A FEW QUESTIONS I JUST THOUGHT OF

[Mmathis]

Of course it would HELP if it would ever turn WINTER here! It's Louisiana, what can I say! . One of my boxies was out this afternoon, and I usually NEVER see them again until spring!

1) Bogs -- any winter maintenance issues? Is it necessary to keep the surface cleared of leaves at this point? Mine's not a true "bog," but just a mini-bog area within my turtle habitat area. It's partially covered with the pond netting, but still getting full of leaves & acorns.

And what about the water circulating to the bog (for now, I just have an overhead flow 'till I can work on it this spring). Turn off or leave on?

2) running extra water features such as the spitter? Yes, no? (I'm leaving the SKIPPY going and will deal with ice if that becomes an issue -- usually not until Feb. for here, if at all). Submerged pump, and I have it cut back so it's circulating, but not too much. FYI, my thermometer with underwater probe came, so will install that to monitor the deeper temps -- just as a curiosity more than anything.

3) Water testing? Do you continue to do that during winter, or no? Water changes??

 

[brokensword]

TM,

I'm sure the experts will come along and correct anything I mess up, but here's the gist (and I'm assuming some sort of winter/dormancy even there where you live. Take what I'm saying with a bit of salt because your conditions will be different, or at least less lengthy).

1. I cut my bog back to the ground, though some sites say to leave the vegetation to prevent fungus from starting in plants that are reedy (and therefore hollow when they die back). For me, it's just like my flower gardens and I cut back and clean up. No real sense, imo, to leaving debris to add to any possible decay and therefore gas buildup. When I turn off my pump for the winter, my bog water level drops and really, there is no connection, but there's also no sense in NOT doing it per se. So, I cut back and clean up. From the reading, the beneficial bacteria will be inactive as the temps drop. Here's the difference (maybe) from your setup to mine, as for sure, temps are going to drop way below bacteria activity levels. I forget the exact temp, (40 F sounds right), but if your winters are less than that, your bog won't be functioning as it could, so not a worry anymore.

2. Think I answered this one; I turn mine off. The reason I pump to the bog is for filtering and if there's no active plants, and no active bacteria in the peagravel below, there's no purpose for pumping water to it. At least, re filtering. Now, some will say they let their pump run the whole time and with good effect, and with good purpose. For me, there is no gain, so I turn mine off, keeping it in the deep end and far below ice level. I don't like the idea of mixing the cold water on top with any possible warm layer stratification below. Just my take on the whole pump on/off in the winter. YMMV

3. Re the pump; again, I think I answered how I do it and why. I'd not have any water moving in places that can ice up. You might cause a crack in the spitter and falls might ice over, forcing new paths for the running water to find. Just my take. I figure; the fish are going dormant, the humans are definitely going dormant, so why? No need to create more aeration--the fish don't need it in the dormancy/cold water capacity to hold oxygen. But some do. I'd just worry about that one time something ices up and a problem occurs. For me, not worth it without obvious (to me) gain re the pond/fish. Nature doesn't do this (for still ponds), so I figure I'm modeling what I see. The only thing I do is make sure the ice cover doesn't last too long, and ideally, I keep a hole open the whole winter (by having an airstone running. There IS an added benefit that should oxygen levels drop, I'm helping replace what is lost). For you, with milder winters, if you have little ice, little time of ice cover, and your pond is not a cesspool of rotting debris with an overpopulation problem, well, I'd just let everything be. If your fish are active and you don't worry about freezing, I'd run the pump. If the fish do go dormant (not the right term, but I can't remember the correct one at the moment--heh, more of that crs you were asking about in another thread!), the need for filtering is lessened a lot, imo.


3.5. I don't test the water, but it doesn't hurt. I tend to watch how everybody is doing and if I see signs of distress in anything living in the pond, begin to analyze the conditions. If your fish are not eating (much; they'll nibble on whatever algae/plants you have under the surface if they're hungry in the winter), and you're not feeding them, their contribution to the waste cycle will plummet, so less chance of any buildup of ammonia, nitrites/nitrates etc. Not much 'living' means not much change, so what's to test, imo?

Anyway, that's how I see it with other ideas having value. Again, really does depend on fish load relative to pond size, ice cover length, and possible damage due to freeze-up.

