My goldfish pond

[callingcolleen1]

Yes, CE, you would need more clearance for sure just to be safe. Maybe next year you can work that stream over and push the liner back into place. I have had to do that years ago when my pond was at ground level. I now have built up edges and the water level of my ponds are above ground. After many years of fiddling with the ponds I think I have things just about right for my liking.

My pond started out as a 135 gallon performed pond, then I added "this and that" until it was a collection of five little ponds that ran together. Then the yellow flag was so darn big it took over one pond, and the then bottom pond was much too small but I made that system work for years. Then I changed the ponds (one at a time over the years, so that they are now three much larger built up ponds with an overflow built in to carry the excess water from heavy downpours away from the ponds to ensure the liner does not slip and sink from water erosion. But I did run those five little ponds all winter for years with just a heater and flowing water, they had some problems, and I water disappear back then a couple times in the bottom pond cause there was problems upstream and I remember the panic to fill bottom little pond back up and get pumps back running, froze hands with the ice cold water
when it was minuis 40F. no wonder my hands have arthritis now! Now I am happy with ponds except now the top pond will need a overhall, liner getting old and I want that pond bigger! Never completely happy, you always find something you wish you had done different....

You will have to monitor the pond close the first winter to see how it works out for you, when you first try this, with you streams and stuff.

Got to run to work now, kissed hubby goodby and put him on the bus back to Calgary for his 4th week of radiation treatment, ever time he comes back he looks a little more worn out and beat up. Will be happy when his treatments are over and I can have him home and all to myself!

 

[CountryEscape]

Thanks for the pointers, Colleen, you are definitely the winter pond expert in my opinion! Sounds like you have perfected it over the years. Yes, if I would just stay home all winter, I could watch those levels and make sure all was ok, but I will be gone for 11 days in January, and I sure don't want any unforeseen problems, and the kids that do my chores would be so worried if there was trouble. So, I will probably take out the skimmer pumps and shut down the stream, waterfall and bogs before I leave, and use the bubbler in the koi pond and water pump in the goldfish pond. I want to see which of the two works the best. I also have a floating heater to run if necessary to help open the water.
Now, talk about water getting on top of ice, that is something I WILL have to worry about with the bubbler and the water bubbler. If ice forms, and I'm sure it will, it could get close enough to where the water is moving that the water could splash on top of the ice. I know this can happen as last year I had a 4200 gph pump running and shut it down, let the pond "rest" and let ice form. Then put heater over where the water pressure was going to hit the ice, and once it melted, turned on the pump again. Well, that was not a good idea, as the water accumulated on top of the ice, got about 2" deep, and then WOOSH, the ice broke under the weight and the whole pond was loose ice chunks. I was watching it closely, as I had about 4" before it went over the overflow, so I was ok, but it was kinda scary, too! So, I will keep that in mind this year as well.

 

[sissy]

loose ice shards can cut fish and injure them bad .

 

[CountryEscape]

Oops, I didn't think about the ice harming the fish, Sissy. I'll be more careful. Pretty much when there was ice, though, the fish were at the bottom, not swimming around much at all, so they stayed clear, or at least I hope they did! Thanks for the warning.

 

[sissy]

I know 3 winters ago I sliced the whole palm of my hand on a ice shard in my pond as I was trying to take it out and had to get 12 stitches to close it up .I was trying to get it out so it would not hurt the fish .It had broken loose from the waterfall and looked like an animal must have done it because it was all wet on that side .

 

[CometKeith]

Sissy, that doesn't sound fun. The sacrifices we make for our fish! My pond has been pretty quiet. We haven't got really any snow this year until today and that was barely an inch. It's a lot different than last year. Last year my pond was covered with snow from Thanksgiving until New years. Here are a few pics I took yesterday. So far the experiment of keeping the pump going is working well. It also looks nice seeing the waterfall running from the house at night.

 

[callingcolleen1]

Looks fine Keith, you sure don't have much ice. Does it get much colder there much? Nice to hear from you and wish you and your family a very happy holiday!

 

[sissy]

Are you getting the bad weather I see on the weather channel

Sissy, that doesn't sound fun. The sacrifices we make for our fish! My pond has been pretty quiet. We haven't got really any snow this year until today and that was barely an inch. It's a lot different than last year. Last year my pond was covered with snow from Thanksgiving until New years. Here are a few pics I took yesterday. So far the experiment of keeping the pump going is working well. It also looks nice seeing the waterfall running from the house at night.

 

[CometKeith]

Hey Thanks Colleen. Same to you and your family too. Normally we get 20 days both in Dec and in January below freezing and the average is mid 30's F. It has been pretty warm here this year, and instead of snow we got rain several times. Just really busy with work lately so not as much time to log on to GPF. Sissy, We have gotten less than an inch of snow so far and no ice so all the bad weather has missed us to this point!

