Minnesota pond

[kehrenberg]

Hello everyone,
I'm so glad I found this forum because I am very new to pond upkeep and I am very keen to learn as much as I can about how to keep my pond healthy and my 12 goldfish happy!

I recently moved into a house with a pond in June 2013 and there were no fish in the pond at the time. The water was drained out and only a few inches of stale water remained from the previous owner. A neighbor man helped me get the remaining water removed and got the pump running and after a few false pump starts (with a screwdriver) the water came over the top of the waterfall and it was beautiful!

I started adding beneficial bacteria and activated carbon to get the water clear. Then, through an unexpected opportunity, some people my family knew wanted to unload some goldfish from their overpopulated pond. So I got 12 small to medium size goldfish for free! I added them all at once (which now I realize probably wasn't the best idea) but they are flourishing and happy!

Now onto my question - I have gone around and around in my mind about what to do in the winter. I live in Minnesota, Zone 4 and it gets very, very cold here. At first, I was going to put them into a 150 gallon aquarium in my basement. Then, after talking with friends, decided I would put them in a stock tank in my garage. THEN, I decided it would be too cold and wanted to bring them back inside again. NOW, after reading some posts on the forums, I wonder if it would just be best to leave them in the pond, since they are doing great and I don't want to cause them any undue stress. I love my fish and I don't want them to stress out or die!

I know I would need to get a de-icer and pump to keep a hole in the water so that oxygen and nitrogen flow will be optimal. But I just don't know what I should do so that they are best taken care of. People are saying that this could be a bad winter, with lots of snow and cold temperatures.

Originally another reason I wanted to take them out of the pond was so that I could clean off all the rocks of algae and properly clean the pond so that it could be restarted fresh in the spring. After more research, I found that the little algae I have on the rocks of my pond (nothing suspended and NOT pea soup water) is actually what I SHOULD be having, and it is healthy. I don't want to ruin this!

I would appreciate any help or feedback that could be provided, as it is October now and I should be thinking very seriously about what to do in the next coming weeks.

Thanks for taking the time to read this post and I look forward to hearing from you!

 

[addy1]

Nice looking pond! How deep is it? and Welcome to our group!

Yep do not scrub it clean, not the best thing for ponds.

 

[kehrenberg]

I would say it's 3.5' at the deepest area... there is a upper shelf which is only about a foot deep.

Thanks, I had no idea when I moved into this house that I would be inheriting such an awesome pond in the process :claphands:

 

[JohnHuff]

Welcome to the forum!
You won't need to move the fish because the water is deep enough for them to survive, and don't scrub the pond because the beneficial bacteria live on the surfaces of your pond. The algae on the rocks also help take care of the toxins in the water. Do you know what kind of filter you have?

 

[kehrenberg]

Thank you so much already!

I have Aquascapes biofalls with two filter pads and some lava rocks in the waterfall. I'm switching the lava rocks out for bio balls in the spring.

 

[callingcolleen1]

Nice to see such a cute little pond! Look forward to seeing more pictures! Big Welcome from Medicine Hat, Alberta!!

 

[Tula]

With 3 1/2 foot depth, they should be ok, even if you have a hard winter. I use a pond deicer to keep an area open of ice and this year I'm also running an air stone about 10 inches into the water.

You might already know this, but stop feeding them by the time the water temp is 50 degrees, Some people use a wheat germ based food for cooler seasons like Spring and Fall, others just cut back the food they regularly feed and taper off , till stopped.

Welcome to ponding! Kim

 

[CountryEscape]

Welcome to our Forum!!! Sounds like you have read and learned so much already, you pretty much have things figured out, just looking for some back up. I agree with above. Your pond is deep enough, leave them in the pond. And, I know my first winter I was frantic ... was I doing everything necessary, and of those things, did I do them correctly?! Try to relax! And, remember, if your electricity goes off for a week, the pond will freeze over, but you will probably be just fine. I worried about that happening in an ice storm. The heater will keep the hole, and the air bubbler will also help keep the hole open. I wait until my pond freezes to run the heater, then once the hole is open, the air or fountain bubblers keep the water moving and the hole open, so I unplug the heater. Most heaters run on thermostats, but I was trying to save money. Only when it got really cold (which maybe you are REALLY COLD most of the winter), then I left the heater on all the time.
Good luck!!!

 

[shakaho]

With a normally cold MN winter, your little pond has a very good chance of freezing solid. A greenhouse over the pond could work.

Combine your two suggestions and move your fish to a stock tank in the basement. Bring in your filter and enjoy your fish through the winter.

 

[mtpond]

Welcome. How many gallons is your pond?

 

[kehrenberg]

Thank you so much everyone for all your feedback and suggestions!

I would say my pond is about 1,000 gallons, but I haven't been able to accurately measure it just yet. This weekend we tore everything down, cut back the perennials and removed the pads and lava rocks in the waterfall. It look so much bigger now! The fish are still doing well, and since it got down to 40 degrees (air temp) last night, I'm checking the water temps daily and will stop feeding them when it gets below 50 degrees water temp. I plan on purchasing a pump and deicer next week and will get them placed so they are ready to go when the snow flies!

I just want to say thanks again for all the replies and for helping this newbie out! I will be posting and reading all I can here at this useful forum cause I need all the help I can get! :blueflower:

 

[CountryEscape]

This forum is where I got my start, too, and could not have done it without everyone's help. You will love the people on here, very helpful, and knowledgeable. I'm just a newbie myself, this being my 3rd season with the first pond, 2nd year with the goldfish pond. Learn something new each and every year ... probably every month! And, best part about ponding is you can change things if they don't work for you one year. :blueflower:

 

[callingcolleen1]

You will aways be changing things by the pond, trust me, it's been going on for 21 years now for me! I have changed something by the pond every year almost, whether it is around the pond or in the pond, something always moves. This summer I took out a very large overgrown plant, cobbled around the pond with rel stones, and made a cement block padio by the pond. Next year I need a new fence, and want to make the top pond much bigger in the spring. That all be the third time that top pond has changed in 21 years. I think half the fun is working around the pond moving stuff around! Good workout too!

 

[Becky]

Welcome to the forums! :wave: