Ha! Yeah, bit of a drive from Chicago to The Antarctic - or wherever the heck it is that you live that snows 364 1/2 days out of the year!
The saddest pond day
- Thread starter Lisak1
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Too bad the really good sale from Dr. Fosters and Smith isn't still on.....they sold them for $19 !!!
I know! At the time I was just happy for everyone who needed one... I was like "nah. I'm good!" If I knew then what I know now...
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Sorry to hear this Lisa, I was away for a couple weeks and missed your post. It has been a strange year for sure. Temps high then super low. I actually am building up algae during the middle of winter, crazy. We have been at 60 degrees to -6 degrees in the same week. I actually want to get everything up and running but the temps that are low are super low and would create a bit of a challenge. I will have to just wait it out. So far the air pump has been keeping up and the pond is about 30% open.
We have had so much snow this year, it's been wild. Not any one big snow storm, but multiple 6-8 inch snowfalls. Then it all melts. Then it snows again. At one point I looked out at the pond and realized the aerator was off. I was like "WHAT FRESH HELL IS THIS?!?" Turns out the weight of the snow pulled the power cord for the aerator right out of the plug! I mean, I was glad it was a simple fix, but HELLO! Enough already! With the aerator running we're keeping a nice sized hole. Oh, and our de-icer decided this was the perfect year to give up the ghost - keeps popping the little GFI thing on my outlet. WHAT NEXT!
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I think you're overdue for a meteorite to hit your pond.
Gee thanks! I'll be on the lookout! Hey... what was that flash?? 
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I bought 2 as spares when Fosters & Smith had the sale. One is yours is you want it for next year. I am much closer to you than Mitch.
Thank you @snoozer ! You are so kind! I will definitely keep that in mind!
Are you using one this year? How did you fare during the polar vortex?
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I have two breathers in the pond (it is about 35x20 foot) and they are bubbling away. I also keep a small pump on the shelf at each end of the pond and saw a couple of goldfish through the opening the pump made so i think i am good. With the breathers i don't need to worry about melting the ice domes above the pumps. I only have two koi in the pond.
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Hi Lisa. I just saw this post....I'm so sorry!!! I know you loved your fish. We have had some really rough weather this year. It didn't leave any margin for error and even the best prepared and most knowledgeable people like your self were at risk. Considering the polar vortex that occurred almost any outcome was possible. So far I have been really lucky but again it's probably luck more than anything else.
Thanks @CometKeith . It's been a rough winter for sure. We should have known - it started off so mild, the other shoe was bound to drop eventually. My sweet grandkids have already decided they are going to mend my broken heart by getting us some new fish - they have names picked out already, so I guess it's a done deal! It will be fun to have them involved in choosing a few nice fish this time around.
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Those are some great grandkids!
They are adorable @addy1 - such a fun time in life! They love coming over to feed the fish and catch frogs. And it's a great way to teach kids to respect and learn from nature. They know how much I love my pond and they knew all the names of all the fish. We talk about how fish reproduce and how that's different from other animals and the two oldest understand the "fish feed the plants and the plants keep the water clean for the fish" cycle.