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#1
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Cold water
Well, I bought a heater for the pond. The pond is a combined 165 gallons with
four 12" comets. The water dropped to 45oF last night, not much warmer today. We are pretty cold for Texas. Anyway, the fish are huddling at the bottom, moving very little, but look fine. Here is the question: Would the pond stay a bit warmer if we do two things; remove the water globe feature, and stop the waterfall feature from the other pond. By the other pond, I mean the 30 gallon part where the water drips into the 135 gallon tank. It was my thought that putting the water into the air via the water globe (bell or whatever they call it) the warmth is being totally lost in the cold air. I just want what's best for the fish. V |
#2
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Cold water
Goldfish are cold water fish and are perfectly fine at 45 degrees. I
wouldn't waste your electricity trying to raise the pond temp. Now if your pond was in danger of freezing completely then I would heat it. Sam "animaux" wrote in message ... Well, I bought a heater for the pond. The pond is a combined 165 gallons with four 12" comets. The water dropped to 45oF last night, not much warmer today. We are pretty cold for Texas. Anyway, the fish are huddling at the bottom, moving very little, but look fine. Here is the question: Would the pond stay a bit warmer if we do two things; remove the water globe feature, and stop the waterfall feature from the other pond. By the other pond, I mean the 30 gallon part where the water drips into the 135 gallon tank. It was my thought that putting the water into the air via the water globe (bell or whatever they call it) the warmth is being totally lost in the cold air. I just want what's best for the fish. V |
#3
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Cold water
Goldfish are cold water fish and are perfectly fine at 45 degrees. I
wouldn't waste your electricity trying to raise the pond temp. Now if your pond was in danger of freezing completely then I would heat it. Sam "animaux" wrote in message ... Well, I bought a heater for the pond. The pond is a combined 165 gallons with four 12" comets. The water dropped to 45oF last night, not much warmer today. We are pretty cold for Texas. Anyway, the fish are huddling at the bottom, moving very little, but look fine. Here is the question: Would the pond stay a bit warmer if we do two things; remove the water globe feature, and stop the waterfall feature from the other pond. By the other pond, I mean the 30 gallon part where the water drips into the 135 gallon tank. It was my thought that putting the water into the air via the water globe (bell or whatever they call it) the warmth is being totally lost in the cold air. I just want what's best for the fish. V |
#4
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Cold water
Turning off the water bell and the water fall from the small pond will allow
for all evaporative cooling to be limited to the rather small surface area of the pond, rather than the large surface area of these. The heater can be used to keep a hole in the ice, as can an air stone, or just the pump without the water bell, just stirring the surface. Unless you cover the pond with some form of plastic tent, greenhouse, or similar, the heat loss from evaporation will be more than a heater can overcome. -- RichToyBox http://www.geocities.com/richtoybox/pondintro.html "animaux" wrote in message ... Well, I bought a heater for the pond. The pond is a combined 165 gallons with four 12" comets. The water dropped to 45oF last night, not much warmer today. We are pretty cold for Texas. Anyway, the fish are huddling at the bottom, moving very little, but look fine. Here is the question: Would the pond stay a bit warmer if we do two things; remove the water globe feature, and stop the waterfall feature from the other pond. By the other pond, I mean the 30 gallon part where the water drips into the 135 gallon tank. It was my thought that putting the water into the air via the water globe (bell or whatever they call it) the warmth is being totally lost in the cold air. I just want what's best for the fish. V |
#5
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Cold water
Your fish will be just fine as long as the water remains liquid, that is,
not frozen solid. They will just hunker down and wait till things warm up. Don't feed them ANYTHING when the water temp is below 50 degrees though. If the pond would freeze over, it would be a good idea to keep a hole open in the ice. A small air pump and air stone meant for aquarium use would do it. Paul "animaux" wrote in message ... Well, I bought a heater for the pond. The pond is a combined 165 gallons with four 12" comets. The water dropped to 45oF last night, not much warmer today. We are pretty cold for Texas. Anyway, the fish are huddling at the bottom, moving very little, but look fine. Here is the question: Would the pond stay a bit warmer if we do two things; remove the water globe feature, and stop the waterfall feature from the other pond. By the other pond, I mean the 30 gallon part where the water drips into the 135 gallon tank. It was my thought that putting the water into the air via the water globe (bell or whatever they call it) the warmth is being totally lost in the cold air. I just want what's best for the fish. V |
#6
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Cold water
Yeah, well, the cold didn't stop them from eating. We slowed their food way
