prepping pond for winter

Greetings all,
i have a 2500 gallon backyard pond here on Long Island, New york. It
is starting to get around freezing here now. When should i disconnect
my submersible pump and dump out the biofilter, etc...? Is it too soon?
Have a Laguna WG 10,000 pump and a Laguna 4500 pond filter. Also should
i stop feeding now. Have about twelve 9 inch koi.

Thanks,
Tony

No it isn't too soon - to unhook the pump, filter, etc and to stop feeding
the koi.
Be sure you have a bubbler hooked up for keeping a hole in the ice ...
Water temps of 55 degrees F. are usually the cut off point for feeding the
fish.
If you don't have a water thermometer ... please buy one. You'll need it
for
spring start up.

Nedra in Missouri

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

"tony" wrote in message
ups.com...
Greetings all,
i have a 2500 gallon backyard pond here on Long Island, New york. It
is starting to get around freezing here now. When should i disconnect
my submersible pump and dump out the biofilter, etc...? Is it too soon?
Have a Laguna WG 10,000 pump and a Laguna 4500 pond filter. Also should
i stop feeding now. Have about twelve 9 inch koi.

Thanks,
Tony

Nedra is right.
The digestive system of fish start to slow down at about 54 deg. (I wish
my dogs could do that) Fish can pick up any supplimental foods from the
pond bottom.
I remove the pumps, filters, and above ground plumbing before the first
big freeze. It gives me the chance to do a real good cleaning and
recondition.

I gave up on stock heaters. (they last about a year and cost too much)
I went to Walmart and bought a $9 air bubbler w/ bubble stone, an $8
indoor/oudoor digital thermomiter, and a 2 quart lockable food storage
bowl.
I weighted the container inside with a brick. (this also keeps the pump
up high if water does get in)
I also weighted down the bubble stones, they like to float. Any holes can
be sealed with silicon sealant or 'shoe goop'

This setup is on it's third winter. The ice was nearly 8" thick last
winter and I didn't have to open a breathing hole.
Hope this helps.

=================================


"tony" wrote in news:1102333719.241030.25870
@z14g2000cwz.googlegroups.com:

Greetings all,
i have a 2500 gallon backyard pond here on Long Island, New york. It
is starting to get around freezing here now. When should i disconnect
my submersible pump and dump out the biofilter, etc...? Is it too soon?
Have a Laguna WG 10,000 pump and a Laguna 4500 pond filter. Also should
i stop feeding now. Have about twelve 9 inch koi.

Thanks,
Tony

This sounds good. Could you break it down a little more?
I still can't picture it.
Thanks,
Tony

I live in Atlanta where I rarely freezes. I'm wondering if I need to
remove my pump, etc, or can I just keep in running (it's attached to a
little fountain/bubbler)
Kirsten
"tony" wrote in message
ups.com...
This sounds good. Could you break it down a little more?
I still can't picture it.
Thanks,
Tony

You are in about the same zone as I am, Zone 7a/7b. None of the pond club
members remove their pumps here, or even turn them off. It is a good idea
to lift the pump and set it on a bucket or something to keep the bottom
water as still as possible.
--
RichToyBox
http://www.geocities.com/richtoybox/pondintro.html

"kc" wrote in message
...
I live in Atlanta where I rarely freezes. I'm wondering if I need to
remove my pump, etc, or can I just keep in running (it's attached to a
little fountain/bubbler)
Kirsten
"tony" wrote in message
ups.com...
This sounds good. Could you break it down a little more?
I still can't picture it.
Thanks,
Tony

On Tue, 7 Dec 2004 11:27:40 -0500, "kc" wrote:

I live in Atlanta where I rarely freezes. I'm wondering if I need to
remove my pump, etc, or can I just keep in running (it's attached to a
little fountain/bubbler)

I'm about 100 miles South of Hartsfield and keep my pump running, even
on the days we get a thin coating of ice. If your fountain bubbler
might cause an overflow if/when the top of the pond ices over you
wouldn't want that to happen. You should know a day ahead of a
"hard" freeze and have plenty of time to shut down the pump. You
might get better information about your pond from someone in your
area. Koi club members are usually nice people to know.

http://www.atlantakoiclub.com/

Regards,

Hal

"tony" wrote in news:1102384112.937553.34750
@c13g2000cwb.googlegroups.com:

This sounds good. Could you break it down a little more?
I still can't picture it.
Thanks,
Tony

I'm not ignoring your request.
I keep trying to send a picture but it doesn't want to go through.

On or about Wed, 08 Dec 2004 01:53:11 GMT, StOrEcRaFt
wrote something like:

"tony" wrote in news:1102384112.937553.34750
:

This sounds good. Could you break it down a little more?
I still can't picture it.
Thanks,
Tony

I'm not ignoring your request.
I keep trying to send a picture but it doesn't want to go through.

Don't be posting pictures here, eh? This is text only, please and
thank you. If you have pictures post them at one of the photo sites
like yahoo and then post the link to the pictures here.

That should improve your grasp of the concept, too {;-)
--
Crashj