I got up this morning and my whole pond drained dry.
The fish were all huddled up at the bottom in about 6 inches of water. Didn't lose any thank goodness.
I have been going out every two or three days and netting leaves out of the pond because I didn't' want them to clog the pump or pollute the water. I was diligent also about keeping a small hole clear of ice and the output pipe clear of ice.
However we had several nice days lately and I got lax at checking because at 60 degrees it just doesn't ice ya know?
It seems that leaves had gotten clogged in the output pipe of my external filter box, (which does not have a cover over it, but does now lol) and caused the box to over flow. Resulting in the pond draining.
So I had to refill about 450 gallons of water!
I have decided to check on my pond EVERY day. Also for anyone putting in a pond, I advise leaving a deeper area that wouldn't drain out completely in the event something similar happens, your fish will have a small area to survive until you discover them!
something I learned.
Yikes Frilly!! What a close call, and aren't you glad there was a low spot for those beloved fishies.
I am always super neurotic about checking on the pond every day like you, but recently I've been remiss. I'm headed out there right now with a headlamp through our snow storm lol. Thanks for the reminder about how diligent we have to be.
My pond is right off the kitchen-anyone in my family would notice a change in the pond while stuffing food into their mouth! It's the first thing I do each morning!
I'm glad your fish are okay and that you were able to fix the problem. Nothing like a little pond stress . . .
How deep is your pond? I see we are practicly neighbors. I have been afraid to spend money putting in a pond because of winters. I mean I have a "real" pond out back stocked with catfish lol, but I have been afraid of a koi pond as I do not have room to over winter the koi indoors.
My pond is 3 1/2 feet at its deepest. Then has two other levels. Sort of like stairs so I can get into it. Straight down sides, which I hope will discourage pets, kids, and wildlife from 'wading' into it. So far I have a flock of 20+ turkeys that come nearly daily to drink out of it, then wander through my yard. In a subdivision!!
I am worried about attracting deer because I have 300 or so daylilies and other plants as well.
I would love to have a real pond, but just have my goldfish one. It is about 450 gallons I estimated. I do not use a heater in the winter. Made my own filter. Just put all of this together a few months ago, so still working out the bugs so to speak. I understand that koi need a much larger volume of water and the fish can get very large. I stuck with goldfish. You can get a variety of colors at the pet store. I have a yellowish one. A solid white goldfish and some bright reddish comets with long white tails> You can also get spotted ones, I think they are called calicoes. I have an orange yellow one that has a black stripe on his back, named Mohawk! If you want to visit sometime, D-mail me.
I am very visit friendly lol. Come in June when the lilies are blooming...
Most fish will not outgrow their environment. Gold fish get to be quite large if given the chance. They can grow to 3 feet or more. I think koi will do well in your pond once you feel the bugs are worked out enough to risk the investment. Goldfish are a great way to test your pond out. They are cheap enough that if you lose any it won't break the bank. I raised tropicals for 20 years. Aquariums were everywhere! Anything that held water was in risk of becoming home to a fish. I look forward to meeting you when the weather has settled down. Thanks so much for the invitation. We will keep in touch. My daughter lives in Edgar Springs. I know that she would love to come along if she may.
Kathy
Kathy: You have to figure in that goldfish like to spawn (a lot) and they really can outgrow their space. My Mother-in-law has a small pond and every year has to rehome the top 3-5 goldfish in the pond (back to her supplier). She has had her pond 25-30 years now. I remember one fish she was extremely fond of named "Jaws". I knew him to be in pond 7 years and he was already huge at that time. He had to go back to the store-he was eating everything and everyone . . . He was very friendly!
LOL I have had to go to pet store often to exchange plecos that outgrew my needs. Store would happily exchange little one for my big one.
Kathy, I would not hesitate for a minute in putting in a small pond. My first one was an accident. I was digging a hole for something and just kept going. It ended up being about five feet across and averaged 18 to 24 inches deep. I did replace that with a six foot stock tank that is about two feet deep this summer. I put feeder goldfish in it and never have had a problem with losses in winter. I do not have a heater and it can ice over for while with our cold weather in the winter. In the spring I may see a couple of floaters but most are happy and healthy. I do make sure there is plenty of water movement in the summer so that there is adequate oxygen. I have several water lilies and usually water hyacinth in it during the summer and enjoy it very much.
