mild 1st winter

[marktastic]

I tried to upload a pic, but it keeps saying unable to upload pic due to low memory. Anyways, the new pond is doing well. This will be my first winter and I've read several of the posts regarding winterizing the pond but I can't seem to gather all the facts that pertain to my pond. I have a constantly flowing waterfall/stream combo pond 1000 gallons, and water temps at 55°F now. Stopped feeding the koi recently (spring/fall diet before). I live in Seattle Wa so I don't think it will get too cold. No plants just yet. I'm not sure if I need to do anything else to keep these guys happy. Any glaring problems I'm missing? Thanks for the support!

 

[j.w]

Hi Mark, I live in the Seattle area up north in Arlington. We are a bit colder up here and I leave my pump and falls running all year long. I don't have koi, I have goldfish. I have a big prefilter on my pump and I leave that on all winter. I haven't stopped their feeding yet but I might tonight cuz it's getting colder now and time to do it. I have a water bubbler I leave running and a small aerator to keep extra holes if we get ice. My falls keep a nice sized hole open also. Course we don't hardly get any real ice too often and if we do it doesn't last too long. I don't have a stream but if we did get ice perhaps your stream could build up and divert water over the sides. Not sure your setup. Seems I just wrote this very same post in another thread to someone in the UK a few mins ago. Anyways you could shut down just the stream if need be.

 

[marktastic]

Hi Mark, I live in the Seattle area up north in Arlington. We are a bit colder up here and I leave my pump and falls running all year long. I don't have koi, I have goldfish. I have a big prefilter on my pump and I leave that on all winter. I haven't stopped their feeding yet but I might tonight cuz it's getting colder now and time to do it. I have a water bubbler I leave running and a small aerator to keep extra holes if we get ice. My falls keep a nice sized hole open also. Course we don't hardly get any real ice too often and if we do it doesn't last too long. I don't have a stream but if we did get ice perhaps your stream could build up and divert water over the sides. Not sure your setup. Seems I just wrote this very same post in another thread to someone in the UK a few mins ago. Anyways you could shut down just the stream if need be.

Thanks for the info! Any idea why my pics won't upload?

 

[j.w]

Let me see if it will let me do load a picture up now. Yep it appears to work for me. How I do it is just hit the Upload file button below and choose a photo from my pictures on my computer and it will upload and then I click Full image and it will load to my post. Then post reply.

 

[addy1]

Low memory sounds like a problem on your end.

 

[marktastic]

Got it. I was trying to do it on my phone. Not so smart after all, is it? This is the new pond. Wish I could have gone bigger, but I love the stream and waterfall and I would have had to sacrifice the putting green. Now to get some plants... Any suggestions JW?

 

[addy1]

That is very nice!

 

[j.w]

Nice looking pond and stream. You have some great rocks there! And that soil looks good enough to eat.

I have water lilies that usually grow great in my pond but this year I tried them w/o soil and not so good of a trial. Usually put mine in 100%clay kitty litter w/fertilizer. I have Hornwort in my pond and some floating Azolla that is building up a bit. The Rush type grasses look and do well in my pond and suck up lots of the extra nutrients. I throw in some Anacharis once in awhile for the fish to snack on. They love it! They love duckweed also and will devour that in no time flat. Have to keep the Anacharis and the duckweed in tubs of water outside the pond and dole it out to them or my fish pigs would eat it all. Some here in our area have good luck w/ Water Hyacinth during the Summer. Not me tho. You have to buy new each Summer as it won't over winter. There are lots of other plant types that will grow here and perhaps some others will chime in and tell you what they have that survives winters where it freezes.
Oh and Parrotts Feather is a nice plant too. I also like my Water Hawthorne as it likes our mild weather and is really starting to grow in my pond and put out little flowers. I like Creeping Jenny around the edge of the pond. It creeps into the water also.

Water Hawthorne

Parrotts Feather

Azolla

Water Lilies

The greenish/white striped is the Rush and there is a Reed plant on the left

Creeping Jenny in the lower rt corner w/little yellow blooms

 

[marktastic]

Awesome post jw, I'm so glad you included pics. I really like the parrots feather and the Azolla. Any good suppliers or should I order them online? Maybe I should wait until spring?

 

[Dave 54]

Mark nowadys one cant clam to have mild winters anymore and as such it is best you prep your pond for the hardest of winters at least that way you know you've done everything you can to be prepared for the worst.
simple thing like netting the pond against autumn leaves or cleaning the bottom of the pond all go to help , the same can be said of preparing our filters too .
As winter starts to take hold reduce the air from your airstones again this will help, turning off the stream another , we even go so far as to cover the pond with polycarbonate roofing sheets to double glaze the pond against the cold weve even insulated both the pond and filter housing, like you our pond is only 1,000 gallons Imperial (yours being US gallonage).

Dave

 

[marktastic]

Mark nowadys one cant clam to have mild winters anymore and as such it is best you prep your pond for the hardest of winters at least that way you know you've done everything you can to be prepared for the worst.
simple thing like netting the pond against autumn leaves or cleaning the bottom of the pond all go to help , the same can be said of preparing our filters too .
As winter starts to take hold reduce the air from your airstones again this will help, turning off the stream another , we even go so far as to cover the pond with polycarbonate roofing sheets to double glaze the pond against the cold weve even insulated both the pond and filter housing, like you our pond is only 1,000 gallons Imperial (yours being US gallonage).

Dave

Thanks for the info. I do have some leaves that find their way into the pond but I generally snag them when I check on the pond. I'll see about addressing those issues though.

 

[j.w]

I found my Azolla in a wild pond by a bicycle trail. My hubby waded out in his undies to get it for me when no one was looking
You can add that stuff to your pond anytime of the year. It is a really tiny floating plant that spreads over the pond. I have no trouble keeping it contained and I have some in my pond right now that the fish are actually allowing to grow. Now you said you have koi right? Well they may mess w/all the plants you put in your pond. Like I said I have only goldfish and they aren't too bad w/most of the plants. In the Spring/Summer lots here share plants w/each other when they have excess and just ask to be reimbursed for the shipping. My parrots feather is dwindling for some reason this year. I think cuz it didn't like my bubbling huge aerator. I may have to acquire some more next Spring if the 2 pieces I have left don't start spreading.
Most plants I'd wait till Spring to acquire. The reeds and rush plants you can buy at most garden stores and they will grow in a pot in your pond raised up so just their roots are immersed in water.

Hornwort is a neat underwater plant and Colleen in Canada who has koi here has lots of that growing in her pond. The koi eat it but she always has some spare on hand and it grows like crazy in her pond even w/koi.

Just remember what I said up top there. Koi can wreak havoc on plants........some do, some don't. There are ways also that people here who have koi have come up w/ to protect their plants from their koi. Maybe post that as a question on a new thread and peeps will chirp in and make suggestions.