Getting ready for my fisrt winter with a pond

On Fri, 03 Sep 2004 07:11:18 -0400, "S. M. Henning"
wrote:
sip

There are only 3 things wrong with the
===sho sand, sal****er, and seafood.


Those are among the three best things about the shore!
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Ok, sal****er (for diving) and sea food (for eating) is good! :-) :-)
! Sand? You mean like the stuff at the National Sand Dune Monument in
southern Colorado? Yeah, we have some of that. Interesting stuff.
Especially when covered with snow. :-P :-D .

S. M. Henning wrote:

"Claudia" wrote:



OK, newbie zone 9 ponder. do I have to "worry" about winter here in Ventura
County at 100 feet above sea level. What is this snow stuff you are talking
about? (So. Cal Native) ;-0 Sounds like nasty stuff.



It is sort of like sand but it is soft and goes away. When tracked in
doors it just turns to water and doesn't damage floors. Sand just stays
there and drifts all year long, not just in the winter. I would much
rather have snow than sand. There are only 3 things wrong with the
sho sand, sal****er, and seafood.

Those three things are the only things good about the shore. Generally too
many people, too many junk shops, too much traffic are the things wrong with
the shore.
--
RichToyBox
http://www.geocities.com/richtoybox/index.html

"S. M. Henning" wrote in message
news
"Claudia" wrote:

There are only 3 things wrong with the
sho sand, sal****er, and seafood.

--
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On Fri, 03 Sep 2004 23:49:05 GMT, "RichToyBox"
wrote:

===Those three things are the only things good about the shore. Generally too
===many people, too many junk shops, too much traffic are the things wrong with
===the shore.


That alone is why we always wait until after labor day to hit the
gulf. All the vacationers are at home, souviener shops boarded up and
the beaches are virtually empty......Weather is usually a lot more
comfortable as well, and there is just something about the Gulf of
Mexico in the fall and winter time thats drastically different than
summer......fishing is also great during fall and early winter. Motel
rooms get cut in half or better as well.

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ok, so now that we all have had fun with my request for info about SNOW, do
I need to do anything to overwinter (such as zone 9 has) or just feed the
fish less?

--
Totus Tuus
Claudia (take out no spam to reply)

On Mon, 06 Sep 2004 04:19:18 GMT, "Claudia"
wrote:

===ok, so now that we all have had fun with my request for info about SNOW, do
===I need to do anything to overwinter (such as zone 9 has) or just feed the
===fish less?

I suppose from what I have read and have been told us fortunate enough
to live in zone 9 are pretty well out of range of most cold weather
related problems. I tetter on the border of zones 8 and 9, but overall
my weather is closer to zone 9 than the 8, as freezing or snow is
rare, and on those days it gets cold its only until about 9 am until
the sun gets up a bit then its back to shorts and T shirts ;-)


I would feed according to the water temps, and if your pond hits the
minimum temp for feeding , then I would stop. I feed my catfish year
round, as my pond has never gotten frozen or cold enough for them to
go into their state of slowed activity......Wheat germ based foods are
supposedly good for cooler weather, and I have seen foods that state
they are an all season food and can be fed in cold weather. I would
susupect that really depends on if your fish are active or not. I
guess not feeding would be th safest, but I will continue to feed as
long as they are active with a food made for all seasons as well as
wheat germ pellets.
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In zone 9 you may have such a short winter that the pond never cools to
below 50 degrees. If that is the case, feed all year. If the fish aren't
hungray, don't feed. They tend to be smarter than we are. If your
temperatures drop to below 50, it should be for a very short time, probably
the end of January, first of February. In my area, Zone 7, the ponds stay
warm enough to feed until about Christmas, and are back up and ready by late
April.
--
RichToyBox
http://www.geocities.com/richtoybox/index.html

"Claudia" wrote in message
news:azR_c.7639$fF2.1280@trnddc03...
ok, so now that we all have had fun with my request for info about SNOW,
do
I need to do anything to overwinter (such as zone 9 has) or just feed the
fish less?

--
Totus Tuus
Claudia (take out no spam to reply)

That 'snow stuff' is that which keeps us in colder climes sane during
the time our ponds are 'down'. We mostly pretend to not think about
them as we blast down snow covered 11,000 - 13,000 foot peaks reveling
in the thrill of the speed and thanking our Maker that we made it to the
bottom without bumping into trees or other skiers. Then we act like
"all that and then some" because we are still upright. 8-) :-D :-P .
And of course we never go out and walk around the pond peering into the
ice covered crystalline depths (totally clear for the first time! LOL)
to catch a glimpse of the inhabitants below. :-) :-) . Do we?

It only gets nasty when we forget that we are mere mortals and our
vehicles are not indestructible armor vehicles!

Humm.... Southern Cal is starting to sound nice for the winter!

Claudia wrote:

OK, newbie zone 9 ponder. do I have to "worry" about winter here in Ventura
County at 100 feet above sea level. What is this snow stuff you are talking
about? (So. Cal Native) ;-0 Sounds like nasty stuff.

1. To run the waterfall or to not run the waterfall...
Pros: ensures a hole is available for stuff to get out if pond freezes...
actually, waterflow should reduce chances of pond freezing
Looks pretty
Water tempature should be higher than if not run (true?)
Cons: Still paying electrical cost
Waterfall may freeze at parts, causing water to go outside of pond
--Is this really true? As a decent flow rate how does it freeze?

2. When to stop feeding...
-- Reports range from 55 to 45 degrees
--- at what depth do we concern ourselves with..(1' temp != 3' temp)



My first winter was last winter. I shut off my waterfall because I
did not want the splash to freeze taking water from out of my pond
leaving an ice sculpture mess. Also what happens if you loose power
for a half day and your lines freeze up? You can't just turn the
power back on in your pump. Sounds more like a mess.

Next I bought a livestock stock tank heater:

http://www.mytscstore.com/detail.asp...oductID=25 73

and put it in the pond when it started to freeze. At times I had two
to three feet of snow over the pond and could not even see where the
heater was. It worked. These are not only sold for livestock - I
have seen them in Petsmart and other petstores for use in ponds. PS:
they suck as much power as your pump too.

About feeding. I did not feed my goldfish at all my first year
because I did not see the small things in my large pond. Still, they
made it fine through the winter. This year I have been feeding them
and will stop with the first freeze. They will be fine for the
winter.

I must be doing something right because they are alot bigger and I now
have baby goldfish swimming around.

Rick