Feeding

[dieselplower]

55F when I feed them, during the day. I am assuming you are not going to feed them during the night.

In your case, if you feed them in the day when the temp is 70F, they will have no problem digesting them. By night time when your temp is 30F, the food should be digested already.

Right now, my fish are circling the feeding area and the look hungry. But the outside temp is 53F, so all I can do is watch them swim around hungrily. As Marie Antoinette once said, "Let them eat algae!"

That makes no sense to me. The fish don't care what the outside temp is. They are in the water.

 

[JohnHuff]

There is a correlation between air temp and water temp. You can make a series of tests to determine what the correlation is. Assuming this correlation is more or less constant, all you need to do is to Google the air temp in your locality. You will not need to measure the water temp. every time.

That makes no sense to me. The fish don't care what the outside temp is. They are in the water.

 

[dieselplower]

There is a correlation between air temp and water temp. You can make a series of tests to determine what the correlation is. Assuming this correlation is more or less constant, all you need to do is to Google the air temp in your locality. You will not need to measure the water temp. every time.

So when I wake up in the morning tomorrow and its 45 degrees I'm going to have to skip feeding them even though the water is near 70? Since I have to leave for work before it reaches 55 I guess I will have to wait til I get home to feed them? Ha.

 

[JohnHuff]

Make the best decision you can with the information that you have been given. If you need further explanation, here's some more:
http://faq.gardenweb.com/faq/lists/ponds/2002053105025934.html

So when I wake up in the morning tomorrow and its 45 degrees I'm going to have to skip feeding them even though the water is near 70? Since I have to leave for work before it reaches 55 I guess I will have to wait til I get home to feed them? Ha.

 

[Dave 54]

There is a correlation between air temp and water temp. You can make a series of tests to determine what the correlation is. Assuming this correlation is more or less constant, all you need to do is to Google the air temp in your locality. You will not need to measure the water temp. every time.

I agree with Jhn on this correlation between air and water temperature we employ a remote pond thermometer and a weather station unit with remote this gives us a close idea what is happening in the pond which by 10c is covered and the airtmperature outside.
Because of the cooling of the resorvours which is relevent to air temperatures we need to kmow exactly the temperature of our tap water as it leaves the tap .
If like us you continue with water changes throughout winter there is a danger of cooling from the taps, so air temperatures on those days gives us a general idea of what the tap water is.
This exactly why we employ the trickle method of water going back into the pond i;e were the trickle of water through a dechlorination unit, going into your pond is heated by the ambient temperature of the pond water itself.
This way there isnt a major drop in temperature which could be dangerous for the fish if done correctly you shouldnt loose much in the way of water temperature it takes some time but is worth a peice of mind .

rgrds

Dave

 

[dieselplower]

Strange correlation that my pond can be 65 degrees when it is 35 outside or 80 outside. I'm actually surprised that a "knowledgeable" poster would base their feeding on the outside temperature.

 

[koiguy1969]

its true that air temp will have some effect on water temp. this would be much more prevalant in above ground ponds. inground ponds are far more temp stable, influenced by the earthen temps around the pond. which has far slower fluccuation in temps.i would think the sun can influence water temp fluccuation more than the air.
THAT SAID...WATER TEMPS DICTATE FEEDING...NOT AIR!

 

[GreatDanesDad]

Oh you guys are killing me. I have to either say something or turn off notifications on this thread.

I am not going to go deep into the thermodynamics of transferring energy from one medium to another, but I am going to say my peace because everyone else seems to have some very interesting ideas.

Different mediums (air and water) heat and cool at different rates. This is their coefficient of change. This is a constant for each medium. Water and Air have a significantly different coefficient. This means that Air and Water change temperature at different rates. Air much more quickly.

There are also many other variables. Including the relationship of surface area to depth of the water. Also the easiest calculations assume the water and air are not moving. In most ponds the water is moving, and in most environments the air is moving. This would drastically change the time it takes for air and water to equalize in temperature.

There is no rule of thumb to compare outside air temperature to water temperature. You will always be wrong to guess water temperature based ONLY on air temperature.

Because of this Dumb thread I checked my pool and my pond yesterday afternoon and today in the AM. (Pool 18000 gallons. Pond 1800 gallons.) My daily high was 95 and nightly low was 58. In the afternoon check the air temperature was 93 degrees F. Pond was 73 degrees F. Pool was 78 degrees F. This morning the air was 62 degrees F. The pond was 69 degrees F and the pool was 76 degrees F.

If you are anal about feeding at above 50 degrees F and not when below 50 degrees F, check your water temperature and don’t even think about your air temperature.

 

[koiguy1969]

@ GreatDanesDad.... EXACTLY!

 

[JohnHuff]

.

 

[JohnHuff]

I hope dieselplower measures the coefficient of change in relation to surface area when he checks the temp. I recommend hourly checks for at least 7 days for an accurate reading.

Oh you guys are killing me. I have to either say something or turn off notifications on this thread.

I am not going to go deep into the thermodynamics of transferring energy from one medium to another, but I am going to say my peace because everyone else seems to have some very interesting ideas.

Different mediums (air and water) heat and cool at different rates. This is their coefficient of change. This is a constant for each medium. Water and Air have a significantly different coefficient. This means that Air and Water change temperature at different rates. Air much more quickly.

There are also many other variables. Including the relationship of surface area to depth of the water. Also the easiest calculations assume the water and air are not moving. In most ponds the water is moving, and in most environments the air is moving. This would drastically change the time it takes for air and water to equalize in temperature.

There is no rule of thumb to compare outside air temperature to water temperature. You will always be wrong to guess water temperature based ONLY on air temperature.

Because of this Dumb thread I checked my pool and my pond yesterday afternoon and today in the AM. (Pool 18000 gallons. Pond 1800 gallons.) My daily high was 95 and nightly low was 58. In the afternoon check the air temperature was 93 degrees F. Pond was 73 degrees F. Pool was 78 degrees F. This morning the air was 62 degrees F. The pond was 69 degrees F and the pool was 76 degrees F.

If you are anal about feeding at above 50 degrees F and not when below 50 degrees F, check your water temperature and don’t even think about your air temperature.

 

[dieselplower]

JohnHuff it seems getting the last word is more important to you than being correct. Everyone who has posted dissagrees with you yet you continue. Go ahead and post once more. Ill let you "win".

 

[JohnHuff]

Don't mind if I do...

Have you made your 9 o'clock coefficient of change measurement yet? You've got 27 mins before your 10'o clock one.

JohnHuff it seems getting the last word is more important to you than being correct. Everyone who has posted dissagrees with you yet you continue. Go ahead and post once more. Ill let you "win".

 

[Mucky_Waters]

It's been pretty cool here lately, my pond water has been dropping down below 55 deg at night and getting up to about 58 deg during the day. I don't want to risk feeding my fish when it's below 55, so I've been taking some time off work to wait by the pond until the temperature gets above 55 so I can feed the fish, before the temp drops back down below 55 again.
I tried to explain all this to my boss why I need the time off work, but he figures I'm just being "lazy". Sheez! Some people just aren't reasonable.

 

[koiguy1969]

MUCKY, why dont you just pay a kid to do it? or cant you set up an aquarium at work for them? come on, your boss would probably work with you on it! maybe they can set up a fish day care for their employees.....