Will the pond be ok?

[Fishfinder]

I think it will, but appreciate opinions. My home is in northern Delaware. Pond is 800 gallons or so. About 3 to 3.5 feet deep. One of the two pumps just died. The other pump is shut off because the waterfall leaks and the pond guy can't seem to understand that he needs to put a liner under the spill box.

There are two bubblers in the pond and one works for sure, I am told. I able to go look and hubby apparently can't, either.

I think the fish will be just fine so long as some kind of hole is open in the ice. Yes?

 

[Meyer Jordan]

Taking into account your geographical location, the fish should be OK until temperatures begin to consistently rise in the Spring. At that time, everything should be working properly or issues will quickly develop. You do not indicate how many or what specie of fish you have. The higher the fish load the greater the importance of everything functioning properly come Spring.

 

[Kevin Koloff]

Yes, you're going to need aeriation before or by spring.

 

[morewater]

"The other pump is shut off because the waterfall leaks and the pond guy can't seem to understand that he needs to put a liner under the spill box."
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The liner should be attached to the spill box by means of the lip gasket/sealer. How much do you leak from the waterfall and over what period of time? The spill box may have shifted over time allowing water to divert from its intended path. Check the liner/box connection. Adding additional liner under the spillbox (should that prove necessary) and over the existing waterfall liner doesn't sound like a huge challenge as long as there's no "wicking". Simply ensure that the liner lap-over is of sufficient length. For that matter, why not just reline the entire waterfall feature, or is that an issue?

 

[Kevin Koloff]

Are you referring to the liner or rather in this image the skimmer box setting inside the liner? My waterfall box doesn't set under the liner, but rather the liner is drawn up to its edge.

 

[Kevin Koloff]

 

[Smaug]

What Meyer says is gospal. I had the same thing happen one winter a few years back when my pump died. In spring things got rolling too quickly and I had 3 of my nicest fish die. Spring is a rough time for a small pond full of fish and everything must be in order when the Temps rise and the fish start producing more waste.

 

[Meyer Jordan]

Spring is a difficult time for any Northern latitude pond. No need to compound the difficulty by having malfunctioning equipment or insufficient critical equipment. At Spring thaw, the fish need a habitat that will support them while their metabolism revs up to a homeostatic level.

 

[Fishfinder]

Thanks very much for the replies. I am using the iPhone and it's a challenge to type.

I don't know koi well enough to say what specie I have, but I'll research. They're pretty hardy fish and big, too.

Kevin, that liner is what I need to go under the spill box and under the rocks that should sit on it. I hope that's a clear explanation. I told the pond guy that, but all he did was shift the spillbox and adjust the rocks. That worked well for one day. So frustrating.

Also, we have 6 big koi and one big catfish. We're not adding any more fish.

 

[Fishfinder]

"The other pump is shut off because the waterfall leaks and the pond guy can't seem to understand that he needs to put a liner under the spill box."
_____________________________________________________________________________________________

The liner should be attached to the spill box by means of the lip gasket/sealer. How much do you leak from the waterfall and over what period of time? The spill box may have shifted over time allowing water to divert from its intended path. Check the liner/box connection. Adding additional liner under the spillbox (should that prove necessary) and over the existing waterfall liner doesn't sound like a huge challenge as long as there's no "wicking". Simply ensure that the liner lap-over is of sufficient length. For that matter, why not just reline the entire waterfall feature, or is that an issue?

That's what we will have to do. I don't know why he did not build it that way in the first place.

 

[Smaug]

Fishfinder,all koi are just carp.