New Topic - What is the current status of your pond?

[~ jan JJsPond.us]

What is the current status of your pond?

The screens have 4" of snow on them, but with my wireless thermometer I can
see that the water is liquid, I can also "hear" the water moving... but
that requires going "outside".... like brrrrr!

I haven't even gone up and looked at the lily pond, maybe I'll do that
today. I'm hoping the fact I floated milk jugs on it that they are holding
the shade cloth off the surface of the water. ~ 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

[Granny Grump]

>What is the current status of your pond?

52 degrees here right now, so ponds are liquid, and fairly clear.

[Gale Pearce]

> What is the current status of your pond?
Mine just refroze 2 days ago after completely thawing to water with the last
warm spell here in SW Ont - now have a 3' hole from my bubbler and about 1"
of ice- I was thawing with tea kettle and a stick to keep a hole open 2
weeks ago - talk about weird weather - going back up to 50F again by Wed
(12th)
Gale :~)

[Mike Patterson]

A warm day at 62 degrees here south of Atlanta, water has some
suspended algae, some string algae, visibility down to about 20
inches, the fish are active, but a little sluggish.

I dropped a little food into the pond to see how the fish would react,
they are skittish about me being there, if I make any fast movements
they dash for the deep, but as long as I move slowly they'll come up
and nibble. (During the summer they'd all come to the top whenever I
came near the pond, and would even peck at my legs when I was in the
water doing maintenance.)

The water hyacinth has all died, the water lettuce looks pale but
doesn't seem to be dead, the pickerel rush leaves are all brown but
the pots are down at 24 -30 ionches so I think they'll be OK in the
spring.






On Sun, 09 Jan 2005 12:40:34 -0800, ~ jan JJsPond.us
> wrote:

>What is the current status of your pond?
>
>The screens have 4" of snow on them, but with my wireless thermometer I can
>see that the water is liquid, I can also "hear" the water moving... but
>that requires going "outside".... like brrrrr!
>
>I haven't even gone up and looked at the lily pond, maybe I'll do that
>today. I'm hoping the fact I floated milk jugs on it that they are holding
>the shade cloth off the surface of the water. ~ 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

Mike Patterson
Please remove the spamtrap to email me.
"I always wanted to be somebody...I should have been more specific..." - Lily Tomlin

[Phisherman]

This week I cleaned out the dead water hyacinths and skimmed off the
azola. This made a 4-foot mound of compost material. The level of
the pond has been lowered one foot in preparation of removing elodea
which has taken over the pond (I'll need waders to do the job).
Seems like I have to constantly deal with overgrown plants! The water
lilys, planted 4 years ago, are doing well. Clearing off the pond I
can finally see some fish. It is a peaceful pond with the frogs in
hibernation. (E. TN)

[~ Windsong ~]

"~ jan JJsPond.us" > wrote in message
...
> What is the current status of your pond?
============
My fish are looking for food. This is the first year they're not "asleep"
at the bottom in January.
--
Carol.... the frugal ponder...
Completely FREE software:
http://www.pricelessware.org/thelist/index.htm
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

[Stephen Henning]

~ jan JJsPond.us > wrote:

> What is the current status of your pond?

Cold and wet.

I am getting some duck weed, but I think I like it since there is
something bright green growing on the bottom, and I fear it is string
algae. I haven't brought any up to look at yet. I figure the duck weed
will help filter nutrients and provide shade to help check any algae.
Then in the spring I can screen out most of the duck weed.

--
Pardon my spam deterrent; send email to
Cheers, Steve Henning in Reading, PA USA
http://home.earthlink.net/~rhodyman

[~ Windsong ~]

"Phisherman" > wrote in message
...
> This week I cleaned out the dead water hyacinths and skimmed off the
> azola. This made a 4-foot mound of compost material. The level of
> the pond has been lowered one foot in preparation of removing elodea
> which has taken over the pond (I'll need waders to do the job).
> Seems like I have to constantly deal with overgrown plants! The water
> lilys, planted 4 years ago, are doing well. Clearing off the pond I
> can finally see some fish. It is a peaceful pond with the frogs in
> hibernation. (E. TN)
======================
You need a few koi in your pond. Elodea doesn't stand a chance in my ponds.
--
Carol.... the frugal ponder...
"Completely FREE software:
http://www.pricelessware.org/thelist/index.htm
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

[Nedra]

The snow has finally melted from the netting on the pond ~ up to 55 degrees
tomorrow.
Pond guy had installed a heavier netting this time with bamboo uprights
making a tent.
The fish were nice and cozy under it. No ice to speak of. The bubblers
were pumping air like crazy.
The lotus pond has a small pump submerged ... going great guns.
Everything seems to be fine!

