Snow and water loss?

[Nepen]

My pond has no ice but have ice and snow in the filters and temps. are going up and if you have sun on your pond it should melt fast .You are south of me and I know here today it was 44 and tomorrow supposed to be in the 50's .and by the weekend 60's .

thanks Sissy. The pond itself is starting to melt melt but the stream still has a lot of ice covering. Hopefully it'll all melt today but seems we are going to have a lot warmer days and nights now.

 

[sissy]

sure are and glad for it .It will all be history by this weekend .

 

[pecan]

pecan have you ever had your clay pots freeze and crack

This is the first winter I have ran them and our coldest stretch this year got down into the single digits for a couple of weeks and no they didn't freeze solid. I got a lot of ice built up around them though which was what caused the ice bridge that drained the water out.

Here is a picture of them during that coldest stretch. The wider pot had about an inch worth of ice on the top with a small hole where the water came out in the front. The taller narrower pot in the background had a much thinner layer of ice on top. At this point we aren't getting colder than the high teens and Ill have a thin layer of ice in the mornings, that thaws completely by mid day.

 

[Faebinder]

Yesterday was a better day for the pond.

 

[sissy]

I am surprised because I gave up on clay pots because they would crack ,even stored under the deck wrapped in bubble wrap

 

[pecan]

I am surprised because I gave up on clay pots because they would crack ,even stored under the deck wrapped in bubble wrap

I have had that issue with talavera pots. They have to be brought inside or the cold weather cracks them. But these pots are Vietnamese clay, I have had them for about 5 years and they stayed outside every winter with no issue.

 

[Meyer Jordan]

I am surprised because I gave up on clay pots because they would crack ,even stored under the deck wrapped in bubble wrap

It depends on the quality of the pot. Some more expensive clay pots have a lower moisture content making them less susceptible to cracking in sub-freezing temperatures. The shape of the pot may also make it more susceptible to cracking.

 

[sissy]

mine was similar to pecans that is why i asked .They were the glazed pots .Not sure how long the place had them and how they were stored .I got them the end of the season at concrete world .Should have bought the concrete ones instead.Mine had a paper inside them that said how to store them over winter .Now I buy the plastic ones .The winter I had them I had nothing planted in them .I just wrapped them and left them under the front porch near the basement wall which gets sun in the afternoon until sunset .I sent the company the receipt and pics they did give me most of the money back since I never even got a chance to use them .Plastic is lighter and easier any ways .

 

[pecan]

mine was similar to pecans that is why i asked .They were the glazed pots .Not sure how long the place had them and how they were stored .I got them the end of the season at concrete world .Should have bought the concrete ones instead.Mine had a paper inside them that said how to store them over winter .Now I buy the plastic ones .The winter I had them I had nothing planted in them .I just wrapped them and left them under the front porch near the basement wall which gets sun in the afternoon until sunset .I sent the company the receipt and pics they did give me most of the money back since I never even got a chance to use them .Plastic is lighter and easier any ways .

Mine aren't glazed. I have had issue with most glazed pots though. Maybe that is the difference?

 

[sissy]

They told me glazed was stronger I guess now that is in question

 

[morewater]

Water loss during freeze is the chief reason why I don't advocate leaving a waterfall running during the winter. For a worry-free winter, blow out the lines, empty the filters and run breathers or an aerator. A pump can empty a pond in very little time and you won't really notice the water loss if the ice cover is thick. The ice won't move, you'll just have a good-sized void under the ice.

As to cracking ceramic or clay pots, most pots are f

 

[peter hillman]

This is the first winter I have ran them and our coldest stretch this year got down into the single digits for a couple of weeks and no they didn't freeze solid. I got a lot of ice built up around them though which was what caused the ice bridge that drained the water out.

Here is a picture of them during that coldest stretch. The wider pot had about an inch worth of ice on the top with a small hole where the water came out in the front. The taller narrower pot in the background had a much thinner layer of ice on top. At this point we aren't getting colder than the high teens and Ill have a thin layer of ice in the mornings, that thaws completely by mid day.
View attachment 88828

One more single digit day and who knows what would've happened..

 

[Nepen]

wow!!! i wish i have that much snow it's all gone today.

Yesterday was a better day for the pond.

 

[Nepen]

Water loss during freeze is the chief reason why I don't advocate leaving a waterfall running during the winter. For a worry-free winter, blow out the lines, empty the filters and run breathers or an aerator. A pump can empty a pond in very little time and you won't really notice the water loss if the ice cover is thick. The ice won't move, you'll just have a good-sized void under the ice.

As to cracking ceramic or clay pots, most pots are f

the thing is we hardly get snow/ice though and this year we had a warm winter until last week and now it's warm again (in the 50s) so when it gets to 60s someday the fish will come out and play so I think it's better to have the pumps going.

But from now if we have snow i'll turn off the pumps!!

 

[MitchM]

Anything that absorbs moisture (clay or concrete) in a freezing climate will eventually break apart.