atomweaver wrote:

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?

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

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.

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 use a bubbler to keep a hole open - originally I put an airstone on it,
but I kept losing the stone (and never found them on the bottom of the
pond, either!), so I just let the hose bubble freely. A standard 15W
aquarium air-pump can keep a hole open in all but the worst conditions, for
a lot less money than an electric heater.

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

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
Gale :~)

A standard 15W
aquarium air-pump can keep a hole open in all but the worst conditions,
for
a lot less money than an electric heater.

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

"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.
--
RM....
Frugal ponding since 1995.
rec.ponder since late 1996.
My Pond & Aquarium Pages:
http://tinyurl.com/9do58
Zone 6. USA
~~~~ }((((* ~~~ }{{{{(ö

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.

Hi Carol - what is 'regularly' ? - mine only runs for 3 - 4 months, without
a problem - I have used the same airstone for up to 4 yrs, after I soak it
in bleach to kill the algae, then rinse it thoroughly for next year - if it
will make a whole winter, maybe CLR ?, but at the cost of an airstone, you
only lose 1/2" of airline when you cut the stone off - I am still using the
same airline from 10 yrs ago and have cut 5 or 6 'stones ' off it
Gale :~)

"G Pearce" wrote in message
...

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.

Hi Carol - what is 'regularly' ?

They can clog here, when outdoors, in a month. Minerals and I assume,
algae. Indoors they last a little longer, maybe 2 months. I wish I could
find real coarse ones. I'm sure they'd be less likely to clog, but all the
stores here carry the same ones.

- mine only runs for 3 - 4 months, without
a problem - I have used the same airstone for up to 4 yrs, after I soak it
in bleach to kill the algae, then rinse it thoroughly for next year - if
it will make a whole winter, maybe CLR ?,

I have a similar product called Lime-Away but was afraid it may not rinse
out completely. Have you ever tried one of those products on airstones? I
do use it on the hoods and filters. May I'll give it a try since I'm going
through a lot of airstones. I always have several running in the aquariums
in the house year 'round.

but at the cost of an airstone, you
only lose 1/2" of airline when you cut the stone off - I am still using
the same airline from 10 yrs ago and have cut 5 or 6 'stones ' off it
Gale :~)

I don't have a problem with my airstones falling off the airline and I have
a bunch of them running in the tubs and pools behind the house in winter.
--

RM....
Frugal ponding since 1995.
rec.ponder since late 1996.
My Pond & Aquarium Pages:
http://tinyurl.com/9do58
Zone 6. USA
~~~~ }((((* ~~~ }{{{{(ö

"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.

I think Lime Away is the same thing, or close - I would just rinse really
well, but then that's me - I use chlorinated water to rinse my bio-filter
material which everybody swears kills off all the bacteria, but my filter
never skips a beat
Gale :~)

They can clog here, when outdoors, in a month. Minerals and I assume,
algae. Indoors they last a little longer, maybe 2 months. I wish I
could find real coarse ones. I'm sure they'd be less likely to clog, but
all the stores here carry the same ones.

- mine only runs for 3 - 4 months, without
a problem - I have used the same airstone for up to 4 yrs, after I soak
it in bleach to kill the algae, then rinse it thoroughly for next year -
if it will make a whole winter, maybe CLR ?,

I have a similar product called Lime-Away but was afraid it may not rinse
out completely. Have you ever tried one of those products on airstones?
I do use it on the hoods and filters. May I'll give it a try since I'm
going through a lot of airstones. I always have several running in the
aquariums in the house year 'round.

but at the cost of an airstone, you
only lose 1/2" of airline when you cut the stone off - I am still using
the same airline from 10 yrs ago and have cut 5 or 6 'stones ' off it
Gale :~)

I don't have a problem with my airstones falling off the airline and I
have a bunch of them running in the tubs and pools behind the house in
winter.
--

RM....
Frugal ponding since 1995.
rec.ponder since late 1996.
My Pond & Aquarium Pages:
http://tinyurl.com/9do58
Zone 6. USA
~~~~ }((((* ~~~ }{{{{(ö