Thanks for the encouragement. I will move pond from wish list to "to do" list.
FrillyLily.... ahhhh, you sound like me on another thread! The day before I left for Christmas break my one pound drained.... ahhh..... Talk about panic! Of course the overly sterile water to refill it, allowed my favorite and most expensive koi to die. Hang in there...
Ok at the risk of everyone who reads this thinking what an IDIOT I am, I decided to amuse you.
I deserve it anyway.
OOPS, I did it again!
well sort of. You know I DID fix the last problem of the leaves clogging the outflow pipe resulting in filter box overflowing until pond drained.
Well, this time, was just as dumb. The outlet pipe froze, resulting in water flow stopping, pump still running of course, and drained the pond. The difference this time is that the temp is literally 0 and the 'survivor hole froze totally solid. TOTALLY> not only that, some of the fish were just frozen laying on the 'ground' of the ledges around the pond. I cried.
CRIED.
not to mention feeling like a total idiot. I checked the pond last evening, and it was flowing strong, normal even. So I thought well as long as its moving well it will not freeze. Of course I know the top of the surface of the pond will freeze over, it has already did that several times this year. I just go out once a day or so and knock out a foot square hole to keep surface air moving. But I did not realize the moving water would freeze.
So. I thought well they are all dead for sure. I have had goldfish freeze in a stock tank once, but they were at least IN water still even if it was frozen. I got out the hose and hooked it up, I figure it is still not good on the liner to be exposed, so I wanted to at least fill it again. After unplugging the pump this time. About 1/2 hour later went out to check on the water level, and I swear almost ALL of the fish are swimming. ?!
I canNOT believe it. One of the larger ones is dead for sure. One other larger one is sort of swimming sideways or something. The other large one I am not sure of yet. Couldn't find him right off. But all 8 of the 1 1/2 inch long ones are swimming around *almost* normal. Will they die? I wonder what will happen to their skin and scales? I am afraid they would have suffered 'frost bite' or dry skin and now would their skin get infected, fall off or something? I feel so BAD. I am a terrible goldfish mom so far. boy am I glad I didn't buy any expensive koi. I had a pond before, but it was only like 50 gallons and was right by my front porch. Was VERY sheltered there, and besides I walked by it a dozen times a day. This one is 500 gallons? and even though I can see it sort of from my kitchen window, I have to actually go out there to know anything. Of course they can drain very quickly or other problems happen fast too, and checking once a day is not always enough I see. And moving water does freeze, (which I knew) but I just didn't realize it would freeze that much that fast I guess. :(
I hope they will be ok. I am still in shock I guess.
The fact that moving water freezes, pretty easy when you have temperatures like we're having this week (today it was -15 when I got in my truck and that is without windchill), is why I will probably hire a consultant when I put my pond in.
Species of goldfish can freeze and still survive. Scientists have been trying to figure out why so they can find a human application like in the field of cryogenics.
Oh my goodness Frilly. I read your whole post with my mouth wide open. I can't believe all that transpired in such a short amount of time. I can only imagine you are in shock. Let us know how the fish get along after a while.
Frilly-I am so sorry that this happened to you. I am still new to ponding and this is my first winter and I am a bit nervous to say the least about my koi surviving. I turned my pump off in November and brought it inside. I also turned off my automatic refill line so it would not crack. Am I supposed to have done that or not?
It is sooooooooo cold outside with a windchill of -30 here. I have 4 pond heaters going and more than half the pond is not frozen which is good. I will have a high electric bill this month . . . At least I can see the fish and they are alive.
Linda
Well -30 is MUCH colder than here. So maybe for that you were right to shut it all down.
It usually doesn't get much under 20ish here, at least not for more than a few days, and then warms up to 30ish again. Usually days are above freezing, nights get colder. Of course weather can do anything. But my plan was to run it all winter thinking the movement would prevent it from freezing, or at least that I would have time to see the flow slowing down and unplug it. But it did this right overnight. Went from full flowing to NOTHING. :(
So in the future, I will be more diligent to unplug for bad weather or better yet, just keep it unplugged the whole month of Jan which is our worst month.
