New Pond

[PlatinumAngel]

Ok so just found out my parents got a pond for their backyard. Not certain of the size. We live in southern ontario, have cold winters and warm summers. Is there any advice I should give them? Both of them are novices to fishkeeping and I just don't know much about coldwater fish and ponds.
The pond has a small waterfall and they were told it wont freeze. I don't know. i'm just worried about the fish come winter.

 

[Davo86]

how deep is the pond?
and what type of temperatures are we talking about, e.g. hottest/coldest ...
is it filtered?

 

[PlatinumAngel]

Umm I'd say its not really that deep, I should ask the dementions, not sure if it's filtered either. I know it has a waterfall. I'll ask them when I get home. ANything else I should ask?

Summer about 30 some degrees is usually the hottest, winter, about -20 max probably less than that

 

[Davo86]

Umm I'd say its not really that deep, I should ask the dementions, not sure if it's filtered either. I know it has a waterfall. I'll ask them when I get home. ANything else I should ask?

Summer about 30 some degrees is usually the hottest, winter, about -20 max probably less than that

If its a shallow pond, and your having temperatures in the minuses, (-10 or colder) then you may have some trouble keeping the fish alive over the winter,
it is generally best to have a depth of between 2.5 - 3 foot+ for goldfish and 3 to 4 foot+ for koi

you might have better luck with researching local available species,

In the summer the waterfall will definitely come in handy, if the pond is in a well lit area though you may need added aeration as oxygen levels will be lowered.
You will also find you have quite a problem with algae.

 

[PlatinumAngel]

hmm I don't know if it's 3 feet deep. I will defenately check. They were wanting to get some koi.
It is for the most part in direct sunlight, so will have to think about aeration for next summer.

I was worried about them freezing over the winter.
What do you use for alge control in a pond?

 

[Davo86]

If it was me I would hold off getting fish until next spring, that way you can monitor the temperature of the water over the next few months, if it gets too cold you may need to think of heating the pond.

For algae control you will need a ultra violet steriliser, these can be brought built in to filter boxes, so if there is a filter you may have one of these too.
if you have the option of a clarifier or a steriliser, go for the latter as this will do a better job, However even with one of these you may need to add algaecides or similar to the pond roughly every 6 weeks during the summer months.

 

[PlatinumAngel]

Just thinking about it, I'm SURE it's not more than 2 feet deep at most.
I'm a bit worried about it. I'm sure they wont wait until spring. They don't know what they're getting into. The poor fish. I can only do so much. I wish they would have said something before they put it in so I could have done some reaserch for them.

 

[pacificoutdoor]

Don't worry about the harsh winter! You can actually just leave them in the pond, though, do make sure that there is something keeping a hole open in the ice and the water moving. The reason there needs to be a hole in the ice is to provide oxygen and allow gasses from the dying plants to leave the pond. If you can find a way to keep the pond water moving (i.e. a floating pump, etc.) then you will be able to keep the water from freezing.

Resource= Koi Facts

 

[Davo86]

Don't worry about the harsh winter! You can actually just leave them in the pond, though, do make sure that there is something keeping a hole open in the ice and the water moving. The reason there needs to be a hole in the ice is to provide oxygen and allow gasses from the dying plants to leave the pond. If you can find a way to keep the pond water moving (i.e. a floating pump, etc.) then you will be able to keep the water from freezing.

Resource= Koi Facts

TBH that site is very brief and doesn't even mention pond depth which is very important,

The depths that i posted above are the suggested depths used by LFS retailers in the UK, where it never usually gets anywhere near as cold as reported by the topic owner

below is a quote taken from http/www.koifishguide.com/koiponds/ although I will admit this does sound a little extreme.

According to most koi experts, your pond depth should be 6 feet. If you have a smaller pond, the bare minimum you can go as low as 4 and ½ or 5 feet, but the slightly deeper depth is better. The more shallow depth of 4 and ½ feet have been used in cold climates but the concern here is survival of the fish during the very cold weather where freezing over can occur.

 

[PlatinumAngel]

hmm, well I spoke with my dad and he said it IS 3 feet deep although there are rocks on top so that would make it a tad shallower.
I will check if they have something to keep the water moving, what would you suggest to keep a hole in the ice?

 

[Davo86]

hmm, well I spoke with my dad and he said it IS 3 feet deep although there are rocks on top so that would make it a tad shallower.
I will check if they have something to keep the water moving, what would you suggest to keep a hole in the ice?

A few tennis balls or football is all you need really, anything that will float and can prevent the total surface area from freezing