Nedra in Missouri
zone 6

Lotus Garden:
http://community.webshots.com/user/nedra118
Backyard Pond:
http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Pines/4836

[Ka30P]

Covered in snow!
With a nice hole kept open by the air pump and bubbler. We have about
five inches of snow on the ground.
The watercress froze in the ice and now is covered by snow but I bet it will
recover just fine come spring.
So far no kingfisher has shown up that I have noticed. A ponding friend had a
blue heron standing on her roof the other day.
The band is practicing downstairs, there's a fire in the firesplace and my
youngest is out practicing driving in the snow with Dad.


kathy

[Bonnie]

~ jan JJsPond.us > wrote:

What is the current status of your pond?

My pond has no ice now - what was there melted. The
goldfish and orfe are showing themselves occasionally
but the koi are staying down.
--
Bonnie
NJ

[~ jan JJsPond.us]

>Covered in snow!
>With a nice hole kept open by the air pump and bubbler. We have about
>five inches of snow on the ground.

Have the watergardening Labs tried to do any ice skating this year?
~ jan
~Power to the Porg, Flow On!~

[RichToyBox]

The record and near record warmth that we have had since the first, has
warmed the ponds up to the 70 degree mark so the heaters went off. Saving a
few dollars a day right now. The fish eat voraciously twice a day. The
taro are growing and the hyacynths are surviving. Strange weather this
year. Christmas was several degrees below normal, and this year running
between 20 and 30 degrees above normal.
--
RichToyBox
http://www.geocities.com/richtoybox/pondintro.html
Zone 7a/b
"~ jan JJsPond.us" > wrote in message
...
> What is the current status of your pond?
>
> The screens have 4" of snow on them, but with my wireless thermometer I
> can
> see that the water is liquid, I can also "hear" the water moving... but
> that requires going "outside".... like brrrrr!
>
> I haven't even gone up and looked at the lily pond, maybe I'll do that
> today. I'm hoping the fact I floated milk jugs on it that they are holding
> the shade cloth off the surface of the water. ~ 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

[Bill Stock]

"~ jan JJsPond.us" > wrote in message
...
> What is the current status of your pond?
>
> The screens have 4" of snow on them, but with my wireless thermometer I
> can
> see that the water is liquid, I can also "hear" the water moving... but
> that requires going "outside".... like brrrrr!
>
> I haven't even gone up and looked at the lily pond, maybe I'll do that
> today. I'm hoping the fact I floated milk jugs on it that they are holding
> the shade cloth off the surface of the water. ~ 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

Pond is 38°F near the bottom, no ice and very little snow. No sign of the
fish. I haven't had any ice yet, as we've had a mild winter (-10°F coldest)
and the cover is doing it's job. Although the heater is running more often,
now that the ground is losing it's heat. Supposed to be 10°C here on
Thursday.

--
Bill in Zone 5A

[Gail Futoran]

Hovering around 50 degrees. I turn the fountain/filter
on when it gets above 60 degrees, but in a few
days turn it off again. That's the goldfish pond. The
other two (minnow only) ponds are on their own and
do fine.

Gail
near San Antonio (SouthCentral) TX

[Benign Vanilla]

"~ jan JJsPond.us" > wrote in message
...
> What is the current status of your pond?
>
> The screens have 4" of snow on them, but with my wireless thermometer I
can
> see that the water is liquid, I can also "hear" the water moving... but
> that requires going "outside".... like brrrrr!
>
> I haven't even gone up and looked at the lily pond, maybe I'll do that
> today. I'm hoping the fact I floated milk jugs on it that they are holding
> the shade cloth off the surface of the water. ~ jan
<snip>

Pond? What pond? Oh Sh!t...I forgot about the pond...


--
BV
Webporgmaster of iheartmypond.com
Check out the IHMP forums, ihmp.net/phpbb
I'll be leaning on the bus stop post.

