Just another new pond worry

[Jimmy Gibson]

 

[MoonShadows]

A beautiful pond....so, what's the worry?

 

[Jimmy Gibson]

Just wondering.....I check my water temperature every day when I get home from work.....it is a elevated 3000 gallon pond.... I have approximately 90 to 100 gallons a minute going over the waterfall....my piping from the pond to my filter and pump is over 100' ft and buried 18" in the ground.....my pond was officially started on November 26, 2016.... We are zone 7A here. ...But what I have noticed is that the pond warms up quickly but seems to hold the temperature somewhat during a cold snap.....I can attribute the warm up to the waterfall via ambient air temperature....to insulation factor of the piping and the holding of the temperature.....the lowest water temperature I have seen this winter is 41 degrees... So my question is what about this summer..... I will have direct sunlight from 10:00 am until about 2:00 pm each day so it's definitely going to warm up during the day but will the underground piping and shade in the pm be enough to hold a reasonable temperature.....finishing the pond was a good thing,,. But now sitting around thinking and reading makes me worry some.... Thanks for your input Jimmy

 

[Jimmy Gibson]

A beautiful pond....so, what's the worry?

I guess the newness of it all.... And I probably read too much....and I am probably a closet worrier..... I think when I get a year under my belt it will be better.....

 

[Tula]

We had a tree that previously provided shade over part of our pond, fall during a storm last Spring. We bought some nice sail shades at Costco and put them up, they do a nice job shading the pond

 

[Jimmy Gibson]

We had a tree that previously provided shade over part of our pond, fall during a storm last Spring. We bought some nice sail shades at Costco and put them up, they do a nice job shading the pond

We have some large Bashoo bananas that we are going to have to move anyway.....and if we put them on the afternoon sun side by the end of June I could cut my direct sunlight from 10:00 to maybe 12:00.....back already hurts thinking about it they were over 20 ft tall last year

 

[Meyer Jordan]

Purchase a reliable accurate thermometer. Water temperature as influenced by solar heating (radiance) is influenced by affected by two main factors....latitude and elevation. For your purposes, rather than get into complicated mathematics, it would be much simpler to take timely periodic readings and keep a log.
Water temperature should be taken at mid-level pond depth in the late afternoon.
Mid-level because the water surface will be the first to increase in temperature and the water at the bottom last. Fish rarely come to the surface except to feed. Late afternoon because water temperature always lags behind air temperature. The pond water will actually be its warmest later in the day.
From the data gathered you will be in a position to determine if more shade will be needed for the pond.
Info gathered in the log should include ambient weather conditions...sunny, cloudy, overcast etc., ambient air temperature at time of water thermometer reading, water temperature, high and previous night low temperature readings for each day.
Or you can just assume that the pond's water temperature will get too high and install some form of supplemental shade.

 

[Jimmy Gibson]

Purchase a reliable accurate thermometer. Water temperature as influenced by solar heating (radiance) is influenced by affected by two main factors....latitude and elevation. For your purposes, rather than get into complicated mathematics, it would be much simpler to take timely periodic readings and keep a log.
Water temperature should be taken at mid-level pond depth in the late afternoon.
Mid-level because the water surface will be the first to increase in temperature and the water at the bottom last. Fish rarely come to the surface except to feed. Late afternoon because water temperature always lags behind air temperature. The pond water will actually be its warmest later in the day.
From the data gathered you will be in a position to determine if more shade will be needed for the pond.
Info gathered in the log should include ambient weather conditions...sunny, cloudy, overcast etc., ambient air temperature at time of water thermometer reading, water temperature, high and previous night low temperature readings for each day.
Or you can just assume that the pond's water temperature will get too high and install some form of supplemental shade.

I guess what worries me is since my pond is on a hillside and it has very little insulation from the earth only the concrete blocks and liner but I am going to put something there to minimize the afternoon sun....thanks

 

[Jimmy Gibson]

View attachment 97695

I guess what worries me is since my pond is on a hillside and it has very little insulation from the earth only the concrete blocks and liner but I am going to put something there to minimize the afternoon sun....thanks

Also with the amount of flow I have I have watched debris travel from the waterfall to the main drain and it's a quick trip.... Although during the winter I have kept it throttled back but in summer it will be wide open

 

[Lisak1]

Plants in the pond will also help keep it cool and provide shade for your fish, which is another consideration over and above the water temperature. Fish need a place where they can get out of the sun during the hottest part of the day.

You are right though - once you've gone through a year with your pond, you'll relax and spend less time worrying, more time enjoying. I find I never stop thinking about my pond, though!

 

[MoonShadows]

No one mentioned the concrete blocks. Wouldn't the concrete blocks absorb, hold and transfer a good amount of heat?

 

[Jimmy Gibson]

No one mentioned the concrete blocks. Wouldn't the concrete blocks absorb, hold and transfer a good amount of heat?

I would think so..... It would not be as good an insulator than earth

 

[cas]

I am not sure how it would work since you have large koi, but I increased the plant cover on my pond to help shade it - water lilies and water hyacinths. Large koi may destroy the plants, so it may not work for you. I also tried putting my patio umbrella next to the pond to shade it a little.

 

[Jimmy Gibson]

I am not sure how it would work since you have large koi, but I increased the plant cover on my pond to help shade it - water lilies and water hyacinths. Large koi may destroy the plants, so it may not work for you. I also tried putting my patio umbrella next to the pond to shade it a little.

Plan on having lilies and I also built in plant shelves around the edges of the pond .... Planned on putting taller plants on the back side.... Which is the sunny side and shorter on the front

 

[Lisak1]

I am not sure how it would work since you have large koi,

We have big koi - they leave our plants, including our lilies, alone. I know some people have trouble with koi and plants but for whatever reason ours have never bothered with them. We keep rocks in the pots to cover the roots, so there's not much to root around in.

One of our favorite plant store owners did tell us about a customer who was so upset because she went on a month long vacation and came back and her koi had eaten all her expensive lilies. Uh... maybe they were hungry??

I do think they learn some behaviors though and it can be impossible to stop once they do start - @sissy has a couple of koi that suck the guts out of frogs and leave the rest for her to fish out... never heard of anyone else with that kind of koi behavior!