Ponds 2013 III

They make a cold water "good" bacteria you can add if you want...it keeps the bad guys down while the water is more dormant. The first spring warm up is when the bad guys come out of dormancy, just like your fish, and you get the spring skin lesions. You've really worked on your water quality this year, so keeping my fingers crossed that things will go well for you this season!

Okay. I will just hope.

It was 28F this morning and supposed to be in the upper teens tonight. Will get the deicers in today in the shallows; the skimmer and the deep end where the water falls are are still open water. That one little shebunkin is still out and about but slowed down a bunch. Just drifting along. When I hit him with the spot light he drifts back into the cavern. Soon the ice will be too thick and then when we have a light drift of snow it is goodbye to the fish for the winter. No visuals after that. Will continue to add the cold water bacteria although if the bacteria goes dormant in the cold water after the fish do I am not sure what the point is. I would stop the end of November and start up again through the ice holes in say March 1st to get a jump on stuff growing ahead of the fish waking up. A good time to dose with something to counteract any bad guys also waking up. Not going to use Proform. Suggestions? I know you have told me a gazillion times what your regimine is but just ONE more time. Pretty please?? :) Carolyn?? I suspect your regime is more like mine that those lucky ducks down in Florida.

Your right Oberon. No regime here. Just wash out filtration material, vac. bottom and might cover with netting if leaves get too many. Only other thing I can think of is I stop feeding when water temp. drops to 40.

We are heading north early tomorrow. No. Fl. that is. Grand dgt. may get married.
Said she wasn't sure. I told her don't do it if your not sure. Told her we are overdue for visit anyhow. Haven't seen her in years. My dentist told me this morning that was the 3rd. maybe wedding he had heard of for this weekend. Easier to change your mind before than after. Temps next 3 days up there are 66,72 and72, For me thats great. Now 28 Ug!!!

I don't know about you all fish in the bathtub. LOL I won't even let anybody put them in my pool. Lord knows it would hold a bunch of them but I'd rather reserve it for me.
Good luck Oberon & Carolyn as you prepare to shut down for the winter.

We are starting to get cold too - I am hoping this winter is not as long and as cold as last winter.

Mary (Oberon) - I do salt my pond before I shut down. I salt to 3-4%, so that the fish form a slime coat for the winter. Really haven't had the problems in the spring with the fish that we had before we started salting the water. I have to believe given your locale, that you are ahead of me on this....I go by the temperature of the pond water.

Right now, I am still skimming leaves and emptying my skimmer a couple times a day. We vacuumed a couple of weeks ago, but I think we are going to need to vacuum again. Too many leaves have gone into the bottom of the pond and I don't want the fish overwintering in them.

Soon we will be putting in the deicers and bring in my pumps, pressure filters and uv lights. We don't circulate the water during the winter, but use the deicers to keep a hole in the ice.

Around March - sometimes, it is later like Aprilish, we are able to get a pump at a time outside and running in the pond. I always look forward to that!

In the spring, we do the water exchanges and vacuum. This also takes care of any salt that is left in the water. We use the Microbelift Spring Start up to get things going. What I really like about the ML Start up is it comes in those packets that you just have to throw into the water - no measuring or messing around with anything.

I have always wondered if the circulating of the water in your pond during the winter, is super chilling your water and resulting in fish death. I know I read an article a while ago where fish can get ice crystals in their gills. How cold does it get where you are?

We actually only circulated once last winter and yes they all dies but four. But Damien put the hoses directly into their caves. I think that was a mistake. Too much agitation. I don't think it super chills the water as the temp at the bottom is the same as at the top. I spent one winter with a thermometer that was weighted and tested bottom versus top. No appreciable difference. I was told that my pond isn't deep enough to have a thermal effect.

The only other person I know with koi up here runs his pump all winter. I falls down a rock face about 3' to the pond below. It ices over but continues to run drawing water from the bottom and circulating it to the top. He has a couple of large koi. But, big difference, this pond is virtually built against his foundation on the north side. So Damien insists his pond gets a warming effect from that. I don't know that Jon ever has tested his temp in the winter. He is kind of a purist and the last time I spoke with him (a few years ago) he didn't add bacteria even. Strange. I went over a few months ago and peeked in his pond which is close to the front street and saw live active koi. Go figure.