[southernbc]

Hello all,

My pond is now freezing over inside my hoop house but the bubbler and
winter filter system are working Great. The ice in frozen areas looks
about 3" thick. It is currently -20 celsius this morning outside You
can see pictures at my website (nothing for sale)
http://www.boundary-ca.net/pond/index.html

~ jan JJsPond.us wrote:
> What is the current status of your pond?
>
> The screens have 4" of snow on them, but with my wireless thermometer I can
> see that the water is liquid, I can also "hear" the water moving... but
> that requires going "outside".... like brrrrr!
>
> I haven't even gone up and looked at the lily pond, maybe I'll do that
> today. I'm hoping the fact I floated milk jugs on it that they are holding
> the shade cloth off the surface of the water. ~ 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

[Lt. Kizhe Catson]

~ jan JJsPond.us wrote:
> What is the current status of your pond?

Ottawa: 3-ft. diameter hole around the bubbler, rest frozen over and
snow-covered. Lots of squirrel prints in the snow -- my wife saw one
almost break through the other day, while getting a drink. Occasionally
see a fish, though they seem to prefer to remain under the ice (I think
they don't like the bubbler).

Taros doing well indoors, in buckets under a grow-light.

-- Kizhe

> The screens have 4" of snow on them, but with my wireless thermometer I can
> see that the water is liquid, I can also "hear" the water moving... but
> that requires going "outside".... like brrrrr!
>
> I haven't even gone up and looked at the lily pond, maybe I'll do that
> today. I'm hoping the fact I floated milk jugs on it that they are holding
> the shade cloth off the surface of the water. ~ 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

[Derek Broughton]

Granny Grump wrote:

>
>>What is the current status of your pond?
>
> 52 degrees here right now, so ponds are liquid, and fairly clear.

Skating rink...(literally - I got my skates out for the first time in years)
--
derek

[Sean Dinh]

Water is still green. Plants are still green. Pond is overflowing from heavy
rain.

[Ka30P]

Today the watergardening labradors decided to live dangerously and started
walking on top of the frozen pond. Being that all the teenagers are back in
school and dh back at work this was an alarming thing to see. Visions of trying
to get two water soaked large dogs out of the pond...
Luckily they did not fall through. Today.




kathy

[~ jan JJsPond.us]

>Hovering around 50 degrees. I turn the fountain/filter
>on when it gets above 60 degrees, but in a few
>days turn it off again. That's the goldfish pond. The
>other two (minnow only) ponds are on their own and
>do fine. Gail

Gail, if I was in your situation I'd have my filter on all the time, you'll
have no troubles at all with spring start up if you do that. "Supposedly"
our bacteria doesn't die in cold temps, some theorize, but creates a film
over itself and waits till conditions are more desirable. Even though my
water is down to almost freezing I still keep one bio-chamber going with
slow flow all winter. It really made a difference last spring. ~ jan


~Power to the Porg, Flow On!~

[Stephen Henning]

I just checked and the nice rich green carpet on the bottom of my pond
is string algae. The stuff beginning to cover the surface of the pond
is not duckweed, but azolla. I am hoping the azolla through shade and
filtering during the winter will help hold down the string algae growth
until the water warms up in the spring.

The golden shiner minnows are still swimming. The tadpoles are still
moving about. No sign of the frogs. All my marginal plants are sitting
on the bottom so the pots won't crack. There are some huge anacharis
"bushes" growing. I have tubs of water hyacinth in my greenhouse ready
to put in after the last frost.

Since my pond is spring fed, nutrient filtering is important all year
long. Is there anything I can do now or do I just play catchup in the
spring?
--
Pardon my spam deterrent; send email to
18,000 gallon (17'x 47'x 2-4') lily pond garden in Zone 6
Cheers, Steve Henning in Reading, PA USA

[Artships]

In article >,
~ jan JJsPond.us > writes:
> Gail, if I was in your situation I'd have my filter on all the time,

*wave to Jan*

My pond's in Fort Worth, about five hours north of Gail's. Had a nice
thorough freeze around Christmas (towards the bottom,
http://artships.com/pond.php). Pump is still... Pumping, skippy is
still keeping the water clear. Fish still swim, albeit with a bit
more deliberation at times. Landscaping's a mess since everything
that had been green isn't, and The Crew has torn-up the grass playing
"Chase".

Hey, Gail - Still got all those birds on your back porch?

John
--
An entire village where nobody's prepared to admit to being root,
and everyone has to be addressed by number because both forward
and reverse DNS is broken. -- The Prisoner, described by Tanuki

[Gail Futoran]

"Artships" > wrote in message
...
> In article >,
> ~ jan JJsPond.us > writes:
>> Gail, if I was in your situation I'd have my filter on all the time,
>
> *wave to Jan*

Whoa, how did I miss Jan's post? In reply, I suppose I
was concerned that with above-ground ponds, as the
water temp cools, the fish head as far south as they
can which isn't very far but better than nothing. Keeping
the filter on doesn't do anything for the biobugs (which
are nonexistent at lower temps, right?), it "mixes" the
water hence making the lower levels cooler, and also I
have to worry about the surface freezing over doing
weird things to my little fountain. Anyhoo, the fish
seem to be doing ok with the filter on except when I
expect temps to approach freezing overnight.

