Feeding

[C-Lee]

Hi I'm C-Lee new fish person .I have a an old f150 bedliner I made into a pond with pump and water spray .My question is my boyfriend left my cold water fish food in a shed by the pond is it still good to feed ?it's been there all winter.I also would like to know when to start feeding.

 

[Mmathis]

Hello and welcome! Would love to see pictures!! Many members here have made ponds out of unusual objects.

I would imagine that the food is still OK as long as it hasn’t gotten wet or been infested with insects. Where do you live? Do you have a water thermometer? Most recommendations are to begin feeding once the water temperature (not air temp.) is at least 50 F.

Is your pond set into the ground at all? I would be concerned about the water overheating — another reason to keep a water thermometer on hand.

 

[C-Lee]

Thus is my pond in the summer of last year and the other is in the late fall.The waterlevel is higher now .

 

[C-Lee]

I live in Connecticut not to far from the coast

 

[j.w]

@C-Lee
Your food is prolly just fine being in such a cold winter climate.

 

[Lisak1]

Yup. We keep ours in the garage all winter just so it DOES stay nice and cold!

Welcome @C-Lee - very cool pond idea!

 

[C-Lee]

Thank you!

 

[JRS]

Welcome C-Lee!

 

[C-Lee]

It was originally my duck pond they passed and didn't know what to do with it so my friends friend offered me some fancy gold fish and I was hooked! It looks alit better now I have a bet in the fall to catch the leaves and a fence around it fir the herons and my chickens.My pond wstet us constantly replaced with water from and underground Aquafer .I check my ph and also add solution to remove chlorine and chloramines and I add barley straw and a cold water bacteria

 

[brokensword]

It was originally my duck pond they passed and didn't know what to do with it so my friends friend offered me some fancy gold fish and I was hooked! It looks alit better now I have a bet in the fall to catch the leaves and a fence around it fir the herons and my chickens.My pond wstet us constantly replaced with water from and underground Aquafer .I check my ph and also add solution to remove chlorine and chloramines and I add barley straw and a cold water bacteria

you can save your $$ re the barley straw and cold water bacteria; your pond has what it needs and there's only anecdotal evidence that the barley straw stops algae. Plants and more plants are your friends as they'll outcompete the algae. Better yet, consider a bog for filtration and you'll solve two problems at once while reducing your maintenance to almost nothing.

 

[Lisak1]

Barley straw, from my understanding, works by inhibiting new algae growth because it emits some kind of chemical as it rots. So while you may or may not get new algae, what you will have is a rotting bale of barley straw in your pond!

You can buy barley extract - which skips the rotting part - and some people swear by it.

 

[addy1]

Welcome to our forum!

 

[C-Lee]

Barley straw, from my understanding, works by inhibiting new algae growth because it emits some kind of chemical as it rots. So while you may or may not get new algae, what you will have is a rotting bale of barley straw in your pond!

You can buy barley extract - which skips the rotting part - and some people swear by it.
[/QUOTE

Barley straw, from my understanding, works by inhibiting new algae growth because it emits some kind of chemical as it rots. So while you may or may not get new algae, what you will have is a rotting bale of barley straw in your pond!

You can buy barley extract - which skips the rotting part - and some people swear by it.

I use the liquid straw .it's in a pump bottle.

 

[C-Lee]

I use the liquid it's in a pump bottle