Above Ground Pond Long Island NY

[DaneDad]

Just covered my totally above ground pond which is 8'x8'x3'deep with two sheets of 3/4 plywood covered with tar paper, added aerator, shut down filter and removed pump. Added floating heater but not plugged in yet.

Water temp at 1foot off the bottom was 34f today. They all seem fine just in slow motion. Pond is totally cleaned of leaves. Keeping my fingers crossed until March

Honey Bees are all clustered as well.

 

[DaneDad]

Any opinions I'm in Zone 7 On Long Island ? Like to hear from others especially people local to me with comments or suggestions.

 

[capewind]

Pretty much the same weather here. You are about a 4 hr drive from me... it may be quicker by boat ... We are on Cape Cod... We do not cover our pond and leave the filters on... What type of help are you looking for... there are lots of folks here with similar weather.

 

[DaneDad]

I'm new to Koi but have had tropical fish all my life and used to breed discus fish. I'm just looking to hear from people with similar situations with totally above ground ponds and how their fish did over winter and any techniques etc... that seemed to work for them. My pond is a square pond built out of 4x4's stacked 10 high.

just would like to hear your experiences, so I know what to sort of expect come spring time.

Thank you all in advance

 

[capewind]

I dont have any experience with above ground ponds in the winter either, but know a few local folks who have tie frames as you are describing... I dont recall anyone covering their ponds like you have, but that doesnt make you wrong. I know one person brings her fish in, as she does worry about it freezing, but that is about it. That said, we also have a few clients with tiny "inground" ponds (500-600 gallons) and all they do is shut the filters off...

I would think the only additional concern you could have by having your pond above ground is in the loss of the geo thermal protection... you wouldnt have dirt surrounding the pond acting like insulation... I doubt you get harsh enough weather to worry about a major freeze, and if so, one of those stock tank heaters would solve that issue...

Otherwise, I think you face the same issues the rest of us do....

Oh, and I happend to check the pond temp this morning... at the surface, we are at 38 degrees....

 

[DrCase]

I have one pond that is all above ground it is tied with water to the pond below it , i am sure that keeps it warmer
We had 10" of snow Christmas night and still today have snow today , never had any ice on the water,but koi are laying low
When your water was 34 one ft from the bot did you have ice up top ?
I would think covering the pond how you did should help hold the heat better
Use the heater if you need it

 

[DaneDad]

No Ice on top but I only have a gap of approximately two inches open as far as the plywood covering goes. The aerator is working fine, I have a floating heater 750 watt in the pond but currently not plugged in. Im hoping the black tar paper helps to heat it up a bit on sunny days

 

[capewind]

Curious to what your air temp is? Today, both our pond (near the surface, only have a floating thermometer) and our air were 38... 2 days ago, I didnt check the pond temp, but it was only 17 at 6 am, and then warmed to 30... which resulted in half the pond and 3/4 of the smaller connected pond having ice on it... Still there, and the water falls are starting to look pretty...

 

[DaneDad]

Saturday 1/5/13 New HYde Park NY outside temp @ 0745 hours is 33f

 

[capewind]

You are pretty consistent with us. At 8 am, we were at 32f

 

[DaneDad]

Covered pond with 3/4 inch plywood tacked down tar paper added aeration

Temp the last few days in the teens no ice as of yet on the surface. Curious to know what the water temp is at the bottom. Might just put the thermometer in when I get home. I'm guessing it's probably around 33 to 34 f

Hope they make it.

 

[addy1]

My pond has a ton of ice on it. With your surface being open your fish should be fine, imho. The main concern is if your water freezes over and the gases build up.
Yesterday the ponds bottom temp was 36, the surface 32.

 

[DaneDad]

[sup]With the coldest it's been in a few years on Long Island, my covered above ground pond onl had about 1/2 to 3/4 's of an inch of ice on it. Ther aerator is doing it's job fine and I tried my de-icer heating ring for a few hours and it works great.[/sup]
[sup]I hope everyone is doing well. I believe the black tar paper over the plywood is absorbing some heat from the sun and possibly warming the pond ever so slightly but I think the biggest thing is that it's covered from the wind.[/sup]
[sup]No I need plans to re-do my filter system I was not happy with my dual 55g drum set-up without a UV. I had green water most of the summer. Not sure if I want to spend money on a stock tank or just by a pressurized filter with a built in UV light come springtime.[/sup]

[sup]The only time I did not have green water was late in the fall, a few weeks before Christmas. It was a mess but the fish did great. Any suggestions would be helpful.[/sup]

[sup]Thank you[/sup]