Temperatures the koi and comet gold fish will be ok with.

[Denny's pond]

I am new built pond in Sept.
I am thinking I need a pop up tarp for my pond. The temps in Florida are in the 90's. Pond has full sun 11:3pm to 1pm.

 

[Stephen Noble]

Welcome Denny!
Some of the members use shade covers. Major Dan posted a picture of his the other day. You might search the forum for that. How deep is your pond? If it were me, I would landscape around the pond with small palm trees and other tropical plants to provide shade. Bougainvillea can be trained to arch over and cover the pond. Just a natural idea. Again, welcome!

 

[MajorDan]

Welcome. Here is a picture of my pond with egrit defense net and shade cover over the net. Not a great picture but it gives you an idea. The cover is a plant shade cover we use in the winter to keep the plants from frost damage. It lets in some light but really reduces the temperature of water. As for your question on temps, I am skeptical about all the advice you find on the web. I grew up in South Florida and we had neighbors with a goldfish pond in direct sunlight and the fish seemed to thrive and I am sure the water temps got up there. It was 3 feet deep so that may have kept the temps down somewhat. I am sure someone who live further south then me will have better experience.
I took my shade cover off as I put it on to try to reduce algae. It didn’t seem to make any difference and a thunder storm caused issues with it so I took it off.

 

[j.w]

@Denny's pond

 

[Stephen Noble]

I am new built pond in Sept.
I am thinking I need a pop up tarp for my pond. The temps in Florida are in the 90's. Pond has full sun 11:3pm to 1pm.

Can't tell for sure but it looks like the water level is down. A fill-up will help...more volume. Also, have you considered water lilies? They will help shade your pond. Also, I agree with the Major, I have had ponds where they get blasted during the hottest summer hours and the fish did fine. Keep your waterfall going, top off the water level, consider adding waterlilies and perhaps some shoreline plants to provide a little cover for the fish.

 

[MajorDan]

Agree with what Stephen said and I think the main thing in hot weather is to make sure they have enough oxygen. Aeration and waterfalls are a big help with that. My water temp at the surface has been in the low 80s. The fish are thriving and of course so are the microscopic algae.

Since your pond looks shallow i would expect the hot weather to initiate an algae bloom. So here is what i have experienced with the hot weather and a recent algae bloom.

My pond is new so the plants have not been able to keep up. It was clear water for about 3 days after it went from green to brown as the algae died. Then weather got hot and the algae returned. probably feeding on the dead algae. I have since added four new plants to the bog, one bloody dock and three water celelery. The water celery is supposed to be a fast growing and aggressive nutrient feeder. I have also reduced to nearly zero any food I give the five shubunkins. The algae is the microscopic variety so mechanical filtration does not remove it. Besides, the algae is consuming nutrients that the current plants are not meaning the algae is protecting my fish from a potential ammonia/nitirite condition. So far all tests are normal.

Hope this helps and please post more about your pond as you get a chance. We all learn from each other and since you are further south then many of us it will be great to see how you deal with the high temps down there.

 

[Denny's pond]

Can't tell for sure but it looks like the water level is down. A fill-up will help...more volume. Also, have you considered water lilies? They will help shade your pond. Also, I agree with the Major, I have had ponds where they get blasted during the hottest summer hours and the fish did fine. Keep your waterfall going, top off the water level, consider adding waterlilies and perhaps some shoreline plants to provide a little cover for the fish.

Thank you very much. I had the lilies and never saw my fish so am trying a tiki hut I am building.

 

[Denny's pond]

Thank you very much. I had the lilies and never saw my fish so am trying a tiki hut I am building.

 

[addy1]

Welcome to our forum!

 

[Stephen Noble]

Thank you very much. I had the lilies and never saw my fish so am trying a tiki hut I am building.

Sounds great! What time do you want us show up for happy hour?