I could be wrong...

> My pond's in Fort Worth, about five hours north of Gail's.

Or three hours south, since once you leave Ft Worth
during winter you just hit the brakes and slide. :)

Had a nice
> thorough freeze around Christmas (towards the bottom,
> http://artships.com/pond.php). Pump is still... Pumping, skippy is
> still keeping the water clear. Fish still swim, albeit with a bit
> more deliberation at times. Landscaping's a mess since everything
> that had been green isn't, and The Crew has torn-up the grass playing
> "Chase".
>
> Hey, Gail - Still got all those birds on your back porch?

The Barn Swallows leave me regularly late summer. :(
But they'll be back! Except there's a lot less nesting
room since we built a room on the patio for two kittens.
(Long story, FeLV+, etc.) So now I'm planning on
building shelters just off the patio, under the overhangs.
I experimented with one last year, and a couple did
build a nest, although it fell down (overhang not
deep/long enough maybe). Thanks for asking!

> John

Gail

[~ jan JJsPond.us]

On Fri, 14 Jan 2005 16:00:04 GMT, "Gail Futoran"
> wrote:

> Keeping
>the filter on doesn't do anything for the biobugs (which
>are nonexistent at lower temps, right?),

That's what koi people use to think, so they cleaned their filters and put
them in storage mode and effectively killed any bacteria, or they stopped
the filters and effectively drowned/killed the bacteria. If you keep a slow
flow going the bacteria "supposedly" will go into a dormant state and wait
for better conditions. Granted some will die, but much will live. Spring
start-up is a breeze in comparison to start-up from scratch each spring.

> it "mixes" the
>water hence making the lower levels cooler, and also I
>have to worry about the surface freezing over doing
>weird things to my little fountain.

I've got a stock tank running with a becket box filter and bell fountain
agitating the surface. I turn the stock tank heater on periodically to keep
the ice away from the fountain. This year this tank has a bunch of koi fry
in it, an I'm currently not worried. We've hit a low of 15*F so far this
year and suppose to be colder tonight. ~ jan


~Power to the Porg, Flow On!~

[Nedra]

Jan - would you please define further the terms "stock tank", "becket box
filter and bell fountain egitating the surface" ---- also "I turn the stock
tank heater
on periodically". What size pump are you using? I know instinctively what
these things are but not enough to
replicate your set-up. Sounds neat not to have to start over from scratch
each spring. Thanks much.

Nedra

Lotus Garden:
http://community.webshots.com/user/nedra118
Backyard Pond:
http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Pines/4836
"~ jan JJsPond.us" > wrote in message
...
> On Fri, 14 Jan 2005 16:00:04 GMT, "Gail Futoran"
> > wrote:
>
> > Keeping
> >the filter on doesn't do anything for the biobugs (which
> >are nonexistent at lower temps, right?),
>
> That's what koi people use to think, so they cleaned their filters and put
> them in storage mode and effectively killed any bacteria, or they stopped
> the filters and effectively drowned/killed the bacteria. If you keep a
slow
> flow going the bacteria "supposedly" will go into a dormant state and wait
> for better conditions. Granted some will die, but much will live. Spring
> start-up is a breeze in comparison to start-up from scratch each spring.
>
> > it "mixes" the
> >water hence making the lower levels cooler, and also I
> >have to worry about the surface freezing over doing
> >weird things to my little fountain.
>
> I've got a stock tank running with a becket box filter and bell fountain
> agitating the surface. I turn the stock tank heater on periodically to
keep
> the ice away from the fountain. This year this tank has a bunch of koi fry
> in it, an I'm currently not worried. We've hit a low of 15*F so far this
> year and suppose to be colder tonight. ~ jan
>
>
> ~Power to the Porg, Flow On!~

[~ jan JJsPond.us]

>Jan - would you please define further the terms "stock tank"

Stock tank, n. Rubber or metal tank for holding water for stock (cows,
horses, etc.). ;o) Mine is the Rubbermaid 70 gallon, sitting above ground
on my patio.