I got the barley stuff you were talking about, have a good supply of Algaway for the spring, lots of spring start up and PL, plus Arctic Blend bacterial that continues to be active below 40F. Some arctic bacteria they found. I am going to run the pump as Jon does, sucking water from the deep end (the shallow end can get solid ice almost to the bottom in a really cold winter (30") so the pump has to stay below that ice cap. Then again it could be only about 6" like last winter. I am going to build my tripod this weekend and Damien will bring in the pumps and UV except for the one that stays in the bottom of the deep end. It's the only thing we haven't tried.

I saw that silly shebunkin laying in the pond kind of part way up the wall like he was dead. I was so disgusted I went and got a skimmer to fish him out. Darned if he wasn't alive. Hope I didn't hurt him trying to swish him away from the rocks. He went down into the caves.

Maybe a little Proform would be a good additive in the spring in case anything nasty develops? That way I would get it killed off before the fish come out of dormancy. The pond is clean, two vacuuming and lots of skimming so I am okay with that. I think what makes it look bad in the spring is that there are leaves left on the trees and it blows onto the snow, then as it melts in the spring it sinks into the pond. But for the winter, it is frozen in and shouldn't be affecting the water quality.

I agree with Damien that the neighbors pond is warmer because it buts up to the house. How far is your pond from the house?

I am wondering if perhaps the 4 goldfish survived because the water was not being circulated like before. I have noticed over the years, that my fish tend to lie in the pond where they will get the most warmth. One would think they would like the deeper end where there are no lily baskets, but that is not the case.

Time will tell. I am hoping this winter is easier than last winter. I thought last winter would never end and it was so cold.

I think you got the worst of last winter. Ours was really mild. The pond is a good 20' from the back of the house. This morning is was completely frozen over. Only inside the skimmer, where the one deicer in the shallows is, and the running falls kept any open water. And not much of that by the falls. I need to get a deicer in there in addition to the falling water.

My deicers are not in yet either. The weather looks like it is supposed to dip, but then come right back up again. I was very surprised when our first hard frost this year was into the first week in November. Generally it is mid October. The frost being later is pushing back when I dig my dahlias. Oh well.

I just picked up 8 - 4# boxes of pickling salt to put into the pond. I will probably be doing that tomorrow. I think I need more, but not sure. I know that I journaled it somewhere ^_^

Oh yes. All those very important notes that somehow get lost or/and forgotten. I guess I figure if I go to the bother of printing them and keeping them that I will automatically know when it is time to pull them out. I took pics of the pond and will try to get them posted today.

My dahlias have been asleep for at least a month. Next week I need to give the iris, geranium, and my one rose a little drink for the winter layover.

Mary
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I do my journaling for my pond, gardens and recipes on DG. I tried before to do hard copies and they either get lost or there is just too much stuff lying around.

Looking forward to you photos.

well, here are the pond pictures. Some were taken yesterday and three this morning.

#1 and #2 were yesterday; #3 and #4 were this morning. The white is just the ice building not snow. I thought the last one was pretty with the moss getting covered with ice.

Tomorrow it is supposed to go up to the 40's. Hope so or we will freeze shutting down the bio-well and all the pumps. D shouldn't have waited so long. He is just so busy. At least I have finished battening down the hatches in the garage and shed.

Wow Mary! It even looks cold!

I was out emptying the skimmer this morning at 6:30 am. I also checked the pond water temp and the water is 42 degrees. The fish are moving around, but slowly. They still have that innate curiosity when you stick somthing in the water or monkey with rocks. When I put the thermometer in,they come over to see what I was doing.

Hubs wants to leave the pumps running during the winter. I really don't want to change anything, because it has all been working - so why fix something that isn't broken. I think with his health problems are making things harder for him, but I keep telling him that I will do it.

You would be so proud of me - I got off my dupa (yes, I know it is a Polish word - I got that from my old boss) and walked a nice brisk walk late this afternoon for 35-40 minutes. I don't feel so sleepy anymore! ^_^

Good for you. The only caveat on running the pumps that I see is that I am watching ice form along the falls path and if the ice forges paths that take the water out of the path it could drain the pond. That is why I am going to run the hose from the bottom to the end of the falls at the last dump in so no way it can escape the sides.

