Another winter liner question

[350mike]

Yea 2' is really pushing it.Our nomal temps are -10 to -20 with a few weeks of -20 to -35.At the end of winter i shovel of the pond and drill 3 or 4 holes in the ice with my ice fishing auger to speed up the melting.I spent a year in whitehorse Yukon.1 solid week of -52.Now that is cold.that,s me standing on the pond after shoveling it off.We had a very mild snowfall last year.

I still think 2' of water will freeze solid at -40, but you've given a great workaround for that.[/QUOTE]

 

[dutchman]

Thanks Mike for the info. Been thorugh PG a few times and your winter weather isn't much different. Yes I have the same EPDM liner and your pond sounds like it's very similar setup. Going by your experience, it shouldn't matter if it freezes solid or not. I was concerned that the ice may damage the liner. Also that if i drained the pond, was wondering if the ground would cave in as you say. So I was sort of stuck between 2 completely different options.
Anyways, you have given me some good ideas.

 

[jethro13]

My ponds freeze every winter all but a small hole in the ice from the air pump. I never thought twice about it and it gets pretty cold in Chicagoland. rubber is plyable plastic is not. If in doubt get a hold of firestone or whoever makes pond liners and ask them. Like 350Mike, I don't see a problem leaving the water in.

 

[addy1]

I am going to let nature do whatever it does and see how things go. No fish to worry about, first winter with a pond in a cold area.

 

[Koi]

The liner shouldnt crack - is it an epdm flex rubber liner? if it is, you should be fine. They are made to flex -- even at crazy cold temps like that. If its hard plastic - then its a different story. Good luck man - once your hooked..your on a long road :lol: but its fun.. (why doesnt my wife see it that way) Jason

 

[addy1]

I live in Prince George BC where we experience very similar winter weather. . One year I drained my skimmer which is outside of the pond, and it lifted in the Spring.
Mike

We have not put our skimmer into operation yet, but also do not freeze like you do. Now wondering if we should get water into it. How do your pipes do?, must survive, ours run under the pond, about 24 inches down (around 22 inches of water over them) and in dirt. It is outside of the pond also. We did put a wood frame around it and buried the legs of the wood 3 feet deep.

But we will drain the external pump, once we get it plumped i.e. next winter lol

 

[350mike]

Hi addy1.
Not knowing what your winters are like, I would recommend adding water to the skimmer. I use 4" pipe off the skimmer which is then gravity fed to the first 55 gallon drum. The water exits the skimmer via a 4" toilet flange. I am a tradesman and have come across ideas such as the toilet flange, within my industry. I have posted pictures with explanations on this site for the skimmer. In the winter, I plug the 4" hole and the pipe itself, is underground starting at 1' deep off the skimmer to 3' at the drum. The pipe is about 15' long. Once the skimmer is plugged, I drain the drum, therefore, no water anywhere due to it all being gravity fed. I have a waterfall that is fed from the drum to the top of the waterfall which is about 64' of 2" pipe. This pipe is all above ground and are disconnected every winter. The pipe runs from the drum at ground level up to the filter drum at about 16' high. Once disconnected, no water can freeze inside them causing damage. I have watched your pond build - it is awesome! -