>"becket box filter and bell fountain egitating the surface"

http://www.aqua-mart.com/search.pl (and if that doesn't get you there,
copy & paste BBF350A20 into their search box). The pump is a 350 gph, but
you can go larger.

I'm using a regular stock tank heater, the red ones, 1000 watt. That's why
I don't just leave it on.... they're too flakey.

Are you thinking of growing out some babies? ~ jan


~Power to the Porg, Flow On!~

[Nedra]

No babies to worry about .... I was thinking of trying to set up a dealy
with one of the
bags from the pressurized filter to get a jump start on spring. The filter
is covered with snow and it has been cold here -
20 degrees or less. Everything is probably dead now anyway. But then
again, I may
go ahead and set something up in the patio pond. I have two of them - unused
this year.
I think I could buy a small Beckett pump and I have a little
spunge filter that fits on it. Also somewhere around here is 75 degree
heater that I could
drop in.... As you can readily see - I'm just not 100% right now :-)
Thanks for your info, Jan.

Nedra
"~ jan JJsPond.us" > wrote in message
...
> >Jan - would you please define further the terms "stock tank"
>
> Stock tank, n. Rubber or metal tank for holding water for stock (cows,
> horses, etc.). ;o) Mine is the Rubbermaid 70 gallon, sitting above ground
> on my patio.
>
> >"becket box filter and bell fountain egitating the surface"
>
> http://www.aqua-mart.com/search.pl (and if that doesn't get you there,
> copy & paste BBF350A20 into their search box). The pump is a 350 gph, but
> you can go larger.
>
> I'm using a regular stock tank heater, the red ones, 1000 watt. That's why
> I don't just leave it on.... they're too flakey.
>
> Are you thinking of growing out some babies? ~ jan
>
>
> ~Power to the Porg, Flow On!~

[Tom L. La Bron]

Nedra,

Last year and this year I have left my pump going through the winter with my
1,500 gallons of above ground ponds. Living here in Northern Central
Oklahoma I get ice on the ponds and around the discharge of the to the last
pond but every thing is fine for the fish. On my discharges to each pond is
a 4 inch PVC and hanging on the elbow is a 6 inch lily pot that slows the
water flow into the pond and also helps distribute the water over the
surface of the pond rather than having the cascade dumping the water
directly to the bottom of the pond.

I started using this technique on the cascade about 5 years ago when I place
Philly Veil pea sized fish in my ponds so they would be battered by the
2,000 gph flow into the pond. I then noticed that it seemed that the fish
kept in the pond to help eat the excess food that fry didn't eat seemed to
enjoy the the lack of flow, and were not as skidished. I ended up using
this technique on all the pond discharges. This year I did have a problem
though because my oldest Rubbermaid of 9 years started leaking and later one
of the discharges where I used a different technique for sealing the joints
started leaking and twice I lost water significantly in the pond.

I have left my filter in tact for this last two winters except I have taken
the filter pads out and left only the bioballs in the fitler. Except for my
bout with string algae last year my filter seemed to take off quicker than
it has any year before at the beginning of the spring. I will see if it
does the same this spring, hopefully without the string algae episode.

I know one thing the pond sure has stayed cleaner this last two years when
the pump was left running and even though I had string algae the water was
always crystal clear.

I have bought my replacement filter for the big particales for the Spring
already and it looks like the fine filter I have is still good. I have
decided to change the administration of my Oyster Shell Chicken Grit and
made bags of toule to put it in and will place several of these in the
baskets under t water flow of the cascade so they will always be affected by
good water flow, because this last summer I had a problem with the water in
the filter knocking it out of the tray it was in and it ended up clogging
the holes drilled my dischage port from the filter. It took me two
overflows of my filter this last year to discover what was making the filter
overflow. So I came up with this idea to solve the problem that also
maintained the KH in my ponds.

