Newbie Needs Advice

[sissy]

could be it all depends on the temps. of the water not outdoor temps .If you do get a tote get 2 totes as most are made of recycled plastic and are not as sturdy .I put my 1 stock tank I bought at tractor supply on furniture dolly's like you can buy cheap at harbor freight .I can just roll it into the basement for winter and over winter my water hyacinth .Tuff stuff 110 stock tank is 69 dollars and you will need to have some type of filter .In the summer I use it for baby fish

 

[addy1]

.I don't see how the hardiness zone could be the same as you addy

There are parts of PA that get miserable cold, parts that don't. Same as here.
We have land at the 3000 ft elevation, in PA, that place gets miserable cold.

 

[CometKeith]

Hi AngelaMarie. When everyone talks about temperatures it's the water temperature, not the air temperature. Water acts as a buffer and tends to hold the heat or cold longer. If it is warm the previous day the pond won't get as cold the next day because it retains heat and vice versa. I would recommend to get a small water temperature gauge so you can learn how your pond water temperature changes.The preform is a nice way to start but as you learn more about ponds it's a lot better to have a flexible liner you can customize to make the pond a little deeper. Personally I think it will be very challenging to keep fish in the winter by you in that shallow of a pond. In the Chicago area it is recommended to have a pond 4-5 ft deep to keep the fish safe over the winter and I'll guess our temperatures are similar to yours.

 

[Faebinder]

Greetings! I live in the Harrisburg area of Pennsylvania (central). I found my zone to be 6b. I have, I believe, is a 200-gallon preformed pond (pictured) that I just put in this summer. I'm loving it! I have four fantails and a frog just happen to also make a home here! My pump is submerge d to the very bottom. Although hose is exposed to the upper container where my waterfall is. I am getting contradicting advice from so many. Will my pond freeze solid? I was hoping to be able to let the fish go dormant over the winter and do what is necessary to keep them alive. Which brings me to my next question. I read all about pond breathers, floating heaters/deicers, air stones...not sure what would be recommended for my area.View attachment 104209

Sorry i didn't notice the post before... I live in Hershey near by.

A 200 gallon preformed above ground is likely to cause a fish kill. If you have it buried 100% then the fish may survive... it will happen on those days the air temperature hits the 20s or 10s. Last winter was weak and we didn't hit those much.

Your best bet is to get a trough heater... the pond is also small enough for you to cover it with a big tent and that will do the trick. The wind is the biggest reason these ponds freeze up.

 

[Faebinder]

If you are gonna bring them in, get a 29 gallon tank... put them in the garage where the temperature will drop down but they won't freeze up...get a thermometer... the water temperature is what matters not the air. I would place a filter in the tank even though the fish are not eating when the water goes below 50.

 

[Lisak1]

200 gallons really worries me - that's just not a lot of water. And 18" isn't deep enough, either. 2 feet is the minimum recommendation in our zone 5B. I would plan to bring those fish inside to be on the safe side. I mean, if we have a mild winter they might be fine - but by the time you realize it's NOT it'll be too late.

Our temp went to a low 46 degrees last night, but it's a beautiful 72 degrees now!

It's the WATER temperature you're concerned with - not the air temperature. Your pond will cool slowly - water doesn't have dramatic drops and rises in temperature like the air does.

 

[AngelaMarie]

If you are gonna bring them in, get a 29 gallon tank... put them in the garage where the temperature will drop down but they won't freeze up...get a thermometer... the water temperature is what matters not the air. I would place a filter in the tank even though the fish are not eating when the water goes below 50.

I don't have a garage but I have a basement that wouldn't get any colder than 60-65 degrees. However, that means I would have to continue feeding them twice a day, right? And, they wouldn't get the sunlight that they are used to. Does that matter? I'm concerned about taking them out of their habitat into a different habitat, and then back into their pond six months later. Is that too much transition for these fish?

 

[AngelaMarie]

Sorry i didn't notice the post before... I live in Hershey near by.

A 200 gallon preformed above ground is likely to cause a fish kill. If you have it buried 100% then the fish may survive... it will happen on those days the air temperature hits the 20s or 10s. Last winter was weak and we didn't hit those much.

Your best bet is to get a trough heater... the pond is also small enough for you to cover it with a big tent and that will do the trick. The wind is the biggest reason these ponds freeze up.

The bottom half of the pond is in ground and then we built up around the top half. Still think it can freeze solid? Even if I run the pump?

 

[Faebinder]

I don't have a garage but I have a basement that wouldn't get any colder than 60-65 degrees. However, that means I would have to continue feeding them twice a day, right? And, they wouldn't get the sunlight that they are used to. Does that matter? I'm concerned about taking them out of their habitat into a different habitat, and then back into their pond six months later. Is that too much transition for these fish?

At 60-65F you just feed them once a day... light doesn't matter. I'm not sure if fish make vitamin D from the sun but in the winter they don't get much of it anyway... you'll need a filter and need to change 90% of the water once every 3 days first 2 weeks then 90% once week after..

 

[j.w]

@Angela Marie I feed my goldfish once a day till our temps get down in the mid 50's consistently. I start feeding again in Spring when temps are consistently above the mid 50's.

 

[Faebinder]

The bottom half of the pond is in ground and then we built up around the top half. Still think it can freeze solid? Even if I run the pump?

Honestly... yes without a trough heater. Two years ago my 300 gallon pond (all buried) didn't freeze solid but the entire surface froze when we had several days of 0s except for the area around the waterfall. My co-worker who had an above ground 200 gallons had most of her pond frozen and none of her fish survived.... So you risk some fish dying if you will go without one and are above ground.


Again they aren't hard to have. They didn't spike my bill either. IMO it's cheaper to get one and run it than to get an aquarium, a filter, an aerator for indoors and do the water changes.

Here is the one I use.