Pond in the foothills

[addy1]

I'll call it MITCH'S ULTIMATE WINTER POND SETUP (patent pending)

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We will line up to get one!

 

[CountryEscape]

Yep, it's chilly here, and going down to below 30F tonight. Brrrrr ..... I want to be where Mitch it right now, instead of in central Illinois. Geesh .... Two more mornings of upper 20's for lows (need that, because those peepers need to peer through the ice 2 more times!!!!) and then I hope that's it for anything that cold, even at night. We shall see ...
Mitch, your set up proves practice makes perfect. You have perfected your set up and moving onward and upward! Good deal. Been fun watching the transition.

 

[rodsboys]

Careful what you wish for CE. I grew up in Central Illinois. I would gladly take those winters over Alberta winters any day. That being said this winter was probably the mildest winter we have had in the 13 years I've been up here.

 

[callingcolleen1]

yes the winters here in Alberta can be very hard and brutal. This winter was a nice reprieve from the otherwise harsh cold winters we normally see. Over the past 24 years of wintering my ponds very successfully I have seen many long cold horrid winters of minus 40 and below! You need to be there all the time when pumps are running all winter and top up the ponds when needed as water can be displaced and turned into ice and strange things can sometimes happen. Running a big 1500 watt heater can raise your bill about 100 dollars a month, but very necessary for large koi. It makes very big different if you run and circulate the water in front of the heater, that way the ponds will not freeze as hard. I also unplug that thing when not needed. I do not use it unless it is below minus 10 or 15 degrees Celsius, and a lot depends on how long the cold period is, and if the ground is frozen very hard. In the fall the first month the ground is not frozen hard and it takes a while for the ponds to start to freeze hard. Last year the ground was frozen very hard for quite a long time, so when the temperature went down to just minus 5 or 10C, the ponds would refreeze very hard quickly cause the ground would act like a giant freezer,

 

[MitchM]

Today is officially ice free day for the pond.
Last year ice free day was April 29, so about 1 month earlier this year.
All fish are accounted for, including the 1000 minnows. I wonder how many minnows I'm going to wind up with at the end of this season.

Colleen, the breathers will work fine for large koi as well. Did you see the New Jersey pond that used breathers for his 20" koi?

 

[j.w]

Hey Mitch great news but.................do you know what day it is tomorrow? Hope you don't get fooled by old man weather

 

[MitchM]

Oh right...

 

[callingcolleen1]

But his pond probably was not at risk of freezing totally solid like it can here

 

[MitchM]

If I sold these breathers, Colleen, you'd be my toughest customer!

I think we can both agree that good gas exchange and water movement is important for overwintering ponds with fish.
Different methods will work depending on which climate the pond is in.

 

[addy1]

Today is officially ice free day for the pond.
Last year ice free day was April 29, so about 1 month earlier this year.
All fish are accounted for, including the 1000 minnows. I wonder how many minnows I'm going to wind up with at the end of this season.

YEAH!!!

 

[CountryEscape]

Funny, we in IL had another colder than normal winter, although not as much snow as last winter. You guys in Canada had a milder winter. How does that work out anyhow? Where did you used to live in Central IL, Rodsboys? You're right, though, I would not want to live anywhere colder than where I am now. I like having all 4 seasons, but not drastic for any of them. I think the weather here is perfect, although I don't care for 90+ degrees and high humidity when it hangs around for 3 months instead of 3 weeks. Hopefully this summer will be like last summer.

 

[MitchM]

Here is a pic of a small group of the minnows, about 100 of them. There are lots more in other parts of the pond at various depths.
The minnow sizes range from 1 1 /2" to 1/4". I'm wondering what the story is behind those 1/4 inch fish. Did they survive the winter at 1/4", or did the minnows spawn while there was still ice cover?
Water Temperature is presently 44F.

 

[RobAmy]

I bet your fry just got bigger. I had a few goldfish fry late season and now a few very small goldfish.

 

[MitchM]

I'm impressed that they could last the winter.
I am seeing some small goldfish as well that I didn't see last fall.

 

[j.w]

Good on all those fish making it through your rugged winter and I see your outside air temp is getting quite balmy now