HTH

Tom L.L.
---------------------------------------------------
"Nedra" > wrote in message
nk.net...
> No babies to worry about .... I was thinking of trying to set up a dealy
> with one of the
> bags from the pressurized filter to get a jump start on spring. The
> filter
> is covered with snow and it has been cold here -
> 20 degrees or less. Everything is probably dead now anyway. But then
> again, I may
> go ahead and set something up in the patio pond. I have two of them -
> unused
> this year.
> I think I could buy a small Beckett pump and I have a little
> spunge filter that fits on it. Also somewhere around here is 75 degree
> heater that I could
> drop in.... As you can readily see - I'm just not 100% right now :-)
> Thanks for your info, Jan.
>
> Nedra
> "~ jan JJsPond.us" > wrote in message
> ...
>> >Jan - would you please define further the terms "stock tank"
>>
>> Stock tank, n. Rubber or metal tank for holding water for stock (cows,
>> horses, etc.). ;o) Mine is the Rubbermaid 70 gallon, sitting above ground
>> on my patio.
>>
>> >"becket box filter and bell fountain egitating the surface"
>>
>> http://www.aqua-mart.com/search.pl (and if that doesn't get you there,
>> copy & paste BBF350A20 into their search box). The pump is a 350 gph,
>> but
>> you can go larger.
>>
>> I'm using a regular stock tank heater, the red ones, 1000 watt. That's
>> why
>> I don't just leave it on.... they're too flakey.
>>
>> Are you thinking of growing out some babies? ~ jan
>>
>>
>> ~Power to the Porg, Flow On!~
>

[~ jan JJsPond.us]

> As you can readily see - I'm just not 100% right now :-)
>Thanks for your info, Jan. >Nedra

Is anyone in this newsgroup? Ever? ;o) ~ jan


~Power to the Porg, Flow On!~

[Nedra]

Thanks for your information, Tom. I really appreciate knowing how others
solve
the leave-the-pump-running problem. I have a Tetra (something) in pond
filter with the 1200 gph pump inside it. The tubing runs up to the
pressurized filter then out to a foot long spray bar.
I think I'll try your technique ~
Nedra

"Tom L. La Bron" > wrote in message
...
> Nedra,
>
> Last year and this year I have left my pump going through the winter with
my
> 1,500 gallons of above ground ponds. Living here in Northern Central
> Oklahoma I get ice on the ponds and around the discharge of the to the
last
> pond but every thing is fine for the fish. On my discharges to each pond
is
> a 4 inch PVC and hanging on the elbow is a 6 inch lily pot that slows the
> water flow into the pond and also helps distribute the water over the
> surface of the pond rather than having the cascade dumping the water
> directly to the bottom of the pond.
>
> I started using this technique on the cascade about 5 years ago when I
place
> Philly Veil pea sized fish in my ponds so they would be battered by the
> 2,000 gph flow into the pond. I then noticed that it seemed that the fish
> kept in the pond to help eat the excess food that fry didn't eat seemed to
> enjoy the the lack of flow, and were not as skidished. I ended up using
> this technique on all the pond discharges. This year I did have a problem
> though because my oldest Rubbermaid of 9 years started leaking and later
one
> of the discharges where I used a different technique for sealing the
joints
> started leaking and twice I lost water significantly in the pond.
>
> I have left my filter in tact for this last two winters except I have
taken
> the filter pads out and left only the bioballs in the fitler. Except for
my
> bout with string algae last year my filter seemed to take off quicker than
> it has any year before at the beginning of the spring. I will see if it
> does the same this spring, hopefully without the string algae episode.
>
> I know one thing the pond sure has stayed cleaner this last two years when
> the pump was left running and even though I had string algae the water was
> always crystal clear.
>
> I have bought my replacement filter for the big particales for the Spring
> already and it looks like the fine filter I have is still good. I have
> decided to change the administration of my Oyster Shell Chicken Grit and
> made bags of toule to put it in and will place several of these in the
> baskets under t water flow of the cascade so they will always be affected
by
> good water flow, because this last summer I had a problem with the water
in
> the filter knocking it out of the tray it was in and it ended up clogging
> the holes drilled my dischage port from the filter. It took me two
> overflows of my filter this last year to discover what was making the
filter
> overflow. So I came up with this idea to solve the problem that also
> maintained the KH in my ponds.
>
> HTH
>
> Tom L.L.
> ---------------------------------------------------
> "Nedra" > wrote in message
> nk.net...
> > No babies to worry about .... I was thinking of trying to set up a dealy
> > with one of the
> > bags from the pressurized filter to get a jump start on spring. The
> > filter
> > is covered with snow and it has been cold here -
> > 20 degrees or less. Everything is probably dead now anyway. But then
> > again, I may
> > go ahead and set something up in the patio pond. I have two of them -
> > unused
> > this year.
> > I think I could buy a small Beckett pump and I have a little
> > spunge filter that fits on it. Also somewhere around here is 75 degree
> > heater that I could
> > drop in.... As you can readily see - I'm just not 100% right now :-)
> > Thanks for your info, Jan.
> >
> > Nedra
> > "~ jan JJsPond.us" > wrote in message
> > ...
> >> >Jan - would you please define further the terms "stock tank"
> >>
> >> Stock tank, n. Rubber or metal tank for holding water for stock (cows,
> >> horses, etc.). ;o) Mine is the Rubbermaid 70 gallon, sitting above
ground
> >> on my patio.
> >>
> >> >"becket box filter and bell fountain egitating the surface"
> >>
> >> http://www.aqua-mart.com/search.pl (and if that doesn't get you there,
> >> copy & paste BBF350A20 into their search box). The pump is a 350 gph,
> >> but
> >> you can go larger.
> >>
> >> I'm using a regular stock tank heater, the red ones, 1000 watt. That's
> >> why
> >> I don't just leave it on.... they're too flakey.
> >>
> >> Are you thinking of growing out some babies? ~ jan
> >>
> >>
> >> ~Power to the Porg, Flow On!~
> >
>
>