It finally snowed and now it is freezing rain. I went to the yarn shop to knit but when I heard about freezing rain I came home. Most people are pretty careful but there is always the errant nut who can't figure out that things have changed and he simply cannot barrel down the road forever trying to be first. I have only had my car since March and won't risk it. D just bought a new 4x4 and he left it home and took his little Ford Focus to work. Smaller target. lol I'm going to get the fireplace going, make a cup of tea, and knit at home.

Sounds nice Mary. Something cozy about the scene I have pictured in my mind.

One of my worries about leaving things running is I have heard too often how the ice formations can divert the water and very quickly empty a pond.

Mary

You have an incredible pond, HUGE pond, wow.... The maintenance on it would be more than I could handle at this age, but oh so beautiful to see what others have.

Jan

Well, it's done. It started sleeting before we were finished an now it is just a gently drifting snow. Pictures to follow after a nice hot B52 coffee by the fire.

Okay. Here it is. We really pushed the envelope this year ahead of, like right ahead of, the weather. There is ice under the sheen of water. the orange in the water are leaves not fish.

This message was edited Nov 10, 2013 4:08 PM

Just a couple more including one of myself. You can tell that despite the miserable weather, frozen fingers and chilled body I enjoy the work, especially with DH as we have so little time together. We are going to try to leave the water spout running all winter. Assume it will form an ice sheath but should still circulate water, drawing from the caves to oxygenate. It won't super chill as the hose will soon be buried in snow and it should provide insulation to the water.

This message was edited Nov 10, 2013 4:10 PM

Oh the final picture. You can see the snow.

An hour or so after we finished we have about 1" of snow.

One and one half hours later

Looks like you finished just in the nick of time!

is this typical for this time of year in Anchorage?

You look like such a nice lady ^_^

I have to get moving with mine. I need to vacuum again and get my salt in. I really wanted to net the pond this year, but got a lot of arguments from DH on doing that. I understand the shrubbery is larger now than it was before, but I gave in so I wouldn't have to listen to it. Oh well.

Anyway, I took the water temp this past weekend and was surprised the temps were at 42 degrees. I had thought it would have been cooler than that.

That's beautiful! It's larger than what I pictured. Those pictures DO make me chilly though!
I love the levels of the waterfall.

I looked at last year and these are two pics from then. The first is 11-10 and the second is 11-22. Next two are from 2011, 11-5 and 11-12. so looks like we are just about on time for snow and freezing. The last pic is of the moss in the falls. it gets bigger each year and is really pretty this time of year.

Thanks for the nice compliment Carolyn. I figure I should be brave and have D take a pic of me. Always so shocking to me as I don't feel as old as I look. I can still pick up a 50# frozen flower box full of wet dirt (not too gracefully) and work outside in rotten weather.

I kept looking online for your pics Carolyn as I thought you were going to close it all up this weekend. Guess you didn't get to it yet. Is DH going to be able to help much?



This message was edited Nov 11, 2013 10:49 AM

Mary

I haven't gotten to the pond yet - probably be around Thanksgiving or so. Generally we close up between Thanksgiving and the first week in December. It has been as late as the 10th of December, but somehow I don't think that will happen this year.

I feel the same way everytime I look in the mirror too - I cannot beleive I am this age - seems like we were all just in high school! My son will be 30 this coming summer - wow! Time does fly, doesn't it?

Yup. Mine turned 39 and 42 in September. Grandkids 12 and 21.

Great picture of yourself, but tell me one thing, as I use to live just south of Cleveland OH and the snow we got because we were in the southern snow belt fr the lake was just too much for this native Floridian, how do you stand the cold? I mean don't you have cold 9-10 months out of the year?

Jan

Jan, I'm from Chagrin Falls, and as a child I remember going to school all summer one year, to make up for all of our snow days. Miss looking at a beautiful Christmas scene from time to time, but don't miss living in it (although I miss spring daffodils!)
It's funny, that even though I live in a year round state now, I don't seem to get as much done as all of you who only have half a year of outdoor activity! :)

Anchorage isn't that cold unless the wind blows. And the cold of winter only lasts from maybe now til the middle of March. So figure 5 months. Gradual drop and gradual raise. Same with sunshine. 20 hours in June and 5 in December or thereabouts. And the schools stay open pretty much all the time. Maybe if there was rain on ice they might cancel.

