Bear with me as I go through the history and then will finally end up with my question:
We have a small pond - I mean it's like 20' x 20' and maybe 2 feet deep at it's deepest point. It is fed by a spring. We like the little pond and have never really done anything but enjoy the critters that stop by to drink, the dragon flies and the tiger salamanders(in their aquatic larval stages). The pond freezes solid in winter. Each summer we see new tiny salamanders, but by the time it freezes over, they have not fully metamorphosed yet to be out of water and burrow down, so this year we decided to read up a bit on pond health and care during the winter. We read that there is a lot of decay and the gases have nowhere to escape to with ice, so the pond becomes a death zone.
This winter, we have put in a small pond heater and a big air pump. We are on our third heater (they keep failing), but the combination has worked to keep not one but two air holes open (one at the heater and the other in the center where the air line is). It feels like a lost cause, but we are determined to continue through this winter. We have been feeding the salamanders about once a week and they are active around the heater.
Now, we are thinking about next winter. What do other folks do with their ponds (I guess this one could be considered more ornamental than just a big ole pond on your property) and do you keep fish, etc in it during the winter?
We do have fish and heat the pond when it gets real cold to keep an opening. We have just a trough heater we use and it is about 2 years old. We also keep a small pump running that bubbles the water at the surface on warmer days this is enough to keep the ice away. In our deepest spot I would say we are about 2 1/2 deep maybe a little more.
Not sure how far you are running the electrical but that could cause the failure you might need to very heavy duty extention cord. We only have to run ours about 5 feet and unless we are below zero we do not run it 24/7.
Hope this helps if you have any other questions let me know.
We also sink our plants for the winter and they typically do well if we stick to zone 2 and 3 plants.
nice work on your pond! did you do the work or hire a contractor to come in and dig it? We just put a trough heater in yesterday (floater) - got it at Ace. We had been buying the expensive "pond" heaters. We have heavy duty cords out there. Do you just plug it in when you need it? How do you know what you need it?
I've seen some ponds power pumps using small windmills. Not sure if that would work for your particular situation, but could be something to consider perhaps.
We dug the pond ourselves last year we did a big overhaul on it made it a bit deeper/wider and put a new thicker liner in it.
If the temps hang in the 30's we typically plug it in every other day or so just to open it back up. If they are going to stay in the 20's then we click it on before we leave for work and turn it off when we get home.
The small pump we use will typically keep the water moving enough for 35 and above. If it snows the heat is on 24/7 to keep one open spot.
If it is really, really warm we will turn on the waterfall so that the water is filtered.
Yes, that is a moose, we also have a racoon and a few toads (metal not real).
We do not feed out fish during the winter they barely move let alone eat.
what size is your heater (watt wise)?
Our pond is in a low spot and does not get sun. It is usually 10-15 degrees colder there than on other parts of the property. . . and we have all the wildlife stopping by for a dip or a drink. We figure we'll need to put a lot of rocks/sand in the bottom after the liner(s) are in to protect it from hooves.
here's the pond taken after the last snow. you can see the hole where the bubbler is
I would definately buy a fairly thick liner and put rocks in the bottom. My guess is that they will not walk in it as much with the rock in it.
They drink out of ours but have never climbed in.
When we lived on Conifer Mountain the bear would climb in every once in while and try and catch the fish but never got any.
We use an in-line UV light to control the algea during the warm months. It is hooked to the pump that runs the stream they are less expensive now than when we purchased ours but over all it is better than using any chemicals to control the algea and our dogs also drink from the pond. The more you keep the water moving the less algea you will have also if you can keep about half of the pond covered with plant matter your algea wil be less.
Watercress and watermint are great covers and winter over well as well as the water iris. Have not had much luck with lillies we tried a new type this year we will see if it comes back. Cattails are fun but need to get some new ones as the dog pulled them out of the pond this year. Hope to find a place to dig some up this year rather than buying any.
mountaindollar wrote: We use an in-line UV light to control the algea during the warm months. It is hooked to the pump that runs the stream they are less expensive now than when we purchased ours but over all it is better than using any chemicals to control the algea and our dogs also drink from the pond. The more you keep the water moving the less algea you will have also if you can keep about half of the pond covered with plant matter your algea wil be less.
Watercress and watermint are great covers and winter over well as well as the water iris. Have not had much luck with lillies we tried a new type this year we will see if it comes back. Cattails are fun but need to get some new ones as the dog pulled them out of the pond this year. Hope to find a place to dig some up this year rather than buying any.
Thanks for the idea about the UV light, I'm going to look into that myself. I put a barley ball in my pond every summer to keep the algae growth minimal, but have to take it out in the winter so the ice doesn't crush the plastic holder.
I haven't been brave enough to try plants yet, but our fish has survived just fine in there all year round for 2 years now! :thumbsup: We keep our waterfall running at max flow and it's kept a hole open with the temps down to -15 so far.
"Now, more than ever, the illusions of division threaten our very existence. We all know the truth: more connects us than separates us. But in times of crisis the wise build bridges, while the foolish build barriers. We must find a way to look after one another as if we were one single tribe.” -King T'Challa, Black Panther
The truth is incontrovertible. Malice may attack it. ignorance may deride it, but in the end, there it is. ~Winston Churchill
We tried barley mats in the filter unit but my guess is that the pond is to big and we still got algea.
Your in town plants go wild down there our at our Broomfield house we couldn't kill a plant if we tried and our lillies were to die for.
We have some fish that are almost 7 years old youngest 2 years we didn't add any new this year. We just buy feeder goldfish for 0.12 that way if they die you do not cry at the price you pay. Sometimes you get good fish sometimes not if they make it through the first winter then typically you have them for awhile.
We didn't have to use the heater until November and typically we quit needing it sometime in March. We get a lot of ice build up in the stream so can't leave it running in the winter.
