When should I turn on the waterfall?

I put in a waterfall/short stream late last summer and when it started to get cold I was concerned about the pump freezing so I took it out to store in a water bucket in the house I left the hose outside. With the winter being so mild when do you think I can set it back out and turn it on? Should I be concerned about the water quality with my goldfish since it has been still for so long? The water in the pond that I made out of a 12 foot aluminum pool and left most of the lilies in looks kind of brown the smaller 6 foot pool with the liner and fish looks pretty clear. I am in Columbia, Missouri.

Good question tetleytuna. Our small pond which doesn't get any winter sun has clear water. The back yard koi pond however is in full sun and the water is murky and olive green. The fish are barely visible as vauge shapes gliding around. The weather here has been unbelievably warm. The pond thermometer says the water is 48 degrees. I am sorely tempted to drop the pump back in and get the waterfall going. What stops me are four things. 1. The water temp is still too cold to permit feeding the koi. With the current in the pond produced by the waterfall the koi would expend energy and fat reserves maintaining position in the water. They might need those reserves if we get a delayed spring. 2. The pond temp has remained stable which cuts down on the stress. Putting in the pump would increase the day/night temperature fluctuation and increase stress. 3. We have had lots and lots and lots of rain - to the point of overflowing. The water has been replenished with fresh rainwater which has to help somewhat with stagnation. 4. Mother Nature will still most likely give us cold spell which would require getting the pump out again. Not my favorite thing to do in freezing weather. So, based on these four things I am not putting in the pump. But boy oh boy, I really want to clear up that water. It is driving me nuts.

ive kept mine going so far never took the pump out, as long as the water keeps moving the pump shouldnt freeze,but i did diconnect it from the water fall and just have it running in the pond and that has worked out great so far butwe have only had 2 days of it being 15 degrees and you live in a colder climate then me,maybe someone will come along and help you on this
moretz

Hi - I'm in 5a, a little north of you. My fish pond has three levels, so when I got concerned about the fish/oxygen/algae growth in this warmth, I put a 300 gph pump in the top level (1 foot deep). It just spurts straight up and doesn't disturb the deep water area while it's oxygenating the pond. Since it's not set very deep, when it starts freezing again, I can just remove it and leave the tank heater. Anyway, that's the theory. So far the fish seem to be doing very well, and I'm ignoring the cloudy water till next Spring (although it bugs the heck out of me). It didn't hurt the fish last year. - Dax

Smart idea Dax. I would never have thought of that. I'm out to the shed for a pump! In between downpours.

I don't use a heater< I just have a pump pushing the water around the edge of the pond. That has kept it open. The bottom doesn't seem to move, so the Koi are just kind of stationary in the deepest part. It has been rather mild here this year so the whole pond is open. Although the rest of this week and next promise to be colder. My pond is about 3000 gal. I don't run the water fall in the winter, for the same reason as Snapple45
Right now both my ponds are clear. can see all the fish and keep an eye on them. probably will get brown in the spring when the temp starts to stay 50 and above. Then the fun begins LOL
Russ

I haven't shut my waterfall down yet. Every day I check the extended forecast to see if the temps are going to dip consistently below freezing. When that happens, I plan to shut it down. I never thought it would be running this long. My pond is crystal clear. It has iced over about 3 times on cold nights, but it always thaws again. I never knew that keeping the waterfall running could cause greater temperature fluctuations. Am I doing more harm than good? I didn't want to turn it off and let it sit stagnant if it wasn't going to freeze. I figured the longer my filters were running, the better. Is that not true?

Songsofjoy, if what you've got going works then I wouldn't change a thing. Running a waterfall does air chill the water . The cold water sinks and pushes up the warmer water and so it goes. Since the air temp is usually colder at night the water temp drops at night and then warms again during the day. But, and that is a big but, a lot depends on the depth of the pond and the force of the waterfall too. Stagnation occurs in warm water, relatively speaking, when the oxygen carrying capacity of the water is lower. The green murky stuff is not the problem, it is the low oxygen content. In this neighborhood we have been borderline with pump in or pump out. I looked at the ten day forecast this am and it looks like stable below freezing temps will prevail for the forseeable future. What will be interesting to watch is to see if the water actually gets cold enough to kill and clump the algae so that it sinks to the bottom and clears the water. This is because I use a $$$ hogging 1500 watt deicer that keeps the water temp at a steady 41 through the coldest part of the winter. I suspect that I cause my own algae problem (along with full sun) with this deicer. Algae or murky water doesn't bother fish, just the fish keeper. Every pond is its own ecosystem. While general principles apply to all, what works for your particular pond is what counts.

I run my pump and waterfall 24/7, 365 days a year. The pond is somehwere between 12,000 to 15,000 gallons. The wtaer has stayed really murky this winter. Last winter at this time it was crystal clear. It's probably because there is too much debris in the water and it needs to be cleaned and a better filter installed which is on the agenda this spring.

Loretta




Last winter's water clarity

Ahhhhhhhhh Loretta, must you post and give me a case of zone envy? NICE koi!

Thanks for all of your replies! I love the way a thread can meander around and I get so much wonderful information from all of you. :)

tetleytuna; Just thought I would give an update. The temp last night was a balmy -20, still have an open hole about 2' x 4' otherwise the ice would hold up to walking on the pond. There is 8" of snow on top of what is iced over.
Hope you didn't get all that ice, that's on the news.
Did have another problem though, Had the pressure switch for the well freeze, had our showers this morning flushed the throne. and had no more water. Didn't take much to get the pump running. But seems as how we also had a fitting in the house, spring a leak. This old man had to run back to the well, and get the water shut back off. Huff Puff pant pant, LOL
But after a trip to town and a few parts later, and accidently getting sprayd when the pipe for the pressure switch got the ice out of it. We again had water. ( Thank you Lord Amen)
Russ

Wow, Russ!! Sounds like quite an unwelcome adventure! Glad to hear you got it taken care of finally, but be sure to take care - I don't want to be worrying about you from 5 hours away, and I know how much of a perfectionist you are - hope to see you and Barb at the Round-up in May - Bec

Any question of when to turn on or off the pump has officially ended here. 16 degrees today.

Russ, I am sure that was NOT the fountain that you wanted to turn on! LOL I am glad that everything worked out for you in the end. I guess the nice weather was too good to last. During this last ice/sleet storm there was several inches of accumulation that has remained with us. Very hazardous to walk around. I am glad now that I did not turn on the waterfall as I would not have been able to get out there to turn it off.

Yup Becki we are definatly planing on going to the RU. anxious to see everyone again. may even have some fresh rhubarb crisp, to bring along.
an Oh yeah tetley that ( fountian ) was like a mini gusher. lucky that our pressure tank is in a cave.
" fruit celler" other wise it would have been like instant ice cover. berrrrrr.

Wonderful, Russ! See ya then - Dax (Becki)