[news groups]

~ jan JJsPond.us wrote:

> What is the current status of your pond?
>
> The screens have 4" of snow on them, but with my wireless thermometer I can
> see that the water is liquid, I can also "hear" the water moving... but
> that requires going "outside".... like brrrrr!
>
> I haven't even gone up and looked at the lily pond, maybe I'll do that
> today. I'm hoping the fact I floated milk jugs on it that they are holding
> the shade cloth off the surface of the water. ~ 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
I walk on my pond. There is about 6 inches of ice covering most of the
pond. We are expecting 50+ degree weather this week, so there should be
a lot of thawing! YEA!!!!!!

[news groups]

Benign Vanilla wrote:

> "~ jan JJsPond.us" > wrote in message
> ...
>
>>What is the current status of your pond?
>>
>>The screens have 4" of snow on them, but with my wireless thermometer I
>
> can
>
>>see that the water is liquid, I can also "hear" the water moving... but
>>that requires going "outside".... like brrrrr!
>>
>>I haven't even gone up and looked at the lily pond, maybe I'll do that
>>today. I'm hoping the fact I floated milk jugs on it that they are holding
>>the shade cloth off the surface of the water. ~ jan
>
> <snip>
>
> Pond? What pond? Oh Sh!t...I forgot about the pond...
>
>
ROTFLOL!!!!!

[news groups]

southernbc wrote:

> Hello all,
>
> My pond is now freezing over inside my hoop house but the bubbler and
> winter filter system are working Great. The ice in frozen areas looks
> about 3" thick. It is currently -20 celsius this morning outside You
> can see pictures at my website (nothing for sale)
> http://www.boundary-ca.net/pond/index.html
>
> ~ jan JJsPond.us wrote:
>
>> What is the current status of your pond?
>>
>> The screens have 4" of snow on them, but with my wireless thermometer
>> I can
>> see that the water is liquid, I can also "hear" the water moving... but
>> that requires going "outside".... like brrrrr!
>>
>> I haven't even gone up and looked at the lily pond, maybe I'll do that
>> today. I'm hoping the fact I floated milk jugs on it that they are
>> holding
>> the shade cloth off the surface of the water. ~ 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
>
>
Do you still have your pump/fileter running?

[~ jan JJsPond.us]

On Mon, 17 Jan 2005 09:51:15 -0700, news groups > wrote:

>southernbc wrote:

>> ~ jan JJsPond.us wrote:
>> The screens have 4" of snow on them, but with my wireless thermometer
>> I can see that the water is liquid, I can also "hear" the water moving... but
>>> that requires going "outside".... like brrrrr!
>>>
>>> See my ponds thru the seasons and/or my filter design:
>>> http://users.owt.com/jjspond/
>>>
>Do you still have your pump/fileter running?

Not sure if this was directed at me or not.... but, if so, yes, I do. I
have slow flow (1500 gph down to 300 gph in winter) going thru the
pre-filter and one bio-chamber. Is the filter working? Not in the
bio-logical sense, but on the theory that the bacteria are dormant and are
waiting for spring. As are we all. ;o) ~ jan


~Power to the Porg, Flow On!~

[southernbc]

I still have a very small (40 gph) pump running in a 3 gallon rubbermaid
tub surface mounted with a slit open side and the pump shooting straight
down out the bottom with quilt batting over it. About 2 inches from the
surface I have a 250 watt outdoor spotlight aimed right at the water. In
additon to that I have two bubblers in the shallow area of the pond (18"
deep) The filter seems to be working quite well even in the cold with
the lamp, I see various living, active, insect larvae on a regular basis
and the water is very clear.
There are pictures taken in January on my website if you want to see
them. http://www.boundary-ca.net/pond/index.html


