"AL Z" wrote in message
news:VKKdneizbeOCDTfbnZ2dnUVZ_jWdnZ2d@wideopenwest .com...
Question:

I have a 6 foot by 2 foot by 2 foot pond that was formerly a cattle
trough. It has a liner, fountain, and is buried approximately 20 inches in
the ground. I need advice on the best way to help my goldfish and koi
survive the harsh Chicago winters.

Thanks in advance
I really don't think that you could keep the fish in a small shallow tank
like that in your area. Many of the people, that I know of, that live up
in the upper midwest, bring their koi into the house, and keep them in their
isolation tank. That tank is only about 150 gallons, and you will find that
the koi outgrow it very fast. A rule of rec.ponds for pond volume has been
stated 1000 gallons for the first koi and 200 gallons for each additional
koi. Others have different rules. Some of the people that are trying to
raise the big show koi say 1000 gallons per koi, and refuse to think that
less then 500 per koi can be managed. Gold fish on the other hand, need
about 20 gallons per goldfish, so you could have up to about 6 or 7
goldfish. You will need to control the population, as goldfish will
overpopulate.

If the pond were bigger and deeper, then the use of an ice melter, air, or
other methods of keeping a hole in the water would work. The pond needs to
go a foot or more below the frost depth to have some of the ground heat to
maintain a liquid level under the ice. There must be a hole in the ice to
allow gas exchange.