Crazy weather...cold then warm... my poor fish

[mikeinpgh]

I also have a lot of algae growing in the falls and streams now.

I have a TON of algae growing on my water fall and on the bottom. I mean it's everywhere.

December weather is here. I have a little bit of ice on the pond. I think it's only going up to 32* today.
I unplug my little pump that is on the bottom of the pond because I don't trust the flex pipe that is exposed to the weather. I don't know how it will react to the freezing weather. I do leave my waterfall run all year.

 

[sissy]

You will have to take out the algae or it will clog your pond and come spring you will have more problems and it could kill the fish.For your flex pipe it should be covered winter and summer as it will degrade faster from heat and could .Go to lowes or home depot and by pipe insulation and just wrap it around the hose .It is cheap and easy to do .

 

[mikeinpgh]

Thanks for the good info on the flex.
I don't want to scoop any algae out because I don't want to scare the fish while they are trying to sleep. LOL

17* this morning

 

[digginponds]

All I know is if mine wanted to eat,I would'nt deny,but mine havn't wanted to eat in a month or so ago.I tried ,but they told me ,DUDE can't you see we are cold and don't need any food.Now clean up your mess and go back inside.I clearly got the hint....................

 

[j.w]

Diggin I hate to tell you this but you are just as nuts as the rest of us

 

[CountryEscape]

I noticed that I have a mat of algae going from one edge of my shelf to the bottom. It looks kind of pretty, and the fish were hiding under it last weekend. Should I use a brush and pull that out of there? I have pretty much eradicated the string algae from the waterfall and the edges that I can get to it. Can't get to the edge between the bog and pond, so there is some where. This almost looks like string algae, too, but it's like a mass of it. Also, should I try to net the stuff on the bottom, or leave that for the fish to nibble on during the winter? I already netted out everything that was on the bottom back in probably September or October, and it came out in mats, very easy to do. I see there is more stuff, but I think I read to leave some for the fish to overwinter on. The algae, though, would be easy to remove, if need be, and I think it should be removed. Right?

 

[addy1]

I left some algae for the fish, tads, frogs and snails to hide in , eat, whatever. Just made sure the dead stuff was removed and some of the string that showed up as the plants died back.

I figure it will be easy to remove once spring comes down the road again.

 

[mikeinpgh]

I see some of my fish hiding next to some pots and in some algae. I don't think they can all fit under the rock/ hiding spot I made for them anymore. They sure grew a lot this past year.

50* this afternoon and 33* tonight. Not too bad.

 

[taherrmann4]

Yeah mine are hiding by the lily pots and the one tries to bury itself in the muck in the bottom that I left. They also all huddle together.

 

[CountryEscape]

It's 49 here first thing this morning, supposed to get into high 50's today, I believe, but rain. Good thing I drained more water out of my pond yesterday .... in the drizzle. What I'm talking about seems to be more like string algae, and it's made about a 3' wide and 4' deep matt going from the top to the bottom and then spreading out some. It may not be string actually, but not like the stuff that grows on the sides, which I have no problem leaving. This stuff grew really fast in the last couple of months, as I did not see it forming when I cleaned out the bottom previously. I think I will see if it's easily removed with a round brush on a pole. Not really interested in putting my arm into that frigid water ... probably about 35 degrees. I will leave what has accumulated on the bottom for the fish, unless it seems like there is a lot!

 

[j.w]

Never thought I'd say this but we could use some rain around here. It's been dry and cold for quite awhile now. My pond could use some filling and plants need water too and I think later today or perhaps tomorrow might just cure that problem. No frost today so rain is a comin!
No algae to amount to much in my pond and fish are just hovering around waiting for Spring..................and me too!

 

[CountryEscape]

Well, according to my thermometer, it IS spring here in Illinois this morning. 59 degrees when I got up at 7! Holy cow!! Supposed to be slowly dropping temps, though, but extended forecast shows 40s and 30s for next week. I'm ok with warmer temps ... for now. Would love that white Christmas, but doesn't look likely here in Illinois. However, I will be in Utah, and my daughter has snow right now so I will be experiencing a white Christmas with my daughter. Woohoo!!!

 

[j.w]

Lucky you Patti getting a free white Christmas and you don't even have to shovel it!

 

[Pondmaster]

Here are the two items I use to buffer my temperature fluctuations during these times. The contacts in the Ranco thermostat can handle the load of the 1K watt heater. A 1K watt heater can keep a properly covered pond from too extreme of a temperature drop.

http://www.plumbersu...CFUqb7Qod02TLTA

http://www.prothermo...CFVCR7QodAwpEUA