When do you start up your pond after winter

[sissy]

I just got new floating led lights for my pond as my fish love to push them around in the pond and it is fun to go out there at night and see the lights be pushed from one end of the pond to the other and it looks pretty too .Got a great price on them too 2.99each

 

[Tootie]

I didn't know there were such lights. Have to look into that.

 

[sissy]

yes and they make the pond look pretty ,hint if you don't want to spend lots of money on them get solar lights that are sealed well and have no holes where they connect to the stake ( find some other use for the stake because you don't need it)where they come apart to turn them on seal it with a good silicon and let them dry a day or to and then just float them in the pond ,make sure you turn them on before you seal them .I got mine at Ollies here this year where staked lights and now are floaters .

 

[oldmarine]

Hi j.w. Read this thread. He advocates keeping the pump running no matter how cold it gets.

https://www.gardenpondforum.com/cold-north-t7112.html

I run my pond filter and pump all year round. Of course, I have it advantage with a 365 gallon pond. I have a aquarium heater hooked up in line to the inport to my filter pump. Even when the temps get down into the teens at night during the winter months, the pond water stays well above feezing. I can see where that may not be a workable solution for those of you that extremely large ponds.

 

[sissy]

interesting idea and do you have to protect the heater from bad weather .

 

[sissy]

I like the pics of your pond with the irish moss and wooly time that looks soft enough to lay down on oldmarine .I guess the frog agrees with me too .

 

[sissy]

have to ask you you said you have the trap door snails how are they working out for you because I am going to get some too .Do the fish bother them sorry to oldmarine

 

[oldmarine]

interesting idea and do you have to protect the heater from bad weather .

Good to see you so active here at the forum. My heater is a 200 watt, submersible aquarium heater that I jury rigged in to a plastic cylinder that attaches to the inlet tub that allows water to flow directly into the water pump. I feel that it allows the use of the heat more effectively.

The trap door snails do well because they are large enough to keep from being eaten by the fish. The racoons will eat them like apples. They love the fresh meat. These trap door will have live babies a couple times a year. The only problem with the baby snails is that if the fish are big enough, the baby snails will be eaten quickly. If you want to bread the snails, you need to have a separate tank, pond, or aqaurium set up just for them to grow and bread. The more algae you have in that set up the faster they grow.

Even though my pond doesn't look like it was ment to be there I wanted the landscape around it to look somewhat natural as possible for the frogs to lounge around in. The Wooly Thyme and Irish moss is easy to take care of and grow. Of the two the Wooley Thyme is more drought resistant and the cut worms in the soil here don't seem to like the taste of the Wooley Thyme. The cut worms and slugs really enjoy eating the Irish moss. If I had to do it all over again, I would have only planted the Wooley Thyme.
:fish2:

 

[sissy]

geeze will have to protect these then for awhile as aggie my biggest koi eats anything that moves frogs baby fish no difference to her .Well I don't have coons so guess it's just aggie .I will have to check out getting some wooly thyme .I wonder how it would grow in a filter on top of the plant ring or would the salt bother it .I put one of the rings on top of my new filter .I was surprised just came in again and when I was outside before I noticed my magnolias are blooming .I first smelled them ,And thank you oldmarine

 

[Tootie]

We have an Ollies near here is I'll go there. I was watching my fish from my bedroom window just above the pond. They are so neat! Can't wate till it gets warmer. All my bulbs are pushing up now!

 

[sissy]

they have them for 2.99 and are sealed on the bottom just make sure you get silicon to seal the middle part and make sure they are on and work first as one of mine the button was messed up and it would hold charge but not stay on .check them in the store if they have them they are in a small black box

 

[sissy]

the name is dome solar light I had the others they where 20 dollars for one .cheaper is better

 

[sissy]

I also have a tip that works for me as my pond is a rectangle .I use window screen material that has the uv protector and 2 pipes one on each end of the pond and take the screen sew a pocket with fishing line like a pocket for a curtain on each end and thread the pipe into the pockets .I raise mine up by putting blocks of wood on the ends of the pipe .I drill holes in the wood and put the pipe into the hole .I will get a pic of it as the screen protects the pond from uv rays and also blocks some of the sun .I have to make a new one as the other one is 5 years old and hail ruined it last year