Might also work next summer to make the flow pipe larger where it empties back into the pond. Well it probably all needs some tweaking here and there, ya know? I just put it all together in July? or maybe Aug.
So your new to this also? Some people here live their pumps on and have a frozen waterfall and it sometimes empties their pond as well. This weather that we are experiencing is highly unusual. It is bitter cold. It feels okay for about 2-3 minutes and then you realize you can't feel your fingers (if you have on cheap gloves or no gloves. . .). No school for the kids due to the chance of frostbite waiting for buses or walking to and from school. Bummer for the mom's at home. . . LOL!
I guess moral of my story is this.
If you find your fish all frozen on the ground, suck up and hurry!
Get the hose out and fill it immediately.
what if I waited? maybe even an hour? Most all of my fish lived so far. I don't know how they will do over the next several days...we shall see.
But it was 0 outside, 7:30 am and I had not ate, only had on my house clothes, and couldn't find my gloves. I had to go to cellar, drag out 1 ton hose lol up the stairs, thread all those fittings and drag it all the way across the yard to fill.
It was worth it!
speaking of fittings. I don't know what is stupider, the way they can't make anything go together better than that, or the fact that I always stand there screwing this way and that and wriggling it around, because I can't get remember which direction is threading it ON :)
I told you I was dumb lol !
Panicked not dumb. It happens . . .
Last night it was -15 here. There is no pond waterfall plumbing arrangement I can think of that would handle that without freezing. I highly, highly doubt that even an expensive in line heater could have kept the water flowing. I just now managed to trudge out to the back koi pond this morning at day break. The 1500 watt deicer has a hole open less than 36" in diameter for 2500 gals. Water temp at depth is 38.8. My front yard goldfish pond is ice free because it has a 1000 watt deicer in 480 gallons. Still the water temp at depth is 38.8 too. If we had had any wind last night, I don't know if the back pond deicer would have kept a hole open at all. I went out there with the thought of maybe having to drop in the backup deicer and run both.
Nice save there Frilly. I always believed that once a goldfish was a popcicle it was pretty much over.
This message was edited Jan 16, 2009 9:04 AM
Koi pond at -11
Small goldfish pond at -11
This has nothing what so ever to do with ponds or fish or ugly cold weather. It just makes me smile. And I haven't the heart to kick them out of the bed so that I can make it. This is what spoiled rotton lazy animals do on a cold winter morning.
oh how sweet.
Awwww, snapple that picture is great! So cute!!!
I agree, I don't think much can keep the water flowing at -11. That is why I need to learn more about the plumbing aspect of ponding in zone 5a. Someone on the koiphen board who lives in PA gave me grief about the cold, saying that he runs his pond all winter no problem. It is A LOT colder in the midwest than the East coast. When I was a kid growing up in NY, my parents had a small weekend cabin in PA, we went there a few times in winters. Those winters are nothing compared to this, I think they are a full zone warmer. There is a big difference between ten degrees above and below zero. I don't think people in warmer zones really appreciate that difference, unless they've lived through the colder ones.
It seems a lot of people around here have hoop houses that they set up in about September, which helps to keep debris out of the pond and it regulates temperature. Then they cover 90% of the pond with some insulated material after putting in the de-icers. Some heat their ponds, most don't. I have not heard of a single person now in my area that can keep the pond pump, etc. going all winter.
Our corgis are consummate scavengers, I have to yell at them to actually do their business when they go outside because they just want to run to under the bird feeder and scavenge for seeds!
I love Corgi's. They are really neat dogs. A little low to the ground in deep snow, but your's don't seem to mind it do they!
Should watch out for little dogs, or big ones for that matter, that don't realize they are 'walking' ON the pond, and fall in. Would most likely be the end for them if it happened, as cold as it is.