down, but they are hand fed and come up for their food, one at a time as normal! It's funny how goldfish can actually become pets. These four fish actually have personalities. I hope you now don't assume I'm a nut, but I just adore all animal life. V On Mon, 24 Nov 2003 15:23:04 -0500, "Sam Hopkins" opined: Goldfish are cold water fish and are perfectly fine at 45 degrees. I wouldn't waste your electricity trying to raise the pond temp. Now if your pond was in danger of freezing completely then I would heat it. Sam "animaux" wrote in message .. . Well, I bought a heater for the pond. The pond is a combined 165 gallons with four 12" comets. The water dropped to 45oF last night, not much warmer today. We are pretty cold for Texas. Anyway, the fish are huddling at the bottom, moving very little, but look fine. Here is the question: Would the pond stay a bit warmer if we do two things; remove the water globe feature, and stop the waterfall feature from the other pond. By the other pond, I mean the 30 gallon part where the water drips into the 135 gallon tank. It was my thought that putting the water into the air via the water globe (bell or whatever they call it) the warmth is being totally lost in the cold air. I just want what's best for the fish. V |
#7
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Cold water
Thank you. We did turn off the water bell. I am going to buy a large airstone
today and put that into the pond to keep it aerated well, over the winter. V On Tue, 25 Nov 2003 00:25:32 GMT, "RichToyBox" opined: Turning off the water bell and the water fall from the small pond will allow for all evaporative cooling to be limited to the rather small surface area of the pond, rather than the large surface area of these. The heater can be used to keep a hole in the ice, as can an air stone, or just the pump without the water bell, just stirring the surface. Unless you cover the pond with some form of plastic tent, greenhouse, or similar, the heat loss from evaporation will be more than a heater can overcome. |
#8
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Cold water
V,
I have two goldfish in my teeny water garden here in Raleigh, NC (zone ) -- unless the water surface has totally frozen over, I leave the Little Giant pump running with a "water bell" (aka "dog water fountain!"). On most days during the winter, there is at least some open water around the fountain -- so I figure, air gets into the water & noxious gases are released from the pond. As for feeding the fish, although I check the temperature of the water and don't feed the goldfish if the water temp is below 55 (don't scream, folks, but I use the instant-read digital thermometer from my kitchen drawer to check temps in both the pond & my vegetable garden; after all, my dogs drink the water from the pond, and we eat the veggies that grow in the garden) -- I *also* look at the goldfish themselves. If the fish are just hanging out motionless at the bottom of the pond, I don't feed them. If I see any motion from them, I make a mental note to check them later (it's common to have both heat & A/C working on the same day here, for weeks at a time!). If the fish are "flitting" around faster than I can follow them, I give them a teeny pinch of food. (Probably more for my benefit than for theirs, admittedly.) Note: I'm talking here about *goldfish* not koi -- as I believe the original poster was, also. Anne Lurie Raleigh, NC __________________ "animaux" wrote in message ... Well, I bought a heater for the pond. The pond is a combined 165 gallons with four 12" comets. The water dropped to 45oF last night, not much warmer today. We are pretty cold for Texas. Anyway, the fish are huddling at the bottom, moving very little, but look fine. Here is the question: Would the pond stay a bit warmer if we do two things; remove the water globe feature, and stop the waterfall feature from the other pond. By the other pond, I mean the 30 gallon part where the water drips into the 135 gallon tank. It was my thought that putting the water into the air via the water globe (bell or whatever they call it) the warmth is being totally lost in the cold air. I just want what's best for the fish. V |
#9
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Cold water
These are not just any goldfish, they are feeder comets! I mean, they cost 25
cents each and are now two years old. They appear very healthy and my husband soaks their pellets in water and gives them less. If they don't move, they don't get fed, but they are moving, so go figure. He soaks the pellets so they expand in the glass, not in their stomach. They seem to be fine. V On Wed, 26 Nov 2003 00:02:46 GMT, "Anne Lurie" opined: V, I have two goldfish in my teeny water garden here in Raleigh, NC (zone ) -- unless the water surface has totally frozen over, I leave the Little Giant pump running with a "water bell" (aka "dog water fountain!"). On most days during the winter, there is at least some open water around the fountain -- so I figure, air gets into the water & noxious gases are released from the pond. As for feeding the fish, although I check the temperature of the water and don't feed the goldfish if the water temp is below 55 (don't scream, folks, but I use the instant-read digital thermometer from my kitchen drawer to check temps in both the pond & my vegetable garden; after all, my dogs drink the water from the pond, and we eat the veggies that grow in the garden) -- I *also* look at the goldfish themselves. If the fish are just hanging out motionless at the bottom of the pond, I don't feed them. If I see any motion from them, I make a mental note to check them later (it's common to have both heat & A/C working on the same day here, for weeks at a time!). If the fish are "flitting" around faster than I can follow them, I give them a teeny pinch of food. (Probably more for my benefit than for theirs, admittedly.) Note: I'm talking here about *goldfish* not koi -- as I believe the original poster was, also. Anne Lurie Raleigh, NC __________________ "animaux" wrote in message .. . Well, I bought a heater for the pond. The pond is a combined 165 gallons with four 12" comets. The water dropped to 45oF last night, not much warmer today. We are pretty cold for Texas. Anyway, the fish are huddling at the bottom, moving very little, but look fine. Here is the question: Would the pond stay a bit warmer if we do two things; remove the water globe feature, and stop the waterfall feature from the other pond. By the other pond, I mean the 30 gallon part where the water drips into the 135 gallon tank. It was my thought that putting the water into the air via the water globe (bell or whatever they call it) the warmth is being totally lost in the cold air. I just want what's best for the fish. V |
