Winter Air Stone Level

[MitchM]

... Why choose the lower? There's no disturbance in my pond at any level, save for right next to the pond breather. If there was no actual advantage to being lower (and I don't mean 'on the bottom proper), then why do the fish go there (no disturbance, remember?). ...

See my comment re the ice making noises.
Fish are stressed by sudden sounds. (tapping on glass, breaking ice, etc)

.

 

[Tula]

My experience has been that any circulation whatsoever will equalize temperatures in the pond so I don't think it really matters where the air stone is located - and if your ice gets more than 1 foot thick (like mine) the air stone will wind up sitting in it's own little pool of well aerated water.

How is the aerator and diffuser working, or is that what you're referring to......it's in it's own little pool ?!

 

[bettasngoldfish]

How can one be sure fish are looking for warmer water at the bottom of a pond?

I always just assumed they kinda rest near the bottom of the pond as the metabolism slows down during colder temperatures.

 

[brokensword]

How can one be sure fish are looking for warmer water at the bottom of a pond?

I always just assumed they kinda rest near the bottom of the pond as the metabolism slows down during colder temperatures.

Maria; they seek the warmer water because it means survival. If you research, you'll note that koi begin having issues at 34 F, though gf are a bit tougher. So mixing the upper water with the lower isn't optimal. Doesn't mean they'll surely die but there's a reason you don't see them in torpor in the middle or upper regions of the pond during freezing months. If you read some of the above links, you'll see why some fish farmers are keeping their aeration at the top as well as keeping a hole open (not all the time, either) as well as helping the light penetrate the ice by moving some of the snow. Again, not a hard and fast 100% rule, and most natural ponds don't have either aerators or pumps and the fish still come through. Thing is, there will only be a problem in that case if the fish load is too high. Unlike our ponds, the volume per fish is a lot higher in nature, typically.

 

[MitchM]

How is the aerator and diffuser working, or is that what you're referring to......it's in it's own little pool ?!

It's working well, thanks for asking. I think the thickness of the weighted hose wall kept the airline from freezing up even when the temperature got down to -33.
Unfortunately a cow fell in the pond and ripped the liner so the level is down about a foot until spring.

 

[Tula]

It's working well, thanks for asking. I think the thickness of the weighted hose wall kept the airline from freezing up even when the temperature got down to -33.
Unfortunately a cow fell in the pond and ripped the liner so the level is down about a foot until spring.

Words fail me....... LOL Hope the cow is ok?

 

[Lisak1]

Unfortunately a cow fell in the pond and ripped the liner so the level is down about a foot until spring.

Unfortunate for both the pond AND the cow! Just a wandering cow @MitchM ?

 

[brokensword]

It's working well, thanks for asking. I think the thickness of the weighted hose wall kept the airline from freezing up even when the temperature got down to -33.
Unfortunately a cow fell in the pond and ripped the liner so the level is down about a foot until spring.

why aren't you submitting an entry to the February pic of the month thread, Mitch??? Can't see how you couldn't win, not now...

 

[sissy]

A few of my air lines have broken because of the cold and I even broke one by moving it .I guess that is why the cat broke my pond heater cord .It just cracked in half when I chased the cat off the frozen pond and he hit it getting off the ice .

 

[MitchM]

Words fail me....... LOL Hope the cow is ok?

The cow's fine.
That big steer with the horns pushed a few of the ladies aside so he could get a drink and one fell in.

 

[addy1]

Addy's neighbour's situation is troubling but we really don't know a lot of information either. Addy's neighbour's fish could have simply run out of stored fat to survive the winter.

The pond was around 8k gallons, they filled it in since then and moved. They had a ap100 air pump running almost wide open, just a bit of the air not going into the pond. One of our cold winters, around 1/4 of the pond was open to the air. My pond was frozen hard, I had a small pump going.
Not over stocked, healthy looking fish. Not sure if they all died at once or over a month or so. When the ice melted they were floating, in the deep end. They did have two fish survive, if I remember what they told me later, correctly.
First indication was he saw a few floating in the open water. Didn't see anymore floaters, the rest of the pond had a thick layer of ice on it. They showed as it melted.