Crash course!

[TekWarren]

Hello all, new pond owner with the recent purchase of a new home. I have experience with aquariums over many years but I know a pond is going to be...different. I have been doing a TON of research on the web and watching all the information videos online I can find. I've done a lot of basics such as cleaning the pond out, my wife and I have been very diligent about keeping things out of the water having just passed out of fall and having leaves everywhere. The previous owner has given me tidbits of information but not much.

He had already shut down the pump/filter(aquafalls) a few weeks back before we took possession. It has been fairly warm yet for Nov. here in MI and the fish are still plenty active during the day. They were still eating and we had been giving them just a very few pellets but not every day but I realize with filtration off that we should not be feeding so we have stopped that. I have begun familiarizing myself with what equipment I have and today I did some more cleaning/debris removal. I determined I have an aquafalls filter/fall I would say medium or large I'm not quite sure of the measurements. The pump looks like it says VAN or VANS on it, I need to write down the info on the label next time. Anyway I think the previous owner half-*** winterized it but I'm the newb here and he had it going for at least 7yrs (fish are that old according to him). I found a net thing laying in a bush that turned out to be the skimmer leaf collector which I put back in place after removing leaves and junk from around/in the skimmer area.

The filter/fall is currently open top but I plan to cover it for the winter and in the spring make a grate of some sort so I can hide it more with rocks or plants. The filter box had some very stagnant water in it along with 4 bio bags (mesh bags with plastic looking tape/strands for bacteria to collect). There was also a PVC stand that was sitting in it sideways so not really doing much. I did pull the bags out and rinse them some...I know they are not supposed to be "cleaned". I netted a bunch of leaves and plant matter and a few rocks from the basin to clean it out. Also disturbed 3-4 frogs which I put in the main pond, and tossed 2-3 dead/decomposing frogs in the woods I found 2 square filter medias in the shed but I'm not sure I have them setup in the filter correctly. From what I could find online about this unit it appeared as though the PVC stand sits in the very bottom, then the filter pads then the bio bags. There is a green and a blue pad and I set them in firmly, together resting on the PVC stand. The bio bags stick up out of the water line just a little bit but I wasn't sure they should be on top or not where the moving water is?

I plugged in the pump and it is going strong. I thought since we had fed them a few times over the last few weeks it might be good to run the system for a day or two while we have warm days (50F but calling for snow on Friday). The water isn't terribly cloudy but is some and green algae is prominent I'm sure due to the warm days and the lack of moving water probably doesn't help any.

So to recap...LOL:
Do I have my filter media correct? Should add/rearrange/etc?
Any winterizing tips for Michigan?
Do I need to pull the pump or anything over the winter? (there is a bubbler going that the previous owner said is all he did over the winter other than also make sure ice was broken).

I have TON to learn and I am eager to do so but I need focus on making sure we are set for winter and then I can prepare for spring and continue learning. Oh there are about 19 Sarasa Comets as far as I can tell I'm pretty sure that is what they are. Some regular some with longer tails. half a dozen or so potted water plants some decaying lilly pads visible.

Thanks so much folks! I'm sorry this turned into a book, I really am reading other posts and utilizing the web to learn things...I know someone is going to suggest that as is par for any forum

Happy Thanks Giving!

 

[koiguy1969]

it has been warm..and i'm lovin it!...
wintering tips...
cut all the plants back, i leave my marginals where theyre at, i just cut them down to 4" - 6" above the pot.
lillies down close to the pots, if theyre in under 2' of water, if possible put them in the deeper areas for the winter.
as far as filter media...pads are mechanical filtration, from corsest to the finest. they go before the bio media.
never bust up ice...shock waves can injure / stress, even kill fish... the bubbler should be sufficient most of the time. if deemed neccessary. a pot of boiling water set on ice is a safe way to put a hole in the ice. or you can get a heater that will help keep a hole...they can get pricey to run tho.
i winter my fish in my basement, in an 800 gal pond.
heres a clip...

