Lessons learned from this winter's extreme cold

[pecan]

Pecan your two smallest koi my very well have died from sleeping sickness which normally only affects koi up to ywo years of age, they lay on the bottom to all intents and purposes dead if the pond is not the rapidly warmed they die.
We make sure that our pond is cleaned the bottom drain flushed through and all filters are cleaned just prior to winter we continue as I've said with water changes throughout the winter.
The result our koi are in their best optimum condition at the end of the winter and strong enough to aviod an areomonas infection .
They are then fed wheatgerm and garlic pellets until late spring , the garlic gives some protection against any parasites that may chance their luck,
In late spring our filters are stripped and cleaned the zeolite that was used in the winter is replaced by fully charge zeolite we add more crushed oyster shell new quilt batting and as each filter is cleaned over three weeks we dose each one as according to insructions with Microbe_lift PL filterpad innoculant , any that is left over is watered down and poured into the bio filter to give it a boost.
We clean them again in mid summer and then again as previously stated .
It works well for us
Our lowest recoded outside temperature this year was -15c

Dave

When I started it back up I cleaned the filters again (though not very dirty as I cleaned them prior to shutting it down). I did a 30% water change, then a 10% water change every two days for about a week and netted the bottom of the pond out really well. Fish seem to be fine. Our water temps have been consistently around 50 degrees so I have been feeding wheatgerm/garlic pellets about twice a week. As the water warms I will increase the frequency.

One thing I noticed is one of my larger butterfly koi's top of the end of it's tail fin almost appeared to be burnt. Kind of like frost bite or something. The small area has since broke away and it seems to be healing now. He is acting fine.

 

[Dave 54]

It happens Pecan but so long as the wound is clear and there is a sign of regrowth then you have nothing to worry about even ours sometimes come through winter with the odd problem .
This year they came though in what we could describe as immaculate condition .
I feed with a bit more frequecy than you do at twice a day but the we have a fairly large collection of koi .
Water changes help immensely one of my koi contacts who was formerly the head of the AKCA health says this in his Koi International Organization waterproof book "if in any doubt do a water change, they always bring out the best in koi"., never a truer word spoken in our veiw.

Dave

 

[Sunshine]

Lesson learned ... don't put sparkelie garland in your bog with Christmas decorations. When we took down the Christmas decorations and pulled the garland off the bog, a lot stuck to the frozen gravel. Now I have to get it all out before starting the pump.

 

[Lisak1]

Lesson learned ... don't put sparkelie garland in your bog with Christmas decorations. When we took down the Christmas decorations and pulled the garland off the bog, a lot stuck to the frozen gravel. Now I have to get it all out before starting the pump.

Ha! Now that's a new one... you decorated your bog for Christmas? Fun! Any pictures?

 

[j.w]

We have such mild winters w/ hardly any ice for very long if any. The small airstone, waterfall and water fountain bubbler did a nice job on keeping holes in what ice we did get. I kept the prefilter going too. I did lose 4 tiny fish in the last week but can't think of how I could prevent this from happening. I think that might be a survival of the fittest thing and they just didn't get enough food to fatten them up for the winter. Might need to feed them all better right before cutting them off for the winter w/ the wheat germ food I have on hand. Other than that so far so good.

 

[Sunshine]

Kind of blurry, my camera don't take good shots involving lights. The only thing I decorate at Christmas is the around the pond. But, you can see the red & white garland. I still have pieces in the bog.

 

[addy1]

I found a 1/2 inch fry alive in our deck pond, no circulation, not well cleaned, no insulation, only 18 or less inches deep. go figure..........
and Tom loses all his fish.

 

[RobAmy]

I learned I need to live somewhere warmer

 

[addy1]

I learned I need to live somewhere warmer

lol for sure, but I sure missed the seasons when I lived in Arizona, and darn hot summers.

 

[callingcolleen1]

I would strongly suggest that you keep your pond running with a good filter and a pump. Running water best gets rid of build up gases. I do not keep all my big summer pumps running, but as a rule of thumb, I cut the flow down for winter to about half of normal. Then I use a heater for extreme cold, and place the heater where the water moves well, to better heat the pond evenly. I would not trust a pond breather for my extreme cold, and a pond breather will not filter the water proper over the winter.
This method has worked for me for over 22 years now. I know lots of people over the years that tried a aerator or blubber here, and sadly that has failed at some point here in Medicine Hat. I would never trust a rinky dinky little pond breather either, not for my big koi or my extreme cold. If I lived down south, quite frankly I would still keep my ponds running and water filtered, as that is the best way to keep koi healthy and alive. plus the water is crystal clear all the time with my method.

 

[callingcolleen1]

If you plan to run a pump all winter, make sure your filters and pumps are underwater, as above water filters can freeze in the winter.. Use a good pre pump filter that can run all winter without clogging up too/

 

[MitchM]

Colleen, what brand pumps do you run during the winter?
I'm thinking I might try a low flow one with a big filter so it doesn't clog with winter bugs (backswimmers).
Maybe I'll have a lower water temperature with less ice cover that way.

 

[Dave 54]

Mitch the one we run is an Oase 3500 it goes through the winter months no problem it has a slow steady flow and its outlet is situated about a 1.5ft bellow the ponds water surface
RobAmy we brits have a national pass time and thats complaining about the weather .... when its lovely sunny and hot we wish it was cooler , when its lovely sunny and dry we wish it was wet and when its winter we wish it was summer again
Either way we never seem to be satisfied

Dave

 

[MitchM]

Thanks Dave, I think I'm looking for one that I can attach an external filter to.
The ones over in the UK are 220v, we have 110v here.
The 10 meter cord is nice though.

 

[Dave 54]

Yes I keep forgetting that Mitch sorry I should know I visted the US on a regular basis whilst in the navy
But I would think Oase must do a similar sized pump on 110v these companies that cover everything Aquatic dont just cover one country Look at Tetra Nicrobe_Lift AquaOond(Aqua Pacific/Aqua one dependant of where in the world you are) Ehiem the list goes on my friend.
Your best bet would be to check out a number of US Koi dealer Websites they stock everything

Dave