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winter on pond

cuda
Koi Lover

Nov 27, 2005, 5:58 AM

Post #1 of 23 (2114 views)
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winter on pond	Can't Post

Koi seem to be doing fine. they are slowly moving about. Ph staying around 7.5 Ice on 1/4 of the pond. Jealous of all you folks who are still playing with your koi. reading between yall keeping me out of depression. lol. Suppose to warm up, get to possibly 50 this next week! cool. cuda

Once I tried too hard to control things in the pond....the frogs left.

fishkid
Koi Lover

Dec 8, 2005, 9:05 AM

Post #2 of 23 (1995 views)
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Re: [cuda] winter on pond [In reply to]	Can't Post

Hi cuda, where are you located? I'm in SD, and I would say your lucky...it's been so cold here lately that my 3 foot high waterfall has frozen completely over so the water has to go behind a sheet of ice. The ice is thick enough to walk on, no problem, and the heaters can just barely keep some ice open in front of the skimmer box. I'll post pics tomorrow if I remember.... Wink

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1 Tancho / 1 Bekko / 1 Kawarimono / 1 Kohaku / 2 Utsuri / BABIES!!!

koifishgirl
Koi Kichi

Dec 8, 2005, 9:37 AM

Post #3 of 23 (1993 views)
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Re: [fishkid] winter on pond [In reply to]	Can't Post

Hey try and keep that ice broke up on the pond. The gasses need to escape so its best to keep the ice broke.
Judy

fishkid
Koi Lover

Dec 8, 2005, 10:20 AM

Post #4 of 23 (1989 views)
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Re: [koifishgirl] winter on pond [In reply to]	Can't Post

Well I do have an opening in front of the skimmer box made by two 1,250 watt de-icers...but with a high of 5 for the past week, you can imagine how difficult it would be to keep an area open unless you were out there every hour with a crow bar. Unsure

Fortunately, the weather report says it should get up into the 40s this weekend. I am, however thinking about building something similar to the pond greenhouse here:

http://www.wernersponds.com/deicer.html

P.S.- It says in the instructions for the de-icers that I have to not use an extension cord.....is it ok to use one anyways? My plug-in is on the opposite end of the pond from the biggest open area (I have an island on one side) so I can't get my de-icers over to where I need them.
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1 Tancho / 1 Bekko / 1 Kawarimono / 1 Kohaku / 2 Utsuri / BABIES!!!

larz1
Koi Kichi

Dec 8, 2005, 11:03 AM

Post #5 of 23 (1987 views)
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Re: [fishkid] winter on pond [In reply to]	Can't Post

You just made me miss my old home in Wyoming. (I used to live on the Hellnback Ranch north of Douglas). And just think, winter is barely getting started Shocked

!
That looks like an interesting design idea. I think you might need more light fixtures due to the colder temps, but it would still be cheaper than stock tank heaters all winter long Pirate

.
OOPS, almost forgot about the extension chords. If you have to run them make sure they are the shortest length possible and at least one gauge heavier wire than you think you need. The longer and lighter the chord the hotter the wire gets and the more electricity you will use... until it melts and shorts out in the snow that is.

(This post was edited by larz1 on Dec 8, 2005, 11:07 AM)

fishkid
Koi Lover

Dec 8, 2005, 11:12 AM

Post #6 of 23 (1982 views)
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Re: [larz1] winter on pond [In reply to]	Can't Post

Thanks for the help larz! I'll probably run a short extension cord to the middle of the pond tomorrow and get some pictures to show you!
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1 Tancho / 1 Bekko / 1 Kawarimono / 1 Kohaku / 2 Utsuri / BABIES!!!

fishkid
Koi Lover

Dec 9, 2005, 7:19 AM

Post #7 of 23 (1954 views)
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Re: [larz1] winter on pond [In reply to]	Can't Post

So today I got a 14 guage, 25 foot extension wire and put the de-icer in the middle of the pond:

And looking at the waterfall from above:

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1 Tancho / 1 Bekko / 1 Kawarimono / 1 Kohaku / 2 Utsuri / BABIES!!!

larz1
Koi Kichi

Dec 9, 2005, 9:23 AM

Post #8 of 23 (1947 views)
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Re: [fishkid] winter on pond [In reply to]	Can't Post

