BonniesPlants.com

Hi,
While I'm posting pictures, here are some pictures of my pond that I took before Christmas. This isn't typical weather for us, we usually have rain and not very much snow.

Shelley, your photos bring back many memories of my winter pond in Michigan. Have not seen snow like that since we left in the winter of 2000

Bonnie

Nice pictures of the snow. I'll let my girlfriend know that I saw her snow . she'll have a good laugh. I know it is only gray and green there. the 2 weeks that i was there it barely rained at all

I was really hoping for a mild winter this year since it is my first winter keeping a koi pond. I have been trying my best to make sure the Koi are okay. About 3-weeks ago, we had temperatures in the teens, snow, and ice. I was really worried about the koi. In fact, when the temperature dropped down to 14 degrees, I turned off the waterfalls. I put my air bubbler in on the top shelf, and put my de-icer in. I did this because I was worried about "super-cooling" the water.

From what I've read online, some pond keepers in our area keep their waterfalls and pump running through the winter. I decided to go with this plan because our temps in the winter are usually mild.

The ice and snow has melted. The temps are back in the 40's. I counted 11 out of 12 fish yesterday. I'm not sure where #12 is. I will have to wait and see in the spring if #12 is still okay. Oh, the name of my missing fish is "diablo."

I hope we are done with the snow and ice for this winter. I've had enough!

Shelley

Shelley
Your pond is really lovely. What a delight it must be in the summer.

I wouldn't worry about running your waterfall all year, but you might like to insulate the waterfall source to prevent excessive heat loss. The following link is to a video of my winter pond. I live in northern Illinois and we frequently get subzero temperatures.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qYdeUIqs4tg

And this video is from Christmas eve:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LGGB1CIPhDI

If you'd like to see my pond in summer, go to: http://donaldperry.spaces.live.com

Don

Hi Don,
Thanks for sharing the web links to pictures of your pond. Your pond is lovely in both summer & winter! And the video is great! I really like your pond. The flowers are beautiful. Doesn't it make you wish for spring and summer? I know I can't wait for winter to be over with. I miss spending my time out at the pond after work and on the weekends.

I do have to admit, I am really over the top about my koi. I try not to worry about them, but I do. I am a new pond keeper, so I read and read about how to keep koi in my spare time. Also, I am getting first hand experience with what works and what doesn't work. I lost 3 koi to fin and mouth rot last August & September. It was very disappointing. I also lost 4 koi to blue herons. So it's kind of been trial and error (unfortunately).

How would I insulate my waterfalls? I like to keep them running since our air temps. fluctuate here. For instance, last week it was 50 degrees. This week air temps. are around 40 degrees.

Thanks!

Shelley, Kent, WA

Yes, I do want it to be spring. I turn 66 next month and my bones don't like the weather we've been having at all. We just came through a protracted period of below zero weather where it got down to -25F one night and we had a couple of days when the HIGH temperature was -5F. We haven't seen above freezing temperatures for several weeks now and it is about time we get a January thaw. I insulate my stream above the pond by placing pieces of 2-inch thick styrofoam sheets over the stream, covering that with a plastic tarp and weight down the edges of the tarp with rocks. When It snows, the styrofoam keeps the tarp from sagging into the water and actually adds some insulative value. The water that the stream receives is through a 1 1/2 inch PVC insulated pipe that runs underground from my homemade skimmer and pump pit. A floating heater sits at the entrance to my skimmer. This setup keeps the pond completely ice free until we have a protracted subzero period. The stream does not ice up and the waterfall gets a dome of crystal ice over it, but continues to run beneath. Once the temperature moderates to above zero, the pond and waterfall slowly deice.

Don