pond keeping in colder climates

[Alice B]

Help - I plan to move north - probably up around Kentucky / Tennessee maybe Illinois this summer. Something in 6B. I have koi. I have a 13 ft diameter above ground pond those koi live in that will literally pack up and load on my trailer to go with me. but I have never kept koi anywhere but Texas. Do I have to give my fish away?

Anyone care to advise me on how to install a survivable pond (above or below ground, this is a 20x20 45mil epdm liner, a couple years old. ) and not have to bring the fish in the house for the winter?

 

[GaryE]

Up here, way north of Kentucky, you need a three foot deep pond. Above ground would freeze. But I don't think you get a lot of freezing that far south.

 

[Alice B]

I'm pretty sure above ground is a bad idea but 3 ft is a lot of digging. Holding out hope.

 

[Colin_T]

Below ground will help insulate the water. have an air pump or ball floating on the surface to stop it freezing over completely.

Koi carp can survive in ice water and as long as they don't freeze solid, they are normally fine. They go dormant over winter and breed in spring.

If worse comes to worse, build a greenhouse over the pond so it doesn't freeze completely. And if climate change kicks it up a gear, you will have Texas weather up north in a few years.

 

[algeaverse]

I live in Toronto, Ontario Canada, where the cold winters normally freeze water two feet thick,... though i've never ever kept Koi, an acquaintance at the local boat club has koi in his pond for years. He just sets up a 5' dog pool ( petsmart ) with a bubbler in his basement and brings the koi in for the winter, no light or heater necessary, very basic, then once ice has melted in the spring he puts his koi back in his pond.

 

[10 Tanks]

Help - I plan to move north - probably up around Kentucky / Tennessee maybe Illinois this summer. Something in 6B. I have koi. I have a 13 ft diameter above ground pond those koi live in that will literally pack up and load on my trailer to go with me. but I have never kept koi anywhere but Texas. Do I have to give my fish away?

Anyone care to advise me on how to install a survivable pond (above or below ground, this is a 20x20 45mil epdm liner, a couple years old. ) and not have to bring the fish in the house for the winter?

Hi Alice. I keep Koi and Goldfish in northern Colorado. ! have a heated, 300 gallon watering trough built above ground and insulated. The fish have been fine for several years. In the Summer, i have Ancharis and Dwarf Water Lettuce growing in it. In the Winter, the Anacharis grows fine, but I have to remove the Lettuce before the first freeze. There's no filtration, so I change roughly half the water in it a couple of times a week. I have a system, so a water change takes roughly 45 minutes. Kentucky's climate should be great for an outdoor pond.

10

 

[Alice B]

I think my bigger koi are too big for 300 gallons, I remember what it cost to heat an inground pond the one year I tried (and failed) to do it here.. Still thinking this over, I want close to 1000 gallons if I do it here I grow lotus, water lilies, pickerel rush, aquatic iris, and crinum lilies fully in water, I also bog perennial hibiscus.

 

[Alice B]

I live in Toronto, Ontario Canada, where the cold winters normally freeze water two feet thick,... though i've never ever kept Koi, an acquaintance at the local boat club has koi in his pond for years. He just sets up a 5' dog pool ( petsmart ) with a bubbler in his basement and brings the koi in for the winter, no light or heater necessary, very basic, then once ice has melted in the spring he puts his koi back in his pond.

Good to have a backup plan in case Kentucky gets colder than I expect. and one without an electric bill. I'm used to utility failures during hard freezes, I have battery powered air pumps but yeah, I don't want to need a heater.

 

[10 Tanks]

I think my bigger koi are too big for 300 gallons, I remember what it cost to heat an inground pond the one year I tried (and failed) to do it here.. Still thinking this over, I want close to 1000 gallons if I do it here I grow lotus, water lilies, pickerel rush, aquatic iris, and crinum lilies fully in water, I also bog perennial hibiscus.

Hello again. My Koi are 10 to 12 inches. So, I guess that might be small. 1,000 gallons is awesome. The fish will think they died and went to heaven!

10

 

[Alice B]

some of my koi are probably 14 to 16 inches. I keep giving the bigger ones away but kept my tri color and his girlfriend

 

[Oldspartan]

We are in very North NY right at the feet of the high peak region. It is Mostly below ground but the top is Hermes 6 - 10 inches above ground. This was the first winter and with the use of areation it never froze. Also had donut heater, 125 watt I think. No koi but goldfish wintered well.

Maybe build part below and berm above.

 

[davros]

House design is a bit regional, I would expect Illinois homes to have basements, less so in Ky or Tenn