 

[TekWarren]

That makes sense about the shockwave...I should have known that from tropical fish keeping! Your Koi are so awesome looking...I don't know what size our pond is but I don't think it could sustain more than a few full grown Koi. I was thinking about trying to sell or trade some of the Sarasa for Shubunkens to mix it up and get some other color/patterns. I really need to figure out how many gallons it is. I'll throw a couple videos up on a YouTube quick

 

[TekWarren]

These were taken a few weeks ago before my dad came and helped us trim all the grasses and some other plants back for the winter. I think I'd like build a small deck near one side of the pond so you could sit outside right next next to it.

The fish!

Walk around the pond:

 

[Waterbug]

Nice pond and nice fish. I'm thinking my next pond will be just Sarasa Comets. We'll see how long that plan lasts.

I have experience with aquariums over many years but I know a pond is going to be...different.

Trust what you learned with aquarium. Water Gardens are pretty easy and because of that there's a lot of really, really bad info. A person can do lots of bad things and the fish will live. In aquariums and high end Koi ponds, both high fish density, mistakes will have bad results fast so the info in those hobbies evolves faster and bad info gets tossed pretty quick. In Water Gardens bad info can stick around forever and be widely believed and repeated by what seem to be experienced people.

I've learned most of what I know about Water Gardens from reading about aquariums (never had one), fish farms, water treatment, high end Koi ponds, etc. There's just not a need or desire in the Water Gardening hobby for data gathering, testing and learning. Being bullet proof also makes Water Gardens a great hobby. But be careful about investing too much time in serious research. More likely to learn myths.

The filter box had some very stagnant water in it along with 4 bio bags (mesh bags with plastic looking tape/strands for bacteria to collect). There was also a PVC stand that was sitting in it sideways so not really doing much. I did pull the bags out and rinse them some...I know they are not supposed to be "cleaned".

Here's one of those bad info areas in Water Gardens...because you had to clean the bio media means there was virtually no bacteria on the media, so no harm at all in cleaning it. There's this kind of strange theme in Water Gardens that if you call something bio media that obviously it must have bacteria. Trouble is the bacteria don't have an internet connection and have no idea what "bio media" is. And they sure don't care if the pond keeper wants them to live there. They can't live on media that has even the tiniest covering of dust. To the bacteria that's like 10' of muck. The water carrying their food and O2 can't get thru that layer. Bio needs to be thought of more as living coral would be in a saltwater aquarium. If it doesn't stay clean it dies. It's even more important for bacteria because these animals are so much smaller.

That your bio media was dirty and given the pictures of your pond and fish load I'd be betting serious cash (would give odds too) that if you removed all your "bio media" that you would measure zero ammonia and nitrite in the summer. All your actual bio filtering is being done inside the pond and inside the pump and pipes. Most Water Gardens imo have the exact same set up you found, non-functioning bio filter. In an aquarium that would kill all the fish in a week, but not in a Water Garden. Just like with aquariums it's testing water parameters (ammonia, nitrite, KH, nitrate) that tell you everything.

Ammonia
Not sure if you ran into this with aquariums... Most people and test kits will just say "ammonia". "Ammonia higher than zero will kill your fish". But this isn't completely true. In water ammonia exists in two states, NH3(ammonia, un-ionized, toxic) and NH4 (ammonium, ionized, basically harmless). These convert back and forth depending on pH and temp. Low pH decreases NH3 and increases NH4 as does colder water.

Most test kits only give you Total Ammonia, both NH3 and NH4. You then test pH and temp and use a chart like this one from cnykoi to determine if you actually have a problem. Some people freak out when they measure Total Ammonia and get bad advice to take all kinds of unneeded and risky "fixes". So this winter and spring you could measure ammonia and not have a problem. The bacteria don't convert at lower temps.

Winterizing
IMO this isn't as clear as is commonly stated. An ice covered pond stops gas exchange which can kill fish. So pond must be kept open...right? Well, keeping an opening in a pond can drop the temp of the water which can kill fish just as fast. Catch-22. I think it's pretty much impossible to predict which is the best course. If you have a long period of ice cover, like more than a month, and you didn't clean the pond and you had a lot of fish then lack of gas exchange is a real issue. But if you have thaws every few weeks, like we had in Upstate NY, your pond is fairly deep, you kept the pond clean, didn't have a lot of fish for the pond size then low water temp could be a larger threat than gas exchange and it would be better to let it ice over.