I don't know why, but the pix don't show Frown

. The only thing that comes up is the little red "X" where they ought to be Crazy

The one you posted in the first place still comes up fine, so I'm confused Unsure

Jaylene
Koi Lover

Dec 9, 2005, 9:32 AM

Post #9 of 23 (1947 views)
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Re: [fishkid] winter on pond [In reply to]	Can't Post

Hello,
Your pictures didn't show up Frown

. Please try to send them again. I'd like to see your pond.

koifishgirl
Koi Kichi

Dec 9, 2005, 11:05 AM

Post #10 of 23 (1943 views)
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Re: [Jaylene] winter on pond [In reply to]	Can't Post

Same here, if you are having trouble and need some help just let me know and I will see if I can post for you.
Judy

cuda
Koi Lover

Dec 9, 2005, 11:11 AM

Post #11 of 23 (1941 views)
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Re: [Jaylene] winter on pond [In reply to]	Can't Post

Hey, try sending those pics again. everyone wants to see them, including me. I have known people to take a 4-6 inch pipe and put the pipe in the pond in a way where the gasses can go out through the pipe when the pond has wintered over. My thinking, is if your fall keeps a waterway from the ice, then you are going to be okay. A waterfall is all i had my first year. 5 degree..mmm...thats damn cold. Can you keep your fall going? I remember one year I was really worried because the weather was down to the teens here and holding. The koi made it and I believe you said your pond was over 4' deep? You must be busting your butt to get things into place so you don't have to worry so much. I wish you the best, but I have a feeling you are going to get that pond deicer in, the cord will be okay, and your koi will be eatting out of your hand another year!!! Oh yea, if you bust that ice, be darn careful, because once i busted the ice in such a way, the water flowed on top of it and the large piece of ice began to sink ON TOP OF MY KOI. So, just break a place off the side, it doesn't need to have a large area, from my understanding and young experience for the gasses to come out. .. keep us posted. ...cuda

Once I tried too hard to control things in the pond....the frogs left.

fishkid
Koi Lover

Dec 9, 2005, 11:40 AM

Post #12 of 23 (1933 views)
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Re: [cuda] winter on pond [In reply to]	Can't Post

Well I have a hole where the waterfall comes so that is good, even if it is behind a solid sheet of ice. The pond is only 2.5 feet deep though. It could have been bigger, I know, but it was solid sandstone and if the fish die.....I guess they will just go to the big pond in the sky and life goes on. I posted pics here before but I forget between all the forums how they work...Here goes again, the pond:

And the waterfall:

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1 Tancho / 1 Bekko / 1 Kawarimono / 1 Kohaku / 2 Utsuri / BABIES!!!

fishkid
Koi Lover

Dec 9, 2005, 11:43 AM

Post #13 of 23 (1932 views)
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Re: [fishkid] winter on pond [In reply to]	Can't Post

Sorry for the crappy quality on the first picture of that last post, it wouldn't let me post it until I compressed it down that far....Here is what the waterfall looks like as seen from the top:

Edit: These pictures are actually from AFTER I chipped some of the ice off the top of the waterfall. Before I took the crow bar to it (carefully) you couldn't see any water except the water in my waterfall box (the very top).
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1 Tancho / 1 Bekko / 1 Kawarimono / 1 Kohaku / 2 Utsuri / BABIES!!!

(This post was edited by fishkid on Dec 9, 2005, 11:46 AM)

Jaylene
Koi Lover

Dec 9, 2005, 11:59 AM

Post #14 of 23 (1931 views)
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Re: [cuda] winter on pond [In reply to]	Can't Post

Hello,
While were all waiting for pond pics, explain how the 6 inch pipe in the ice works, plz Sly

.
It was -16 C here today. My pond has been frozen solid since November Frown

Jaylene.

koifishgirl
Koi Kichi

Dec 9, 2005, 10:49 PM

Post #15 of 23 (1921 views)
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Re: [Jaylene] winter on pond [In reply to]	Can't Post

I hope not solid. If is has you have lost your koi Frown

Judy

Jaylene
Koi Lover

Dec 10, 2005, 12:46 AM

Post #16 of 23 (1918 views)
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Re: [koifishgirl] winter on pond [In reply to]	Can't Post

Hello Judy,
I have a deicer over the deep end of the pond. I've been thinking of making a greenhouse over part or it and using a light bulb for heat
I had a second deicer but I lent it to some neighbors. They moved into a house down the road this summer and took over the existing pond. When I spoke to them about their pond a few days ago they said they didn't know to keep a hole in the ice Shocked

. I didn't know if their fish ,shubunkin, comets, and a couple koi, would still be alive or not. That pond is aprox. 1000 gal and 3' deep. Do you think 3 weeks with out a hole in the ice would be too long for the fish to survive???