Have a Great Day!
Don - southernbc

news groups wrote:
> southernbc wrote:
>
>> Hello all,
>>
>> My pond is now freezing over inside my hoop house but the bubbler and
>> winter filter system are working Great. The ice in frozen areas looks
>> about 3" thick. It is currently -20 celsius this morning outside You
>> can see pictures at my website (nothing for sale)
>> http://www.boundary-ca.net/pond/index.html
>>
>> ~ jan JJsPond.us wrote:
>>
>>> What is the current status of your pond?
>>>
>>> The screens have 4" of snow on them, but with my wireless thermometer
>>> I can
>>> see that the water is liquid, I can also "hear" the water moving... but
>>> that requires going "outside".... like brrrrr!
>>>
>>> I haven't even gone up and looked at the lily pond, maybe I'll do that
>>> today. I'm hoping the fact I floated milk jugs on it that they are
>>> holding
>>> the shade cloth off the surface of the water. ~ 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
>>
>>
>>
> Do you still have your pump/fileter running?

[Clurrie]

Even the little "stream" and "waterfall" are iced over but, if I stand
real close, I can hear the water flowing inside the ice “tube”...
Several inches of ice over the main pond, no easily to locate hole (just
inside the ice "pipe" the waterfall drops through) so I haven't seen the
fish of late. It's about -27 Celsius (-13 Fahrenheit) tonight in New
Brunswick. With the breeze, the Chill Factor is about -45 C. (-53 F.),
so I don't think I'll bust a hole through. The fish hardly came up to
feed before the cold snap and it's been pretty well a week of this
stuff... Lots of bird track (pheasants, I think), and small animal
tracks all around. Also been visited by this feral cat that is doing
it's best to drive me nuts.... The pond is 7 feet deep, so I don't
anticipate any grave problems unless maybe if the pump gives up the
ghost... The fish are brook trout, so should be able to take the cold
(at least I hope so). This is our first winter with the pond up and
stocked, so only time will tell.... The floating plants are long gone,
but the arrowhead and iris should be OK and the water lilies are fairly
deep... Funny, the little solar powered accent lights we left out there
where on just after dark. I didn't think the batteries would pick up
enough juice in this cold...

Wonderful little experiment at the very least... We'll see what makes
it to the spring after it all thaws... :O)

Clurrie

Artships wrote:
> In article >,
> ~ jan JJsPond.us > writes:
>
>>Gail, if I was in your situation I'd have my filter on all the time,
>
>
> *wave to Jan*
>
> My pond's in Fort Worth, about five hours north of Gail's. Had a nice
> thorough freeze around Christmas (towards the bottom,
> http://artships.com/pond.php). Pump is still... Pumping, skippy is
> still keeping the water clear. Fish still swim, albeit with a bit
> more deliberation at times. Landscaping's a mess since everything
> that had been green isn't, and The Crew has torn-up the grass playing
> "Chase".
>
> Hey, Gail - Still got all those birds on your back porch?
>
> John

[~ jan JJsPond.us]

>Even the little "stream" and "waterfall" are iced over but, if I stand
>real close, I can hear the water flowing inside the ice “tube”...
>Several inches of ice over the main pond, no easily to locate hole (just
>inside the ice "pipe" the waterfall drops through) so I haven't seen the
>fish of late. It's about -27 Celsius (-13 Fahrenheit) tonight in New
>Brunswick. With the breeze, the Chill Factor is about -45 C. (-53 F.),
>Clurrie

Brrrr! Super Brrrr! We're seeing signs of spring here in S.Central
Washington (State). Black birds trilling out by the birdfeeders and an
e-mail report that kathy was cleaning out the cupboards, and had put her
snowmen away. I'm not quite convince to do that! ~ jan


~Power to the Porg, Flow On!~

[Derek Broughton]

~ jan JJsPond.us wrote:


> Brrrr! Super Brrrr! We're seeing signs of spring here in S.Central
> Washington (State). Black birds trilling out by the birdfeeders and an

Stop it! Stop it! I've got my fingers in my ears, and I'm not listening!
La, la, la, la, la...
--
derek

[~ jan JJsPond.us]

On Mon, 31 Jan 2005 11:25:05 -0400, Derek Broughton >
wrote:

>Stop it! Stop it! I've got my fingers in my ears, and I'm not listening!
>La, la, la, la, la...

Slapping hand to mouth, (or slapping hands away from keyboard), "Sorry"
~ jan ;o)


~Power to the Porg, Flow On!~