Oh, and like you, MY remote thermal probe also just arrived and I'll be with you--monitoring the bottom/top temps. I read that unless your pond is more than 7' deep, stratification doesn't occur, though of course, the colder water (and ice) WILL be at the top, but I'm not so sure I'll see 39 F on the bottom as January hits and typically single digits comes to Michigan. For you, I doubt you'll have any issue re this at all; just too dang warm down where you live, imo!
Michael

 

[crsublette]

1) Bogs -- any winter maintenance issues? Is it necessary to keep the surface cleared of leaves at this point? Mine's not a true "bog," but just a mini-bog area within my turtle habitat area. It's partially covered with the pond netting, but still getting full of leaves & acorns.

And what about the water circulating to the bog (for now, I just have an overhead flow 'till I can work on it this spring). Turn off or leave on?

Many good bog folk here will give ya good advice on this one.

2) running extra water features such as the spitter? Yes, no? (I'm leaving the SKIPPY going and will deal with ice if that becomes an issue -- usually not until Feb. for here, if at all). Submerged pump, and I have it cut back so it's circulating, but not too much. FYI, my thermometer with underwater probe came, so will install that to monitor the deeper temps -- just as a curiosity more than anything.

If it is that rare for ice to become an issue, then I wouldn't worry about your skippy and water features.

3) Water testing? Do you continue to do that during winter, or no? Water changes??

Copied and pasted this quote from my good friend, Novak :

"The temperature for optimum growth of nitrifying bacteria is between 77-86° F (25-30° C) seldom is this temperature reached in the springtime. On top of that, this temperature is considered too high for Koi and Goldfish and is not consider optimal for such. Growth rate is decreased by 50% at 64° F (18° C) and will decrease even more by 75% at 46-50° F. The worst part of this is that at 39° F (4° C) no activity will occur at all and nitrifying bacteria will die at 32° F (0° C). Nitrobacter is less tolerant of low temperatures than Nitrosomonas. In cold water systems, which our ponds are in late winter and early spring, care must be taken to monitor the accumulation of nitrites."

Nitrites are not soluble to plants. Only way to remove the nitrites when it is cold is through water changes. So, if you want to test the water, then this would be the important one. I think you'll be ok without doing it, but you might want to think about it if you think your pond is overstocked with fish.

 

[crsublette]

Actually, after reading Wayne's thread, I am suprised by how fast Ammonia could increase in a pond with cold water temperature. You might also want to keep an eye on that as well.

 

[Mmathis]

Back to "bog maintenance" issues. Should I worry about keeping the area free of fallen leaves? I've been trying to rake them away (but in so doing I find I'm disturbing the plants that are establishing) but of course they just keep coming. Can I wait until spring to de-leaf that area?

 

[capewind]

Personally, I would remove the leaves, but this is NOT my area LOL... Question... do you have moving water on top of the bog? If so, how deep? I know traditionally speaking, a lot of folks fill their bogs with gravel, so that the very surface of the gravel is for the most part dry... I like a couple of inches of water moving across the top (I know opinions vary greatly here).. If your gravel is high, what kind of rake are you using? A metal spring rake should be able to get most of the leaves without disturbing much... Also, if the gravel is high, what about using a blower?

 

[Mmathis]

Gravel is higher than water, but part (for the turtles) is under water. I've been religious about removing the leaves from the water. Using a small, plastic rake designed for getting around shrubbery.

 

[capewind]

The areas on dry land, I would personally be too lazy to rake, and just hit it with a blower. If you dont have one, ask one of your neighbors. You dont need a high powered commercial back pack blower, a cheesy hand held one should be able to make fast work of it;-) Few "pros" use those little rakes for leaves, just blast them with a blower

 

[addy1]

I just leave them, the maple drops a bunch of leaves onto the bog. In the spring I will pick them up anywhere there is a pile, or they just become part of the natural system. It has not show to harm anything. It is easier to get them when the plants have died back.

 

[Waterbug]

If you do test the water you might want to make sure you understand the difference between ammonia (NH3) and ammonium (NH4) and how these change based on temp and pH. If your test kit only tests Total Ammonia (both NH3 and NH4) you have to use a chart to tell if you have a problem.

Winter in Louisiana? It may seem like winter to you, but where I grew up, NY, we called it summer.

 

[tbendl]

TM what did you end up doing for winterizing your pond and bog?