What does your pond look like ... Today?

[j.w]

@Joejoe80 Running waterfall and bubbler are keeping open water very nicely. Water fall looks pretty w/ice and water flow.

 

[Joejoe80]

Yes it does. It’s really cool to see the water flow under the ice.

 

[BKHpondcritters]

Very pretty! I love the look of the ice crusted waterfall & stream. We haven't yet been cold enough for long enough to develop any icing, other than a thin skin right on the edge of the shelves.

 

[JBtheExplorer]

 

[j.w]

Time for ice skating lessons for your fish

 

[sissy]

my water temperature is high during the day because of sunlight and night it goes down and fish can get confused by the changes .I know right now water temperature in my pond is at 57 degrees .geese even I get confused

 

[schizm]

Nope. They'll do what they need to do when the time comes. My guess is it's just not as cold as it was at the same time last year.

Looks like you're correct. Got colder and icier, and now they're down deep in the pond.

 

[Joejoe80]

This is my first pond and my first freeze. So this is all exciting. What I like most is the water flowing under the ice and how much the ice changes day to day

yesterday

today

 

[RobAmy]

Happy Holidays all

The Frozen Pond by A & R Photography, on Flickr

 

[sissy]

I do not understand this cold water stuff .They tell you to shut everything down and raise aerators so you do not make water colder and yet running a pond all winter will do the same thing ,Am I right or is this just crazy ? Plus the risk of heavy snow that may divert your water out of the pond and you may not see it until it is to late

 

[GBBUDD]

There not must do's , its all precautions. yes running the waterfall can chill your water but i would look at it like running the heater to keep the surface open. yes it keeps an area open around it but does little to nothing to warm the pond. Though if your turning over the pond twice in an hour or even once an hour it may effect water temps. but mother nature from below is also adding to the mix of temps around 55 degrees the average ground temp below frost lines and any disturbance. i know my pond won't see those temps from below as there is disturbance all around. but i'd suspect the bottom of the pond is seeing 40 degrees or so . I think Robs main advantage is the bottom of his pond is undisturbed there is no bottom drains from what i remember. And the ice and snow backup yes can happen at anytime and make it's own damn.

It looks great to me, it looks like it was always there and very tranquil.

 

[BKHpondcritters]

My understanding of cold water stuff is this: Once water gets down below a certain temperature (iirc, it's around 34 - 35 degrees?) it actually becomes less dense & will rise to the surface (which is why ice floats) so this means that the 'warmer' water will settle in a layer at the bottom of the pond. You don't want to disturb this layering because then the fish won't have the warmer place to go down & hang out in. This is why you don't want aerators or pumps drawing from the bottom.

Running a waterfall & stream will definitely cause the water to get colder, but as long as you don't 'super cool' the water (dropping the temp very sharply & drastically as what could happen in high elevations or desert conditions where day/night temps swing widely) it should be OK.

Ice damming is definitely something to keep in mind, though, and if you either can't or don't want to have to deal with daily checking on things (at a bare minimum) in the cold weather, then shutting the falls & streams down is a better option.

Me, I love the look of a snowy/icy pond, so I deal with having to go out when it's cold & keep everything up & running. Fortunately here in NC we don't typically have temps cold enough for long enough to cause problems.

 

[GBBUDD]

Myself not being home every night i don't dare take the chance. i have shut the pond down but i run air bladders in both the pond and the large bog . while there is little growth of bacteria i assume in these temps i imagine alot makes it through the winter and with the unknown amount of fish in the settling chambers in the bog i treat it the same as the pond and air rate it for the winter .

 

[RobAmy]

I do not keep mine running all year. Usually until end of December. Only one year I ran it the entire year except for 2 weeks. I will go by the weather. I keep it running as long as I can depending on weather. If they are calling for large snow amounts I shut it down if it is super cool. The reason the stream can get very slushy. I have never had an issue. My waterfall does not get all the way to the bottom and my skimmer still runs, so the main disturbance is on the the surface just below the ice. My fish stay at the lowest point unless the sun is out they will be a little higher. I do shut my little pumps off, just the stream runs and the air pump. Soon just the air pump. If I have to travel I would shut it down also.

 

[addy1]

I shut all down, just run pond breathers in the three fish filled ponds and a very small pump in the shallow end of the big pond so the birds have water to drink. Keeps just a bit of water flowing. Usually shut down from Nov until sometime in March. My bog surface is so large it cools the pond a lot if it is still cold.

I ran aerators until a neighbor ran one during the winter, killed all his fish except one.