better. dont drop it to the bottom, just build a wooden lean too over the pond and
put plastic on it (I screw wood strips down to hold the plastic.
http://puregold.aquaria.net/mypond/winters/winter.htm

I put in a 500 watt heater from aquatic ecosystems. I dropped in a 5 GALLON bucket
filter http://www.mu.edu/~buxtoni/puregold/...re.html#BUCKET filled with
polyester batting and green screening material instead of stone and trimmed the pump
back so it just broke the surface rather than jetting up into the air.
the pond was 50oF or better all winter long (zone 5) except for 1 month Jan 15-Feb 15
or so. my hardy water lilies never "went down" at all. the sun drops behind the
ugly peeling green house to the south so my pond which faces north didnt get that
much light either. A south facing pond would probably be warmer.
my fish were active all winter, I fed them all but the one month when temp was below
50o. I fed them very lightly, every other or 3rd day and checked ammonia often too.

INgrid


rfm wrote:
I have a hand built pond that measures about 7 feet by 3 feet by 1 1/2
feet deep. Each winter I drain, bring in the fish, pumps (fountain and
waterfall) and cover with a tarp to keep the snow off. Then each spring
begin anew.

This year we have a great plant of parrots feather that has exploded in
growth and we would like to winter this over.

Various sites say different solutions to this. I was planning to put
the pot at the bottom of the pond, put in a heater and cover the pond
with a tarp.

Will this work? We never had luck trying to winter plants in doors.

should I leave a pump in to keep water moving?

We live in western NY state, where snow is plentiful and typically
Dec-Feb can be below zero.

Thanks



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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http://puregold.aquaria.net/
www.drsolo.com
Solve the problem, dont waste energy finding who's to blame
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Unfortunately, I receive no money, gifts, discounts or other
compensation for all the damn work I do, nor for any of the
endorsements or recommendations I make.

Derek Broughton wrote:

But given that she's about
500 miles straight south, the difference is not really a "microclimate".

Someone 1,000 miles from you can still be in a microclimate.

The width USDA hardiness zones varies considerably just as iso's on a
topographic. In some areas gradation of climate is abrupt and in some
there is virtually no change in climate. Local peaks and valleys in the
climate profile is a microclimate wherever it is.

--
Pardon my spam deterrent; send email to
Cheers, Steve Henning in Reading, PA USA http://home.earthlink.net/~rhodyman

Derek Broughton wrote:

But given that she's about
500 miles straight south, the difference is not really a "microclimate".

Someone 1,000 miles from you can still be in a microclimate.

The width USDA hardiness zones varies considerably just as iso's on a
topographic. In some areas gradation of climate is abrupt and in some
there is virtually no change in climate. Local peaks and valleys in the
climate profile is a microclimate wherever it is.

--
Pardon my spam deterrent; send email to
Cheers, Steve Henning in Reading, PA USA http://home.earthlink.net/~rhodyman

S. M. Henning wrote:

Derek Broughton wrote:

But given that she's about
500 miles straight south, the difference is not really a "microclimate".

Someone 1,000 miles from you can still be in a microclimate.

The width USDA hardiness zones varies considerably just as iso's on a
topographic. In some areas gradation of climate is abrupt and in some
there is virtually no change in climate. Local peaks and valleys in the
climate profile is a microclimate wherever it is.

I know what a microclimate is. You're totally missing the point
--
derek

S. M. Henning wrote:

Derek Broughton wrote:

But given that she's about
500 miles straight south, the difference is not really a "microclimate".

Someone 1,000 miles from you can still be in a microclimate.

The width USDA hardiness zones varies considerably just as iso's on a
topographic. In some areas gradation of climate is abrupt and in some
there is virtually no change in climate. Local peaks and valleys in the
climate profile is a microclimate wherever it is.

I know what a microclimate is. You're totally missing the point
--
derek

microclimate

The northern side of my house where the koi ponds are can be 10 degrees
cooler than the west or southern side, this is a microclimate according to
a class given by the Master Gardeners: "Creating Microclimates in Your
Backyard". In fact, my whole yard is a microclimate and is always 5-10
degrees cooler than the temp they record at the asphalted airport.
;o) ~ jan


~Power to the Porg, Flow On!~

microclimate

The northern side of my house where the koi ponds are can be 10 degrees
cooler than the west or southern side, this is a microclimate according to
a class given by the Master Gardeners: "Creating Microclimates in Your
Backyard". In fact, my whole yard is a microclimate and is always 5-10
degrees cooler than the temp they record at the asphalted airport.
;o) ~ jan


~Power to the Porg, Flow On!~

Derek Broughton wrote:

I know what a microclimate is. You're totally missing the point

I don't know your point. I only know what you said. The original
posting was:

"Nedra wrote:
The parrots feather stays alive year 'round in the lotus garden. I never
do anything to that 12' pond - just wait for the lotuses, etc to start
growing again. I do think I have a microclimate in the ponds area -
approximately 40' x 15'. It's on the north side of the house so who knows?

You replied:
Microclimate? Your pond is something like 500 miles south of the one I
had in zone 6. Zones are only based on the minimum temperature reached,
and yours probably hit the same sort of temperature mine did - but for a
day instead of two or three weeks."

You can't use an argument about how far you live from Nedra to say Nedra
doesn't have a microclimate. Nedra can live 500 miles from you and
still have a microclimate. You could have a microclimate. The two
aren't related.

I think you meant to say that Nedra lived 500 miles from you and
differences would be expected. But that has nothing to do with whether
Nedra has a microclimate. If she says she does, she probably does. She
would know better than someone who lives 500 miles away.

--
Pardon my spam deterrent; send email to
Cheers, Steve Henning in Reading, PA USA http://home.earthlink.net/~rhodyman

Derek Broughton wrote:

I know what a microclimate is. You're totally missing the point

I don't know your point. I only know what you said. The original
posting was:

"Nedra wrote:
The parrots feather stays alive year 'round in the lotus garden. I never
do anything to that 12' pond - just wait for the lotuses, etc to start
growing again. I do think I have a microclimate in the ponds area -
approximately 40' x 15'. It's on the north side of the house so who knows?

You replied:
Microclimate? Your pond is something like 500 miles south of the one I
had in zone 6. Zones are only based on the minimum temperature reached,
and yours probably hit the same sort of temperature mine did - but for a
day instead of two or three weeks."

You can't use an argument about how far you live from Nedra to say Nedra
doesn't have a microclimate. Nedra can live 500 miles from you and
still have a microclimate. You could have a microclimate. The two
aren't related.

I think you meant to say that Nedra lived 500 miles from you and
differences would be expected. But that has nothing to do with whether
Nedra has a microclimate. If she says she does, she probably does. She
would know better than someone who lives 500 miles away.

--
Pardon my spam deterrent; send email to
Cheers, Steve Henning in Reading, PA USA http://home.earthlink.net/~rhodyman