j.w
I Love my Goldies
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Way cool and ready for the haunting to begin
My pond runs all winter, zone 2/3
- Thread starter callingcolleen1
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Welcome back Colleen!
We don't do much for Halloween, not many kids come down our long dark drive way, a few that live across the street come down ow none.
We don't do much for Halloween, not many kids come down our long dark drive way, a few that live across the street come down ow none.
callingcolleen1
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Thanks Addy! I finally have two days off in a row, got to quit working so hard and then there for a while I was glued to TV watching non stop news, but had to quit that depressing stuff!
Well I got all the nets put up over the ponds a couple weeks ago now, leaves are falling lots and I need to sweep off the cobble again, It sure was a nice fall day for clean up, and today is going to be really warm so I will spend this day off with my mother, we are going for breakfast then going to sit and read paper and drink coffee by my pond in the warm gazebo this afternoon!
Well I got all the nets put up over the ponds a couple weeks ago now, leaves are falling lots and I need to sweep off the cobble again, It sure was a nice fall day for clean up, and today is going to be really warm so I will spend this day off with my mother, we are going for breakfast then going to sit and read paper and drink coffee by my pond in the warm gazebo this afternoon!
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Enjoy! We were 34 this am for our walk, pond a cold 55 fall is here. Leaves changing and getting ready to fall some falling. Most miss the pond, luckily.
I will be turning mine off in the next few weeks, now in the process of pulling lilies to groom them, getting ready to clean out some of the bog plants, slowly winter shutting down.
I will be turning mine off in the next few weeks, now in the process of pulling lilies to groom them, getting ready to clean out some of the bog plants, slowly winter shutting down.
callingcolleen1
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yes, I too need to groom things and take out the black taro soon as it got froze last week with the big killer frost we had, I will save the bulb from the black taro and willl let the white Calla freeze more and move into the greenhouse once the tops have frozen good, that way it will go dormant till springl
The hardy plants such as the Yellow Flag iris and hardy water lilly will stay right where they are as they will be just fine. Hardy pond plants need to freeze or they could rot if stored in warm house.
The hardy plants such as the Yellow Flag iris and hardy water lilly will stay right where they are as they will be just fine. Hardy pond plants need to freeze or they could rot if stored in warm house.
j.w
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That is true Colleen. You have a whole other home in that neat hideout of yours!
It gets better every year
It gets better every year
j.w
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Hey Colleen do you leave your pre-filter deals like I have in your pond all winter?
callingcolleen1
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Yes, they are the best choice that I have found for running pump all winter, cause they are very large and you can connect additional filters to make it even bigger. During the middle of the winter you really need a good size underwater pre pump filter that will not clog up or slow down the flow of water from hose. If the pumps get clogged, then the volume of water coming out of hose slows down too much, and then that can cause the hose to freeze if very cold. Same trouble with external box type filters, too much water pressure is lost inside the box, (as water goes from small hose to large filter style box, water pressure drops too much) and that can cause the box to freeze too.
The "pro pond guy" in town, who has a huge six foot deep pond, and he installs ponds all with the same setup, skimmer that draws water from pond and pumps up to a large box type filter that feeds some stream, operates his pond all winter, but shuts down pumps and external filter, and just runs a big air pump and heater, and last winter he lost many of his large koi when spring came. Air pumps or aerators, just do not cut it when extreme cold sets in. Trouble with air pumps is that they too can condensate and freeze up too cause the line is above ground. Then air pumps just cause bubbles to make even more thicker ice on top of pond as the bubbles spit tiny water droplets on ice that just freeze and create thicker ice, If you live in a zone that is not so cold, and if you just have smaller fish, then less trouble as smaller fish require less oxygen, and air pumps fine for warmer zones. If you have really big koi like me, and really harsh winters, then you need to insure that the harmful gases that build up under the ice are carried away, and not trapped under some thick "dome" of ice created by a air pump. I have run my pumps all winter with the big internal filters and internal pumps for over twenty years now, and have seen many pond friends with big koi that only had heater and air pumps, and they all have suffered large losses of fish during winter, at some point, Sometimes they can get away with it for a couple seasons, but as the koi grow then more problems wintering as they run out of oxygen and die off first and then they are left with just the smaller goldfish. I have seen this for many years and have warned about running just air pumps in extreme cold for a very long time.
My method has worked very good over the years with little trouble. I have three fair size ponds that are all connected to each other with little water ways that run water from top pond, free flows thru middle pond, and down to bottom pond. Upper ponds have the least ice, and they de- ice very quick cause the "running" water melts ice very quick, and so I keep the biggest koi in the upper pond, as that pond has the freshest water and gets the least amount of ice. It is complicated to explain, so I have made many videos and they are posted on this thread last winter. I will take more videos all winter of my pond system and try my best to explain why my way of wintering works best for extreme cold.
