Greetings All,

Trying out the new newsgroup here. I must say the infamy of its
predecessor is what drew me to post.

Thus far, I'm not a ponder, only a (lowly) indoor aquarist, but I'd be
curious if anyone could comment on their pond-keeping experiences in cold-
weather areas?
Am I right in assuming (uh oh) that the harsh winters here present a
special challenge? We average 60 inches (150 cm) of snow each winter, and
5-10 days below 0 degF (-18 degC), with 20s and 30s being more typical. If
this can be overcome, advice on things to pay particular attention to,
resources that help with climate-related challenges, etc.

Thanks for your insights...

Regards,
DaveZ

atomweaver wrote in
:

Greetings All,

Trying out the new newsgroup here. I must say the infamy of its
predecessor is what drew me to post.

Thus far, I'm not a ponder, only a (lowly) indoor aquarist, but I'd
be
curious if anyone could comment on their pond-keeping experiences in
cold- weather areas?

Bumped.

Anybody? Some referrals to online reading resources for cold-weather ponds
would be appreciated.

Regards
DaveZ

we also used to have somebody from Norway I think. He easily maintained an
open hole by waiting until the ice froze over with the hole open, then he
dropped the water level 1-2 inches and that left an air gap AND the hole
nicely stayed open all winter.

The worst part about ponding in Northern climates is the fish dont see food
for 6 months. I think it is really hard on them, one main reason I went
with plastic over the pond and a small heater. Ingrid

"Derek Broughton" wrote in message
...
There are posters who've kept them in much harsher climes - at least one
regular in Ottawa (who only had an 18" deep pond) and another on the
Canadian prairies.

Really, the worst part about ponding in Northern climates is not seeing
any
pond life for half the year

"Capt. Geoffrey Thorpe"
wrote in news:yfWdnb4OtrE7PJ3bnZ2dnUVZ_qmpnZ2d@wideopenwest .com:

"Derek Broughton" wrote in message
...
atomweaver wrote:

atomweaver wrote in
:

...
The key is to make it deeper than your frost line (no, 18" is NOT
deeper than the frost line in Ottawa!), and keep even a small hole
open in the ice
(even that isn't necessarily vital if you have really good quality
water, or a flow-through pond). If you get lots of snow covering the
pond it keeps it warmer, but it also will be harder to keep an
opening in the ice.
...

I think success in keeping a hole open must depend somewhat on the
size of the pond - I have 400 - 500 gallons, 36" deep near Detroit,
MI. It freezes over regularly even with the bubbler running. Doesn't
seem to be a problem for the fish though - As long as there is fresh
air getting under the ice, they seem to do OK.

--
Geoff
The Sea Hawk at Wow Way d0t Com
remove spaces and make the obvious substitutions to reply by mail
When immigration is outlawed, only outlaws will immigrate.


Thanks Derek and Geoff (and Jeff, Gale Ingrid), that at least gets me in
the ballpark as to how deep I'll have to go (probably 36 to 42", to get 12-
18" below the frost line. Unfortunately, my backyard is riddled with
hidden granite boulders, some of which come well up through the frost line
(I learned that, excavating for a dry-set brick patio ;-) Had a fun time
taking the tops off of two nine-footers with a jackhammer.) If I hit one
of those, it'll end up a lot bigger pond, as I'll have to drag the thing
out... ;-)
I think it might be easier to go the heated route, or to build a four-
season room with an indoor pond (the room (but not the pond) is already a
planned addition, albeit five years out from now...). I also found a well-
recommended nearby shop, with extensive pond product lines. We'll see if
its a reasonable thing to try. I'm reading the old r.p FAQs now, as well.
Neat hobby...

Regards,
DaveZ

Reel McKoi wrote:

"G Pearce" wrote in message
...
mid posted

I've kept koi & goldfish in Southern Ontario with temperatures down
below -20C and a foot or more of ice on the pond.

I use a bubbler to keep a hole open - originally I put an airstone on
it, but I kept losing the stone

Hi Derek - I used to lose the airstone sometimes as well (I used silicone
to 'glue' it to the airline) - I found the answer this year :~) - pvc
cement and I even tried to knock it off - & it's still on
=======================
I would think that would make it hard to check if the stone is getting
clogged, causing backpressure on the pump. Here the water is so hard the
airstones clog and must be replaced regularly.

I don't think that's a big problem - but I never had one in the pond long
enough to have experience in a pond. In my hard-water aquariums, air
stones always started emitting bigger bubbles as they got clogged.
--
derek

if you cant dig down, then build up. mine is 18" up 2.5" down. I used a
stud wall with greenwood plywood for the sides. works great and can be very
well insulated depending on how thick the stud walls are. "extensive pond
products" are often very very pricey and actually do not work as well as
advice on stuff from this list. remember, we have BTDTGTTS, been there,
done that, got the T shirt. I actually have a friend sells mostly water
plants but also sells basically a lot of useless crap. She gets all these
fancy filters going on her ponds and they are pea soup most of the year
cause she doesnt have the time to "tend" them.

remember to designate whether you want a pond with fish or a KOI POND with
some plants. they are designed very very different. Ingrid


"atomweaver" wrote in message
...
Unfortunately, my backyard is riddled with
hidden granite boulders, some of which come well up through the frost line
(I learned that, excavating for a dry-set brick patio ;-)
I think it might be easier to go the heated route, or to build a four-
season room with an indoor pond (the room (but not the pond) is already a
planned addition, albeit five years out from now...). I also found a
well-
recommended nearby shop, with extensive pond product lines. We'll see if
its a reasonable thing to try. I'm reading the old r.p FAQs now, as well.
Neat hobby...

Regards,
DaveZ