Come this fall....

[SkoobyDoo]

This is my first pond and I am trying to get all bases covered. Currently I have 4 shubunkin and 5 decent sized (5-6") goldfish (started with more but, a snake and the pump combined with some roots took some out). I live in New England and the pond isn't deep enough to not freeze over come fall. So I'm trying to come up with the size tank I'll need to transfer them to come cold season. Can anybody help with this?

 

[Tula]

I don't have an answer for you...just want to say how pretty your pond is

 

[SkoobyDoo]

I don't have an answer for you...just want to say how pretty your pond is

Thank you, I like to think I did ok for a first try at this all. But I see so many amazing ponds on here that I feel inadequate lol

 

[Tula]

Don't feel inadequate...no pond envy allowed - LOL

 

[RobAmy]

Nice looking pond, are you trying to have the tank look good too? If not Rubbermaid stock tanks work great for winter housing and can be used as a quarantine tank also.

 

[SkoobyDoo]

The tank will most likely be displayed, so I'd like it to look decent. But that's not my biggest concern, I'm more just looking for how many gallons I should have for that amount of fish

 

[addy1]

You did great with your first pond. It looks very nice.

I had around 15 small goldfish in a 55 gallon one winter, 3 inches or so by spring. They sure can dirty a tank fast. Make sure you have great filtration.

 

[haver79]

Welcome, cute pond you have there.
I sometimes bring a few fish inside for winter. I have used a whiskey barrel insert but I keep it in my basement so it doesn't have to look pretty.
You would need something bigger. Agree with RobAmy on a rubbermaid stock tank as a possibility.

 

[MitchM]

I always say the bigger, the better when it comes to indoor aquariums because larger water volumes are more stable when it comes to water quality.
Size is usually limited to the location that you want to place the aquarium.

 

[mgmine]

Moving fish inside does not sound like a yearly job that you want to get into. As addy1 said they do get dirty. Think of what a small gold fish bowl looks like and smells like after a week or so. The fish grow very quickly, I had a 4 " comet that grew to almost a foot in a year. Plus you will have to feed them and run your filter.The hard work on your pond is done(rocks collected hole dug plumbing in etc) and it wouldn't take all that much work to dig it another foot or so and put in a liner. A stock tank and filter plus the electricity to run it will cost almost as much as a liner if not more. Probably not what you wanted to hear.

 

[mrsclem]

Is putting a heater in the pond not an option?

 

[SkoobyDoo]

The small pond is less than a foot deep and already has a liner in it. From what I've read, there's not much that can be done for this setup come winter other than move them indoors.

 

[sissy]

How cold do your winters get because even Colleen in Canada has heaters and they survive .But hers is deeper .I would think if you don't get below freezing and pond is in full sun a heater may work .You could always bring fish in and test out this winter how the heater will work .But not all winters are the same either .I know a few here that have preformed and they use heaters in them and we can get colder days in Feb. and March

 

[mgmine]

A heater would be a very good solution but again how much is it going to cost to operate including the pump? Multiply the cost year after year and I think it will come up more than a new liner in a deeper hole.

 

[sissy]

I have my pond heater on a switched outlet that i can turn on and off from inside the house and when it gets really cold the 2 bigger pumps get turned off and a 1000 gph pump gets turned on and i put the pump right under the heater .100 gph pump is a luguna and runs at 35 watts and the pond heater runs 200 watts .But it really does not get that cold here except for Jan.and Feb. so I cannot say if it would work for you or not and if it would be worth it for you .You may be better with a deeper pond .I lived in NJ and not even sure it would work there on a really bad winter and lately winters are a guessing game .Here our snow may last a day or 2 an melt from the day temps. going up .