Watt heater
> if I need it later, but I was thinking of lowering a low wattage heater to
> the bottom of the pond just to make sure the poor fish don't freeze. Is
> this
> a good idea?
>
> BTW, my pond photos are at
> http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/murchison_home/album?.dir=/bad7&.src=ph&.tok=phmK9ICBHtrk1kvG
>
> Scott
>
>
>

[Crashj]

On or about Wed, 1 Dec 2004 14:47:06 -0500, "Scott M."
> wrote something like:
>I am located in Carp, Ontario, which is now part of Ottawa.

How could you NOT have a pond . . .It would be your civic duty, eh?
I especially like your layout with the shallow edges for plants.
Best of luck with the Winter.
--
Crashj

[Anne Lurie]

I'd start by checking the thermometer -- isn't 0.1 C darned near frozen
solid??

More-experienced PORGpeople (porgpersons?) can undoubtedly give you better
advice about bubblers, etc. I think I understood that releasing gases is
more important than warming fish, but I do live in the "upper South" (of the
US) according to some gardening books, so what the heck do I really know?
(Um, that the winter weather here is much more to my liking than North
Dakota & Vermont were!)

Anne Lurie
Raleigh, NC



"Scott M." > wrote in message
...
>I have a pond that is around 3 1/2 feet deep. Right now, my thermometer
> indicates that it is 0.1 degrees Celcius down there at the bottom. The Koi
> and Goldfish
> are still alive but isn't that a little too cold? It's not even winter
> yet.
> I have a bubbler to keep the surface clear and a floating 1250 Watt heater
> if I need it later, but I was thinking of lowering a low wattage heater to
> the bottom of the pond just to make sure the poor fish don't freeze. Is
> this
> a good idea?
>
> BTW, my pond photos are at
> http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/murchison_home/album?.dir=/bad7&.src=ph&.tok=phmK9ICBHtrk1kvG
>
> Scott
>
>
>

[~ jan JJsPond.us]

On Wed, 01 Dec 2004 22:32:09 GMT, "Nedra" > wrote:

>I remember the time my thermometer dropped to 19 degrees F. I wondered why
>the pond wasn't frozen solid. I have 13 koi... and at that time as many
>goldfish.
>Someone here suggested I buy another thermometer... I did and that solved
>the problem. lol

LOL! Yes, I was going to say something to the effect of, that these
thermometers don't seem to be as accurate the closer to freezing they go. I
purchased a thermometer for chemistry experiments to check against my pond
one at times. ~ jan


~Power to the Porg, Flow On!~


----== Posted via Newsfeeds.Com - Unlimited-Uncensored-Secure Usenet News==----
http://www.newsfeeds.com The #1 Newsgroup Service in the World! >100,000 Newsgroups
---= East/West-Coast Server Farms - Total Privacy via Encryption =---

[Derek Broughton]

Scott M. wrote:

> I am located in Carp, Ontario, which is now part of Ottawa. I am on a two
> acre rural subdivision lot.

Geez, when I lived in The Valley, driving through Carp meant we were still
half an hour from the city... Then the road stopped going through Carp.

Have you ever tried to have the name changed to Koi?
--
derek

[Scott M.]

Anyways, it is flippin' cold in there and I'm glad it's them and not me :)

I'm going to look at the pet store for a small submersible heater just in
case. Ottawa winters can be pretty tough. Two years ago, I kept a floating
heater going and I had frogs swimming around throughout the winter and fish
that would hover just beneath the heater. That told me that it was too warm
in there.

Scott

p.s. we had our first snowfall yesterday and so far, the air bubbler is
keeping the surface open. The air stone is about 8 inches below the surface.

[Scott M.]

Thanks. My old barn really adds to the look of the pond. I hide my filter in
it.

Scott


"Crashj" > wrote in message
...
> On or about Wed, 1 Dec 2004 14:47:06 -0500, "Scott M."
> > wrote something like:
> >I am located in Carp, Ontario, which is now part of Ottawa.
>
> How could you NOT have a pond . . .It would be your civic duty, eh?
> I especially like your layout with the shallow edges for plants.
> Best of luck with the Winter.
> --
> Crashj

[Phisherman]

On Wed, 1 Dec 2004 09:16:12 -0500, "Scott M." >
wrote:

>I have a pond that is around 3 1/2 feet deep. Right now, my thermometer
>indicates that it is 0.1 degrees Celcius down there at the bottom. The Koi
>and Goldfish
>are still alive but isn't that a little too cold? It's not even winter yet.
>I have a bubbler to keep the surface clear and a floating 1250 Watt heater
>if I need it later, but I was thinking of lowering a low wattage heater to
>the bottom of the pond just to make sure the poor fish don't freeze. Is this
>a good idea?
>
>BTW, my pond photos are at
>http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/murchison_home/album?.dir=/bad7&.src=ph&.tok=phmK9ICBHtrk1kvG
>
>Scott
>
>

The 3.5' depth will help. Keep the water from freezing and you'll be
fine. I probably would not allow a temperature below 34 degrees F. A
insulated cover may help.

[Scott M.]

I went to a very good aquarium tonight and asked the manager about heaters.
He told me that the submersible ones would burn out because they would be on
all the time in water below 71 F. He said not to worry about the fish and
that my plan to use the floating heater when needed will work out fine.

Scott

[Scott M.]

I used to call it "Crap".

Scott


"Derek Broughton" > wrote in message
...
> Scott M. wrote:
>
> > I am located in Carp, Ontario, which is now part of Ottawa. I am on a
two
> > acre rural subdivision lot.
>
> Geez, when I lived in The Valley, driving through Carp meant we were still
> half an hour from the city... Then the road stopped going through Carp.
>
> Have you ever tried to have the name changed to Koi?
> --
> derek