The simple explanation is "my ponds run like a river, stream or creek, where the water is always flowing, from top pond down to bottom pond, and a river, creek or stream, the ice melts way way faster in the spring than a lake does, as the water in a lake does not move much and so the ice is way thicker and you can drive a truck over the lake ice in the winter. Streams and rivers are more likely to have thin ice in many spots where the water moves quicker. and the thin ice has many natural breathing holes created by faster currents, like all rivers and streams do. These holes provide a way for built up gases to escape and oxygen to flow more freely.
Coming soon to this thread... {hopefully not too soon!! ha ha ha} Winter and weekly videos on how my pond operates in minus 40 degree weather!!!
In the mean time I am going back to play outside with my Halloween stuff and sit in the nice cosy
Haunted Gazebo!!
The "pro pond guy" in town, who has a huge six foot deep pond, and he installs ponds all with the same setup, skimmer that draws water from pond and pumps up to a large box type filter that feeds some stream, operates his pond all winter, but shuts down pumps and external filter, and just runs a big air pump and heater, and last winter he lost many of his large koi when spring came. Air pumps or aerators, just do not cut it when extreme cold sets in. Trouble with air pumps is that they too can condensate and freeze up too cause the line is above ground. Then air pumps just cause bubbles to make even more thicker ice on top of pond as the bubbles spit tiny water droplets on ice that just freeze and create thicker ice, If you live in a zone that is not so cold, and if you just have smaller fish, then less trouble as smaller fish require less oxygen, and air pumps fine for warmer zones. If you have really big koi like me, and really harsh winters, then you need to insure that the harmful gases that build up under the ice are carried away, and not trapped under some thick "dome" of ice created by a air pump. I have run my pumps all winter with the big internal filters and internal pumps for over twenty years now, and have seen many pond friends with big koi that only had heater and air pumps, and they all have suffered large losses of fish during winter, at some point, Sometimes they can get away with it for a couple seasons, but as the koi grow then more problems wintering as they run out of oxygen and die off first and then they are left with just the smaller goldfish. I have seen this for many years and have warned about running just air pumps in extreme cold for a very long time.
My method has worked very good over the years with little trouble. I have three fair size ponds that are all connected to each other with little water ways that run water from top pond, free flows thru middle pond, and down to bottom pond. Upper ponds have the least ice, and they de- ice very quick cause the "running" water melts ice very quick, and so I keep the biggest koi in the upper pond, as that pond has the freshest water and gets the least amount of ice. It is complicated to explain, so I have made many videos and they are posted on this thread last winter. I will take more videos all winter of my pond system and try my best to explain why my way of wintering works best for extreme cold.
The simple explanation is "my ponds run like a river, stream or creek, where the water is always flowing, from top pond down to bottom pond, and a river, creek or stream, the ice melts way way faster in the spring than a lake does, as the water in a lake does not move much and so the ice is way thicker and you can drive a truck over the lake ice in the winter. Streams and rivers are more likely to have thin ice in many spots where the water moves quicker. and the thin ice has many natural breathing holes created by faster currents, like all rivers and streams do. These holes provide a way for built up gases to escape and oxygen to flow more freely.
Coming soon to this thread... {hopefully not too soon!! ha ha ha} Winter and weekly videos on how my pond operates in minus 40 degree weather!!!
In the mean time I am going back to play outside with my Halloween stuff and sit in the nice cosy
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How neat! You do one great job
j.w
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I'm gonna run those filters all winter and see how it goes. Hope they don't plug up. I will clean them one more time to make sure they get unclogged w/ gunk before it gets too cold to do it.
Love all your stuff!
Love all your stuff!
bettasngoldfish
Maria
I love all Colleens fun decorations too 
What kind of filters are you guys talking about? Be specific please I'm still learning about all this pond stuff
What kind of filters are you guys talking about? Be specific please I'm still learning about all this pond stuff
j.w
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@bettasngoldfish Colleen had them first and I liked the idea of them so I bought some too. Stuck two together and made one longer one. Easy to lift out and hose off. Attaches to your pump by tubing. Sucks muck up and returns the water to my falls. I cleaned about once a month and could tell when they needed cleaning as my waterfall slowed down.
This is a photo of mine after I screwed two together. About 16" tall after putting the 2 together. Abt 8" wide.
Here it is in action.
This is a photo of mine after I screwed two together. About 16" tall after putting the 2 together. Abt 8" wide.
Here it is in action.
bettasngoldfish
Maria
thank you jw, I am going to check those out
bettasngoldfish
Maria
callingcolleen1
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Yes, thanks JW 4 helping Maria, those are the filters that I use. I have two attached together to each of my three main pumps, (two per pump) and those three main pumps range in size from about 3000 GPH to 4500 GPH. For the larger pump that is 4500 GPH I think next year I will add a third pre filter to that bigger pump next summer. I will soon pull that 4500 GPH pump out and put away till next year and switch to the smaller 3000 GPH pump and switch the hose back to the smaller size for that pump. I reduce the flow in the late fall to simulate a "natural" reduced flow rate that you would typically see in the fall on a river or creek. Then early in the spring I will bring back the larger pump to "simulate" a natural increased "spring" flow to clean out the pond after a long winter.