Frost Zone 7 Long Island NY Freeze ?

[DaneDad]

Above ground pond, made of 4x4x8 x 3' deep close to house with 6ft fence that blocks wind.
insulated with 1/2 inch foam on the outside and inside between liner and 4x4's.

Plan on making a 3 inch foam cover with air holes and will be completely covered with blue plastic tarp.

Do you think it will freeze solid ?

Should I risk it?

 

[mouseams]

Dane, my pond is half above and half below and I think it is a bit colder here in North Jersey. I would not cover it over the winter. It will fall in no matter what you do during storms. My pond is a max depth of 3' and average is probably 2'.

All you need in the winter is to keep a good solid opening in the ice. Some use heaters, but it is not necessary. My baby fish survived the first winter and they were only small fry when winter came on. We only use a good strong bubble stone and place it in an area we can reach when it snows in case we need to open the ice by hand. This past winter was the worst we have had, extremely cold for a very long period and several good snow accumulations on the pond and all fish accounted for in the spring. Keep an extra pump for the bubble stone.

How large are you making it?

 

[DaneDad]

HI there and thank you for the quick reply

My pond will be 8x8x3 for an approx volume of 1400 gallons.

I'm planning on building a Skippy filter as I have two 55g plastic drums already from when I used to breed discus. I'm planning on one drum to start and will add the second if needed.

 

[mouseams]

You are quite welcome!

I would consider trying to get at leat 12" below ground, that is about the deepest mine is below ground, but my pond is 28' x 14' on the longest sides. You will still be able to sit at the edge and feed your friends like we do. I know it sounds like a lot of work to dig it out and prepare it, but you will be safer in hard winters.

 

[DaneDad]

You are quite welcome!

I would consider trying to get at leat 12" below ground, that is about the deepest mine is below ground, but my pond is 28' x 14' on the longest sides. You will still be able to sit at the edge and feed your friends like we do. I know it sounds like a lot of work to dig it out and prepare it, but you will be safer in hard winters.

No can do in the location that i have to work with. Worst case I will wrap the the sides with 3 inch foam insulation and totally cover it with a waterproof tarp.

 

[addy1]

Get that high density foam insulation, it does pretty good. Maybe even squirt in the expanding foam to fill any gaps that were missed.
You could also make one of those domed covers for the winter, domed to make sure the snow slides off. There are threads in here on what worked and what didn't.