IMO its important to know 39F water is heavier than 33F. In shallow ponds (less than 18' or so) it is the ice that allows the water to be calm enough for the bottom to stay 39F even as the higher areas are colder. Keeping an opening in the ice mixes the water and can even allow water to get below 32F because of minerals in the water. Fish can handle the cold water for some period of time, but the longer the worst it gets for the fish.

Bottom line is winter is just plain difficult and it isn't clear whether keeping an opening is always the right choice.

Marginal Plants
Best to remove from the water. Lilies can stay in the pond at the bottom if you have any. Marginals can grow in water, but that is not their optimal growing conditions. Some are better than others surviving in water. But less risk keeping them someplace they won't freeze in damp or almost dry soil. Or remove them from the pots and store them bare root (depends on the plant). Marginals really have to be divided every year anyways.

 

[Waterbug]

TekWarren, You might think about getting rid of the Blue Heron decoy. I know people who sell them say they're territorial and they are. But that doesn't mean a stationary decoy is going to deter any live bird. A heron flying by seeing that decoy is going to think one thing "that pond must have fish...am going to go down there and kick that bird's ass". And when the decoy doesn't defend it's territory the real bird will just consider it their bitch.

Lot's of videos showing this. Very entertaining.

Good news is you can get a good price for it on EBay.

 

[koiguy1969]

A DECENT READ... http://fullserviceaquatics.com/ponds/how-to-winterize-pond-plants-without-drowning-them/

 

[addy1]

The only plant I sink are my lilies, after grooming, by sinking they really just end up where they usually grow. Everything else is on its own and so far has come back every spring.

 

[TekWarren]

Waterbug, koiguy, and addy, Thanks for the all the great information. Those heron videos are hilarious! There are about 20 fish in the pond from our count and family who has been to the house. I unplugged the pump tonight, it is supposed to get rainy tonight with a mix of snow tomorrow and start cooling down again. It was 60 today and very nice although the fish stayed deep even up until around mid day when we left for our family dinner, but they were up and begging for food when got home.

Should I be removing the pump from the pond for the winter to prevent ice damage or is that not a concern? The previous owner said he did have it quit working sometime last year, he bought a new one but the current one started working again after he pulled it out and "tapped on it few times". I realize this could be cause for concern but he did leave the brand new pump for us which he said cost around $400. Also with the aquafalls...should I leave the filter pads and bio bags there all winter or clean and store them? The filter/fall has been off I would guess around 2 months or close to it and the water in the basin was pretty horrible including the dead frogs I pulled out. Would it be a good idea to try and drain it? I could dip a lot if it out but I didn't know if it "mess up" the bacteria. It sounds like from Waterbug said that it would not mess anything up since the pond itself is able to function without the filter/fall for at least some period of time.

I need to figure out a way to trim the lilly pads back it sounds like. I don't have any hip waders but I may have to get some or some sort of sheer I can reach into the water. There are 4 "potted" lilly pad plants at one end and and a couple more at the other end. They appear to all be the same but what exactly I don't know. As for surrounding terrestrial plants I am getting help from my dad who has been into horticulture professionally for years. There are TON of grasses that we trimmed and my Dad also said needed to be split up and some we may want to get rid off altogether.

Thank you so much for information and willingness to help, I'm sure I'm repeating many of the same questions you guys have answered a million times before.

 

[addy1]

See if you can drag the lilies to where you can reach them. Might make it easier to trim them.

If your pump is submersible, under water, you can leave it in for the winter. Mine is external so I bring my pump in for the winter.

 

[Fishylove]

Take the bio bags and filter material out for the winter, clean them well and store them dry. And i would try and get as much muck out of that falls basin, and if there's a way to drain it, do so, without letting that water get into the main pond. You said the previous owners turned off the falls? Well he should have taken out the media and cleaned them and the falls basin, if he wasn't planning on turning it back on. With the dead frogs and other decaying material in there, you could have a real mess on your hands come spring, and I'd say some possibly bad bateria growing in it, clean it now as we'll as you can, and if you can let it dry out that'd be good as well.

 

[TekWarren]

Thanks Wendy its snowing out today but I will dig myself out from under s pair of sleepy dogs and get the media out and basin as drained as best I can.

 

[sissy]

hope it is spring and fall food .