Jaylene

cuda
Koi Lover

Dec 11, 2005, 12:14 PM

Post #17 of 23 (1871 views)
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Re: [Jaylene] winter on pond [In reply to]	Can't Post

I don't think you would loose your koi in three weeks. What you want to have happen with the pipe is for one end to be in the water, the other end to be sticking above the water. Gas will naturally escape out of the water through the pipe into the air. A hole may have to be dug in the ice to get the pipe in, or if the deicer is working fast enough, then use that hole it makes, and get a pipe in there. If the sides of the pond are not fozen to where it banks, that is good. one end in, one end out. that's all. there are a lot of people around my area who have small ponds, if they don't keep a de icer, this is what they do. I have not done it myself, but apparently it works as it was what i was told to do by an area person who is doing it. Tell them to get a de icer too! ... good care. cuda

Once I tried too hard to control things in the pond....the frogs left.

Jaylene
Koi Lover

Dec 11, 2005, 1:09 PM

Post #18 of 23 (1865 views)
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Re: [cuda] winter on pond [In reply to]	Can't Post

I'll be getting my spare de-icer back in the morning. Would it be best to put it in the deep end of the pond by the other de-icer, or in the shallow end of the pond? The pond is about 25" long.

Jaylene

cuda
Koi Lover

Dec 12, 2005, 12:24 AM

Post #19 of 23 (1844 views)
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Re: [Jaylene] winter on pond [In reply to]	Can't Post

I'm not sure it matters. I have mine close together because of the electric post. Maybe someone knows more about that than me. I'm bummed right now. Just came back from looking around the pond and see that I've lost about 6 inches of water.... why? I don't know. It is not leaking from the outflow to the biofilter tank or back in. I had this problem last year and before I filled the water back up in the spring I reglued around the edges of the liner where I thought it must have been leaking out. I'm wondering if the water evaporates faster in the winter due to stronger wind currents or something? I don't get it. I'm just praying that it will leak no further than it did last winter. At the end of winter I had about 2 feet of water left . %&@#! Ohhh. I just thought of something! could it be due to the heaters in the pond? I want to move south, Im tired of this crap. My jacuzzi soft tub's heater broke. If I'd known that was going to happen it would be an inside koi pond right now. ...cuda

Once I tried too hard to control things in the pond....the frogs left.

Dayleen
Koi Lover

Dec 12, 2005, 8:35 AM

Post #20 of 23 (1835 views)
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Re: [cuda] winter on pond [In reply to]	Can't Post

I'm with you Cuda....LOL. We just came back from Los Angeles where it was 91...back home it was 37 and now it's
-5...yuk!! I hate the cold.

koifishgirl
Koi Kichi

Dec 12, 2005, 9:16 AM

Post #21 of 23 (1834 views)
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Re: [Jaylene] winter on pond [In reply to]	Can't Post

Hi Jaylene,
You can believe this or not if you want but the goldfish can freeze solid in the winter and come back to life in the spring when the water thaws, Wink

but the koi cannot take this. Frown

They can survive very low temp but cannot freeze like goldfish can. I suggest you cover you pond with a greenhouse if the pond frezzez very thick and keep that pond heater going.
Judy

Jaylene
Koi Lover

Dec 13, 2005, 3:21 AM

Post #22 of 23 (1806 views)
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Re: [koifishgirl] winter on pond [In reply to]	Can't Post

When is the soonest I can take my fish out of the pond in the spring to begin renovating? Should I let the water get to a certain temperature before moving them to holding tanks?

Jaylene

koifishgirl
Koi Kichi

Dec 14, 2005, 12:47 AM

Post #23 of 23 (1772 views)
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Re: [Jaylene] winter on pond [In reply to]	Can't Post

Try around 60 to 65 degs.
Judy

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