Hello from New Jersey

[Olenka]

Hi everyone! Such a nice forum! Found tons of useful info already.
I am a newbie from Northern Jersey, unemployed data analyst. I used to have a fish tunk many years ago. Now I am digging my first pond. Have lots of questions. The pond is almost ready. It is 6x7, 40 inches deep, shaped as an oval. I am planning to install a liner this week. Is it too late to add fish? Should i wait till spring? I bought a water lily, anacharis, some bog plants already. They have been sitting in utility tubs for 2 month and growing pretty well. I see some aquatic life developing in there - some kind of small worms or tiny tadpole are swimming around.
My plan is to fill the pond with water and transfer the plants in there ' as is', with the mud/water they are sitting in. How long do i have to wait before getting the fish?

 

[JRS]

Welcome!

 

[Mmathis]

Hello and welcome!

I will defer to others on the issue of adding fish — winter isn’t an issue for me in Louisiana.

You could add plants, but it’s the fish that provide the “fertilizer” for the plants. The water lily you could go ahead and pot. It will go dormant soon.

 

[JamieB]

You’ll want your pond to cycle a bit first, how long until you expect freezing temps? If you have to Plan trick or treating costumes around warm clothes, hold off till spring. If you’re lucky to see more than frost before Christmas, you might add a few small plain comets to move the cycle along. Like 3, not 10! One would be lonely, two would be ok, three is plenty. But know your weather, and don’t get attached to the fish just in case!

 

[JamieB]

Oh and if your expecting harsh freezing temps, get a de icer, to keep a hole for gas exchange

 

[Olenka]

Thank you all for your prompt replies!
JamieB, it was exactly my plan to add 2 butterfly comets And yes, my question was about pond stabilization. I found a lot of controversial info on the subject. One pond builder told me to add plants and wait 2-3 weeks before getting fish. The guy who was in koi/goldfish business said that 1 week would be enough. One video that I found on YouTube suggested to add fish right away because ammonia was essential to the pond cycle .Another tutorial suggested to wait 1 month before adding plants, and then wait another month to add the fish -?! Who is right?

My concerns are plants and water quality. The plants have to get established; bacteria also needs time to multiply. How long would it take if the summer is over? Our pond has full sun exposure (I believe that would speed up the cycle) Currently our day time temperature is in eighties (yesterday it was 87). It drops to sixties or upper fifties at night. We go trick-or-treating in sweaters. Our winters could go either way. Some are very cold - beyond freezing point. But usually the day time temperature does not drop below 32F. I believe that overwintering the fish should not be a problem if I add either deicer or oxigenator. I am afraid that my pond does not have enough time for full stabilization cycle.

 

[addy1]

When I built mine I waited a year before adding fish, had plants in the bog growing great I added them in the fall, spring came and they took off. But I also had a ph issue with my well water, very acidic and killed the first fish I put in. It took about a year to stabilize it.

 

[j.w]

@Olenka
Someone here is giving a few nice Shubunkin goldfish away. Let's see if I can find them: https://www.gardenpondforum.com/threads/need-new-home-for-3-shubunkin.28003/
He is in New Jersey too. Not sure how far from you tho. You might need to keep them in an aquarium tho till next Spring.

 

[Olenka]

Thank you! I might want to get them. Need to finish my pond first

 

[Olenka]

When I built mine I waited a year before adding fish, had plants in the bog growing great I added them in the fall, spring came and they took off. But I also had a ph issue with my well water, very acidic and killed the first fish I put in. It took about a year to stabilize it.

OMG it's too long!

 

[Olenka]

View attachment 133761@Olenka
Someone here is giving a few nice Shubunkin goldfish away. Let's see if I can find them: https://www.gardenpondforum.com/threads/need-new-home-for-3-shubunkin.28003/
He is in New Jersey too. Not sure how far from you tho. You might need to keep them in an aquarium tho till next Spring.

Would love to get them, but I do not have an aquarium that is big enough for all of them

 

[Mmathis]

Would love to get them, but I do not have an aquarium that is big enough for all of them

I thought you said you pond was almost completed.

 

[Olenka]

When I built mine I waited a year before adding fish, had plants in the bog growing great I added them in the fall, spring came and they took off. But I also had a ph issue with my well water, very acidic and killed the first fish I put in. It took about a year to stabilize it.

I know that I should wait for the next spring, but I want fish so badly Just ordered 100 stems of Anacharis on eBay. If I could get decent stable pH in a couple of weeks, would it be OK to put 2-3 fish in? I believe that 450 gallons pond would provide enough oxygen for the fish even if the plants had not established yet. Pls correct me if I was wrong.
P.S. In our climate ponds go dormant in November.

 

[Olenka]

I thought you said you pond was almost completed.

I said that I was planning to install a liner this week (hopefully can get it done this weekend). I know, I've gotten ahead of myself
Meanwhile I am breeding some bacteria in utility tubs with bog/water plants. The plants took roots. I will transfer the mud/plants and the water they are in to the pond as soon as it is ready I hope this would speed up the cycling.

 

[poconojoe]

On the subject of pond deicers...the goal is to just to keep a small hole open in the ice for gas exchange. My first deicer was 750 watts. It was way too powerful. It kept a pretty big open water area around it. I switched to a 250 watt model and that is perfect. I also have two air stones that help keep the ice open, but only down to a certain temperature, then even they can freeze over. I have a small fountain shooting up and when it gets real cold an ice dome forms over that. It's pretty cool seeing the water shooting up within the ice dome. Oh, I'm in the northeastern part of PA (zone 6a), so I'm guessing our weather is similar.