New England Ponds

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
news:Xns98F49D4217C10atomweaver@207.115.17.102:

> 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
news:grc5d4-...
> 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
> news:grc5d4-...
>> atomweaver wrote:
>>
>>> atomweaver <> wrote in
>>> news:Xns98F49D4217C10atomweaver@207.115.17.102:
>>>
> <...>
>> 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
> news:...
>> 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
news:Xns98FA7B4BF1BF4atomweaver@207.115.17.102...
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
>

"G Pearce" <> wrote in message
news:...
>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 :~)
=============================
I also use chlorinated water to rinse mine. No problems with ammonia
surges. Lime-Away is surly close so I think I'll try it next time I change
the stones.
--
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
news:km18d4-...
> Reel McKoi wrote:
>
>> "G Pearce" <> wrote in message
>> news:...
>>> 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
===========================
As they clog here with all the calcium and minerals in the water from the
limestone rock, they put out less and less bubbles. That's easier to see
indoors in the aquariums than to see outside in the tanks with solid sides,
especially if they're under the ice with only a small hole open. Sometimes
I can see that the turbulence at the surface is falling off. Usually I pull
them off and blow through them - a dead giveaway if they're clogging.
--
RM....
Frugal ponding since 1995.
rec.ponder since late 1996.
My Pond & Aquarium Pages:
http://tinyurl.com/9do58
Zone 6. USA
~~~~ }<((((*> ~~~ }<{{{{(ö>






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