Oh Mary I can hardly believe you only have to endure winter for 5 months.... WOW,

MerryMary, Chagrin Falls, I remember that area well, they have the most beautiful fall leaves the drives in that area are wonderful, plus not to mention the shops....LOL I drove over to Kissimmee the other day to see how far it was, nice drive on 50 other there, and found it only took up 1 1/2 hours, and I wasn't even driving the speed limit, to much to see on the way over...LOL

Jan

Well, the growing season is from May to Sept, so it's even. The other two months are transition, our spring.

that doesn't sound too bad. What is the lowest your temps drop to during the winter? DH wants to live up there, but this FL native says noooooooooooo. Cleveland was bad enough to last me a life time of cold.

Jan

Maybe the only difference between here and Cleveland is that we are prepared for our weather with manpower and machinery. As soon as the snow hits, they are blading the main roads and hit the neighborhoods before we are neck deep. If you want a more objective look at Anchorage (take it from me you would hate Fairbanks) take a look here:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/weather/longterm/historical/data/anchorage_alaska.htm

My mother lasted 13 years in Fairbanks and left. Course that was from 1954-67 and the weather was much worse then and the ice fog was awful. It is better now. Warmer and I don't believe in global warming; it just is.

My water flowing pipe was interesting this morning. Has only taken two days to form the ice. I broke it off right after taking the picture. Will try to keep it open all winter if I can.

That is really neat looking, Mary.

I woke up during the middle of the night and saw snow on my neighbor's deck. I went back to bed and when I got up this morning it was still there - I was not thrilled, but definitely glad I had remembered to take pick up my coat from the dry cleaner.

I still have so much to do to get ready for winter and seem to be running out of time. I know we are supposed to have a warm up here shortly, so I am hoping that buys me the next 2 weeks until around Thanksgiving, so I have the time off to get things ready for winter.

I see my fish are sitting at the bottom of the pond. March is a long way off.

OK you 2 snow bunnies. Enjoy that snow and my share too.

Just got home from N. Fl. Sun. and it was supposed to go to 36 up there this Thursday. My husb. was ready to leave. Wedding went beautifully and I'm glad I went so I could help. Traffic on 75 was horrendous coming home but made it OK.
I set the cruise on 80 and was being passed like I was sitting still. Kind of hairy for an old gal like me but I made it and was glad to get home.

Tomorrow I'm going for 3 days with girlfriends to Vero Beach. I love the ocean. Can't turn down a free time share condo right on the waterfront. I'm sure it will be too cold to go swiming but just seeing the ocean is great for me. Was raised quite near it in Conn. I told DH I'll be home for the rest of the winter I'm sure as I have a pool that needs draining, cleaning and painting.

Big fish are all still swiming and old pond they are very active. Why I don't know but it is green with algae so will have to get some clarifier when I get home and tend to that also. It's great to never suffer from boredom but sometimes I need a break.
Oberon your pond is lovely and I sure hope everybody in it survives this winter.
Every time I think of you and Carolyn I shiver. Couldn't take that cold anymore. Every place has its pros and cons. It's all what your used to. I have friends that tell me Alaska is just beautiful but they have never been there during the winter.
Take care all.
Bonnie

Bonnie, Is your UV lightbulb getting weak? They only last about a year, even if you see it still glowing. You can also try blowing the hose through it, they sometimes condense with gunk inside, so the water stops making contact with the light.
We have gail force winds today...things are blowing around my back yard. By Saturday it will be 80 again, so go figure. (I'm still crock-potting beef brisket and barley soup!)
The water lilies are still blooming, but I can see some of the other plants thinking about slowing down for the winter. If we get too chilly, I'll have to pull the prettiest of the fancy tail guppies and bring them indoors for the winter, so I have attractive breeders in the spring.

Mary

No way could I handle that.... I developed sinus polyp disease while in Oh and now the cold sets off sinus infection ASAP. I really don't miss the snow, as there are too many idiot drivers, funny how the older you get the more wisdom you have about getting out and driving on snowy roads...LOL I wouldn't mind coming in the warmest part of summer to Alaska, but you can keep it the other times of the year.....


Bonnie

Hope your time in Vero Beach is great, I love it there, we use to go there when we lived in KY, as we came down in July every other year.... but now that I'm on the west coast, I love it here.

Jan