#10
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Cold water
Oh, you got the expensive ones! My goldfish are the 10 for $1.00 feeder
fish. They're 4 years old now. Started with 20 ( yeah, a whole $2.00 worth ) must have 50 or so now, 2'', the young-uns, to 10", the original ones. Like I said in previous post, I don't feed them ANYTHING at all when the water temp is below 50o F. It's not so much a swelling of the food thing as it is a digestion thing. Rumor is, that below 50, the bacteria in their stomach goes dormant and as a result food will rot in the stomach (bad thing) leading to belly up syndrome. My fish, the 50 goldfish and 8 koi, go from mid October to around April without ANY food. I suppose they eat the occasional bug and maybe some algae, but nothing 'manmade'. They do just fine. Paul |
#11
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Cold water
Oh, you got the expensive ones! My goldfish are the 10 for $1.00 feeder
fish. They're 4 years old now. Started with 20 ( yeah, a whole $2.00 worth ) must have 50 or so now, 2'', the young-uns, to 10", the original ones. Like I said in previous post, I don't feed them ANYTHING at all when the water temp is below 50o F. It's not so much a swelling of the food thing as it is a digestion thing. Rumor is, that below 50, the bacteria in their stomach goes dormant and as a result food will rot in the stomach (bad thing) leading to belly up syndrome. My fish, the 50 goldfish and 8 koi, go from mid October to around April without ANY food. I suppose they eat the occasional bug and maybe some algae, but nothing 'manmade'. They do just fine. Paul |
#12
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Cold water
The problem is, I live in Texas. Some day it will be 45, next day, it will be
80. Many of the average days are 65 by day, 40 by night. I will take your advice and tell my husband to stop feeding them. There are plants, duck weed, algae, etc. I would simply hate to do anything to harm them in any way. V On Thu, 27 Nov 2003 19:03:19 -0800, "Paul in Redland" opined: Oh, you got the expensive ones! My goldfish are the 10 for $1.00 feeder fish. They're 4 years old now. Started with 20 ( yeah, a whole $2.00 worth ) must have 50 or so now, 2'', the young-uns, to 10", the original ones. Like I said in previous post, I don't feed them ANYTHING at all when the water temp is below 50o F. It's not so much a swelling of the food thing as it is a digestion thing. Rumor is, that below 50, the bacteria in their stomach goes dormant and as a result food will rot in the stomach (bad thing) leading to belly up syndrome. My fish, the 50 goldfish and 8 koi, go from mid October to around April without ANY food. I suppose they eat the occasional bug and maybe some algae, but nothing 'manmade'. They do just fine. Paul |
#13
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Cold water
On Fri, 28 Nov 2003 03:33:44 GMT, animaux wrote:
The problem is, I live in Texas. Some day it will be 45, next day, it will be 80. Many of the average days are 65 by day, 40 by night. I will take your advice and tell my husband to stop feeding them. There are plants, duck weed, algae, etc. I would simply hate to do anything to harm them in any way. V I think what Paul is trying to say is, you may very well harm them with kindness. Living where you do you're probably fine, but someone else may have 45-50F water and feed (hey, V said she feeds when her fish are moving), not checking to find out there is a serious cold front coming in that night. One may not have a bigger brain than their goldfish, but anyone reading this does have access to weather.com via the internet. ;o) ~ jan See my ponds thru the seasons and/or my filter design: http://users.owt.com/jjspond/ ~Keep 'em Defrosted~ Tri-Cities, WA Zone 7a To e-mail see website |
#14
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Cold water
Remember, we're talking WATER temp here. Water temp tends to be the average
of the high and low temps for the past few days, depending on the size of the pond, among other things. When in doubt, don't feed them. It will always be better to under feed them than over feed. Ask any ponder when the last time was that they had a fish starve to death. Paul "animaux" wrote in message ... The problem is, I live in Texas. Some day it will be 45, next day, it will be 80. Many of the average days are 65 by day, 40 by night. I will take your advice and tell my husband to stop feeding them. There are plants, duck weed, algae, etc. I would simply hate to do anything to harm them in any way. V |
#15
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Cold water
I live in Middle Georgia Zone 8 and feed my fish most of the year. I
stop feeding when the fish (goldfish and koi) line up on the bottom and stop coming to the top to eat. I do switch from Mazuri Platinum to wheat germ feed when the water temperature gets around 50F. I've talked to other ponders here that feed the same type of feed although less throughout the winter. Winter is relative. Down here it can mean two days of ice on the pond up yonder it can mean months of ice on the pond. Regards, Hal On Fri, 28 Nov 2003 03:33:44 GMT, animaux wrote: The problem is, I live in Texas. Some day it will be 45, next day, it will be 80. Many of the average days are 65 by day, 40 by night. I will take your advice and tell my husband to stop feeding them. There are plants, duck weed, algae, etc. I would simply hate to do anything to harm them in any way. |
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