Howdy all. I am in SE Michigan. Wife and I purchased a home last fall with a small backyard pond. 17 goldfish initially (I lost one in November so 16 at last count) and according to the prior homeowner they spanned multiple generations. He built the pond 12 years ago as a DIY project. I'm really fond of the pond and the fish but completely clueless as to how to best manage going forward. Thus joined this forum. And apologies for a long introduction.
After purchasing the home we were already headed into cold weather. We netted the pond to keep the fall leaves out. I cleaned whatever large debris I could with a net. I started treating the water with the so-called beneficial cold weather bacteria instead of the chemical algaecide the prior owner used. I switched to a wheat germ fish food and stopped feeding after the water temps hit about 40F. I shut down the pump at beginning of November and stored it in a bucket of water in my basement. I purchased and installed an aerator and inserted a donut once the pond started to freeze. It is 80% frozen over now and I haven't been able to see the fish for awhile so I don't know how many have survived. Last I did see them, after our polar vortex of -13F, they seemed to be alive. The pond is only about 2.5 - 3 feet deep. One thing I didn't do was drain the skimmer (pump station?) so I'm hoping nothing cracked. I don't seem to have lost any water over the winter.
I'll have some questions in the near future as we head into spring. Just in general, I am interested in re-building the pond to make it a bit deeper and to perhaps re-do the waterfall feature. I had one contractor over in January and he gave me an estimate of $8K! Way outside my budget and I thought it excessive given most of the infrastructure is there and it seems it just needs a renovation rather than a complete rebuild. Secondly I'm shopping pond vacuums and trying to decide between a dedicated pond vac or whether I can just use a wet/dry shop vac. I've read through the threads here on vacuums but I might have some questions a bit later.
After purchasing the home we were already headed into cold weather. We netted the pond to keep the fall leaves out. I cleaned whatever large debris I could with a net. I started treating the water with the so-called beneficial cold weather bacteria instead of the chemical algaecide the prior owner used. I switched to a wheat germ fish food and stopped feeding after the water temps hit about 40F. I shut down the pump at beginning of November and stored it in a bucket of water in my basement. I purchased and installed an aerator and inserted a donut once the pond started to freeze. It is 80% frozen over now and I haven't been able to see the fish for awhile so I don't know how many have survived. Last I did see them, after our polar vortex of -13F, they seemed to be alive. The pond is only about 2.5 - 3 feet deep. One thing I didn't do was drain the skimmer (pump station?) so I'm hoping nothing cracked. I don't seem to have lost any water over the winter.
I'll have some questions in the near future as we head into spring. Just in general, I am interested in re-building the pond to make it a bit deeper and to perhaps re-do the waterfall feature. I had one contractor over in January and he gave me an estimate of $8K! Way outside my budget and I thought it excessive given most of the infrastructure is there and it seems it just needs a renovation rather than a complete rebuild. Secondly I'm shopping pond vacuums and trying to decide between a dedicated pond vac or whether I can just use a wet/dry shop vac. I've read through the threads here on vacuums but I might have some questions a bit later.
good luck and congrats on your new home