 

[callingcolleen1]

I goggled koi in winter and there are other koi sites the run their ponds all winter too and recommend that method. I thought it was just mainly me but it turns out many others do the same.

 

[CometKeith]

Hi Colleen, The water flow helps reduce the amount of anaerobic decay. By having the water moving, any organic material left in the pond will decay in the oxygenated water and will decay aerobically versus anaerobically. The anaerobic decay is what contributes to the the bad bacteria that grows in the pond and is especially a big problem in the spring. I always have a lot of leaves at the bottom of my pond so there are organic materials there. I think if someone does not have a lot of organic materials they don't have to worry as much about anaerobic decay. If your pond has a putrid smell in the spring then there is a lot of anaerobic decay = harmful bacteria. Everything I have read says its better for the fish to be in colder water with the constant water turnover of a pump than deal with the problems of anaerobic decay. I have mentioned this a few times on GPF and no one has ever begged the differ about this issue with me. My pump is only half way down so I am not pulling out the warmest water that is at the bottom so I think this is a pretty good solution. My only concern is the water in my hoses freezing if it gets really nasty out. I have considered burying them with mulch but i don't think that will make much of a difference. Also my pond doesn't get a lot of sun in the winter so there isn't a lot of warming going on during the day.

 

[callingcolleen1]

Don't worry, If your pump is at least greater than 250 gph and filter not plugged up there should be no chance of it freezing solid. In over twenty two years now only the small pump I used to run that was under 250 gph used to freeze if the crappy filter I used to run clogged up and reduced to flow to next to nothing. That little filter used to fall off and juck got caught in pump and then it was plugged and only then did it freeze when it was very very cold, like -35 c or colder. My hoses are not buried either and never have been, they are just hiding under the rocks along edge of pond. I have another small pump that runs in bottom pond but the filter does not fall off and it does fine now as long as filter on and this filter is bigger too than the crappy thing I used to use.

I always said the water was much fresher with pumps running too. I too get lots of leaves and can never keep them all out even with a net over pond. I used to help people here in town that never ran their pumps in the winter and they always had problems even before spring. I think people worry to much about the cold and not enough about the water quality in the winter. My water is aways ice cold in winter, even with the heater on my water is still very cold, just not frozen solid. My fish are just fine every spring, they always make it through the minus 40 that we get at least once or twice each year. I know their are people that think koi can't live in such cold water but mine do every year, and so do my little fancy goldfish, and the little fantail shubunkins are not as hardy as the Koi and they make it just fine too. Sometimes when the water first turns very cold, the odd goldfish will lay on it's side, I think it is cause the odd goldfish ate a big bug before freeze up and got a gut ache when water got very cold. It happens only to the odd goldfish, never the koi, and the goldfish recover from this too so I don't worry anymore as it happens to the odd goldfish every year.

 

[CometKeith]

Thanks Colleen, That's great information. I am running a Laguna 900 so I assume that is 900 gallons/hr or is it something in metric ie 900 liters/hour? Also I don't have a filter or anything like that attached that could get clogged up. If we ever get any snow that will help keep my piping warm, but now I am not concerned about the piping freezing up based on what you said. I also have a small air stone going too. I leave that going year round. I probably don't need it, but it's insurance in case my water pump fails. It seems to me that the fish are moving around under the ice more than I remember in the past. I wonder if the water pump running has anything to do with it? Also I am curious about your fancy goldfish. Everything I have read said they can't take the colder water that shubunkins and comets can. Are they fantails, or ryukins and orandas and fish like that?

 

[sissy]

I run mine most of the winter but sometimes pull the hose from the filter and just let it run into the pond ,but it is warmer here so can not compare it to colder climates .The lowest temp we have had was at night and got down to 29 so far .Days mid 40's and all the way up to 70 .

 

[callingcolleen1]

I have some big fantails and a little black fantails. They are not as hardy in general, and they don't live as long as comets no matter where they are cause the fancy goldfish are really "handicapped, inbreed, outcasts" of the fish world and would not survive in the wild, dragging that big tail and deformed body, that is really what they are, deformed. They live on average 10 to 14 years for me in my pond, which is way longer than I have had them in the house. I had a regular comet that lived for over 24 years before it died slowly of old age one year. Never had fancy goldfish for that long, anywhere, as they are just not hardy due to inbreeding. So it really does not matter where you put them, they just will not live as long as a comet.

That second last picture of the red and white bigger fantail was my neices fish when she was living at home, she gave it to me. She is now married and has a twelve year old daughter, can't remember how long I have had that fish, but it has been longer than twelve years for sure! I will try to get better pictures of the goldfish in the bottom pond next year. That pond is covered in ice all winter. Some of those pictures are from very early spring last year, when the ice just melted back in March and April. I used to have more fancy goldfish but this blue heron ate lots of the smaller goldfish two years ago.

the fourth picture you see the little black fantail with big eyes, he lives outside too, can't remember where he came from.