They don't mind the deep snow at all! They just let the collie forge a path for them and they follow him when it gets really deep. Last year I shovelled part of the yard for them, my husband jokingly called it "the racetrack"! This year the deep cold is bothering Penny's paws (the corgi shaking off in the picture). We set a timer for four minutes when we let them out in this weather and she's been coming in limping for the past two days. I really hope it warms up soon!
My pond will be in a completely different area of the yard, the dogs will not have access to it (their part of the yard is separately fenced off).
I'm with you, Beth and Snapple - folks have said to me before to just keep the pump running, but this weather would have destroyed the pump. This morning, the low was -28 - two days in a row with record lows. I have 3 de-icers, a 1250 watt, 700 watt, and 500 watt for 4,000 gallons. The 1250 watt looks very similar to your picture, snapple, and the other two are just clear for the size of the heater. Hopefully, my fisheees are doing OK. I have the 2 smaller ones on the far side in deeper water, where the fish can kind of huddle close to the warmth. The 1250 watt is in a shallower area with an aerator, so the fish don't need to be too close to that colder water, but can benefit from the additional oxygen. Since I lost all but 3 of my babies last year, I'm checking on them constantly. Usually the 1250 watt keeps at least 1/3 of the surface open, but today it's only about 2 inches out from the sides of the heater -- Whew!! We're supposed to start warming up today (if you call 0 warmer!), and then up to the 20's. Just praying my guys are doing OK down there - Dax
Dax, I definitely need to visit your pond this spring!!! Are you an EIPS member too?
Oh, that's another thing, I won't know til all this thaws, if my pump is still any good or not. Might be shot.
:(
It was still 'running' as in making noise when I found all that mess.
But who knows if it will work again.
Of course one would think with it so cold, that would keep it from over heating?
Hey, Dax - great to hear from you! Post some summer shots for everybody to see, please. You have an outstanding pond. One I envy!
-28 is just too cold for me to comprehend. I also wouldn't trade electric utility bills with you either. That's a lot of wattage you're running in those deicers. I catch my DH sometimes stopping and staring at the electric meter spinning away in the winter when he takes out the garbage. He just frowns or sighs. He refers to the ponds in winter as the "koi spas".
Sorry about the pump frilly. It might be OK though. There are some pretty good sales around the net right now. You might want to take a look. If your budget is up to it, would you consider getting one now and if you don't need it at least you'll have a backup? (I learned the hardway how important it is to have a spare.)
About dogs falling in. It happens. The chubby chihuahua that snuggles with the equally chubby cat nearly drowned just that way. He walked out on the ice to investigate the deicer and fell through the soft ice at the edge of the hole. He does not go out anymore when the pond has ice without someone in attendance.
Deep snow ( well too deep for him anyway) is keeping him well away from it this year. Like Elizabeth, we shovel some paths through the snow for the dogs to move around. When the snow is this deep they stick to the easy routes.
Ice is dangerous for animals. They are always stepping on it and falling thru. I know there are tales about how they are too smart for that but aks any farmer who has gotten out the tractor to pull a cow out of the pond when she fell thru the ice. Wild animals do it also. Maybe it is part of the natural selection plant. If they are dumb enough to fall thru the ice they should be taken out of the breeding pool, pun intended.
Well, my dogs are all spayed or neutered....I do all sorts of things for them to make sure I don't lose them to natural selection!!! Both corgis are on daily medications for two different diseases that would kill them without intervention on my part.
Good for you, ic_conifers! It can be hard to decide whether to put an animal down or contiinue treatment to keep it going another day.
The reason Bently nearly went to the big kennel in the sky that day wasn't natural selection. It was the stupidity of the owner - me. I never, ever thought he would walk out there. It was last winter. I've been ponding since 2000 and not one of my animals had ever ventured into the water or out on the ice until that day. I'm stupid, but apparently lucky too.
I had that happen too, but it was July and very hot out.
was working in flower bed with a little 6 week old puppy exploring.
he was so cute!
well he ventured over for a little drink and flopped right over the side of the pond. poor little guy. His little heart was just beating 90 miles an hour, If I hadn't been there to pull him out he would have drown fast. He was scared, and too little to get out. Plus this was the kind with the plastic preform, which was slick on the sides.
