Is there anyone out there that has a pond in Zone 2? I am looking to share cold weather pond ideas with someone....please!!!

I'm in Zone 6/7. The coldest it has ever been here in my lifetime was -10 degrees F but most winters, it rarely goes below 10 degrees F. How cold does it get there?

Hi Robyn, it gets really cold here. -35F is usually about the coldest it gets. I am planning on building a cover to go over the entire pond to help. My water temp. is currently holding steady at 60-62F I had a solar cover covering half the pond during the day but this afternoon we had a big wind and it just lifted off and made a real mess of things, lol. Squished 1 solar light and the four large rocks I had holding down the frame went crashing right threw my netting and into the pond. This cover was so heavy I can't lift it by myself so I was so amazed to see it flying through the air :-(

Where is zone 2? It must be very north! I am zone 4/5 (depending on what you are looking at), in New Brunswick, Canada.

Oh Hello fellow Canadian! I am in the very far north eastern part of British Columbia, and yes it gets COLD! Right now the pond temp. is holding steady at 60F. The fish are already getting less interesting in eating :-( I hope they can go for 6-7 months without food...EEEKK!!

It has been an unusually cold fall here on the east coast. So far the water temp has stayed around the 60 mark, and it is supposed to warm back up in the next couple of days, so I am hoping to drag the season out a bit longer. Like you, I wondered what would happen if the cold weather stayed and we ended up with a 5 or 6 months of cold cold weather! Hoping I dont have to find out!!! LOL

We are the opposite, we are having an unusually warm September. We usually have snow by mid-October so I think I will get working on my pond cover today, it can change awfully quick on us. I am switching to fall food today too with the exception of the honey nut cherrios cause I doubt my big guys could live without them :rolleyes:

I'm not a Zone 2, but I'm a 3! I won't be a wealth of info, as this is all pretty new to us, but we survived last winter and we get our 2 or 3 weeks of -35. Right now I'm looking for a mechanical timer, without a battery that will freeze, to run the stock heater less than 24/7...........the electric bill got a little hefty by the end of last winter.

How deep is your pond and do you put a cover over it or anything?

The center of the pond is about 42" deep and about 6 feet diameter and slopes up to a ledge about 16" deep and 2 feet wide, but only about 1 foot wide at the skimmer box. That top ledge freezes almost solid by February. We left the waterfall running pretty late last year, there was ice at the edges but the path from the waterfall to the skimmer box was open and we shut it down only when the ice stayed all day. We have a pretty long stream that was deeper last year than it is this year and it stayed moving into November but we may have to quit sooner this year.

As soon as we took the pump out we put a sheet of plywood over the top of the skimmer box and weighted it down so that it hung over the edge of the pond by about half the width and set up the pond heater so that it was slightly under the plywood. The pond heater only kept the ice away for about 3" around itself, but we replaced it with a 1500 watt stock water heater from the local farm supply and it did MUCH better......kept about a 4 square foot area open, but watch your electric bill! The heater is SUPPOSED to have an automatic shut-off at 0 C, but they aren't all calibrated properly from what I understand and ours absolutely ran 24/7 through January which was no fun right after the Christmas bills recovery.

I am going to keep a back-up heater on hand this year. Laying in a snow bank at 7am aiming a blow dryer at the edge of the DEAD pond heater to melt it out while hubby ran to the store to get the stock heater was not my favorite way to start the day! The $80-$90 for an extra heater is pretty cheap insurance compared to my frost bitten fingers!

I've had many de-icers die and maybe I thought died. I always keep a few extras. Sometimes they stop working if they get a lot of wind or snow over them so I now keep one of mine under a Rubbermaid tub lid to protect it. High winds somehow get the heater to just turn off. To re-calibrate them, put them in a freezer unplugged inside until fully cold. Then, plug them in dry inside while holding the element. If they don't get hot right away so you have to pull your hand away, they're dead. My de-icers are 1500 W so your pond de-icer must have been one of the smaller models.

Excellent advise! Thank you all! We had a snow storm yesterday and it was COLD. The pond dropped 6 degrees in one day. I bought one of those portable garages to put over top of my pond, but I was trying to do this by myself, in the wind and it ended up being not wide enough, UGH!! I swear I had a day of hating the pond...bigtime. I have a solar cover over half of the pond until I can make a cover that is wide enough, hopefully this week sometime, before it snows again.
I hate winter :angry:

Hey KK,
Maybe you could lay a couple of boards down that are long enough to go from side to side over your pond, and then erect your portable garage on them so you dont have to go buy a new bigger one? The garage wouldn't cover the entire pond, there would be some open space on each side of the garage depending on size, but I can't see that hurting anything.

Just a thought. :D

Yes!!!! That would indeed work! My pond is raised two feet higher than the ground and I had it in my mind that I wanted to cover the wood as well, but I guess that isn't really all that necessary. I bet if I took one section of the legs off and made the whole thing shorter, then the left over material would cover the wood??? Hey! Thanks for the good idea! Thanks for the great idea, I am off to give it a try :P

hahaha....sure hope it works! :lol:

KK snow already I dont even want to think about it. It was 85 in Central Ohio today 87 tomorrow but I am sure it is alllll down hill from there. Let us know how it went (with the garage) Can anyone video tape it. It might be a little funny to watch. You sound like me, if I get an idea, I dont wait until someone gets home to help me I just do it and well not always perfect LOL.

Chris, sorry but I don't think I should video this event due to the graffic language that will probably be present during the installation, LOL LOL :blink: But tomorrow is the "big day" so maybe I will include a finished picture, if it gets finished, LOL Thanks to everyone who replied with great advise :D P.S. We are back to nicer weather, no more snow flurries (knock on wood)

Hi R3D, I got my hands on a couple 16' 2 x 10's today so tomorrow I will give your idea a try. Thank goodness this wasn't MY idea incase it fails, LOL LOL (just kidding) :lol:

hahahaha....ohoh, the pressure is on! ;)

In theory it should work....but we have all done things that in theory should work only to see them fly all to hell before we are finished! HAHAHA

The weather has warmed up here for the last week, high seventies, so with luck it lasts awhile. Dropping to mid to low fifties during the night though, and a couple even into the 40's....brrrr..... <_<

well......we are waiting?????????????

Jeez, Chris, do ya think it is easy to get people to help a crazy lady build a shelter to keep her fish warm?? LOL LOL It should be done hopefully by Sunday Night! I promise a picture, but it may not be pretty :lol:

Now you've got me going..........if I put up a shelter I could sit in it and watch things ..............no, No, NO!

We all kinda sound like a self help group....."Hi my name is Chris and I addicted to my fish" LOL. We are thinking of ya KK keep us posted.

HaHaHa, you nailed that one! However I am thinking my family will have to pull an intervention soon and send me to "fishy rehab" to detox! My opening line would be "Hi, my name is Elaine and I am addicted to my fish....anyone wanna go out back and start building a pond"????????? Jeez, I hope they send me somewhere warmer :lol: :lol: :lol:

P.S. Hey Sharon......I think you DEFINATELY need a cover. LOL LOL!! Come on, join the insanity!!! I wish I could make mine bigger, but I am just going to cover the pond and that's it! Otherwise YES I would be out there in my parka poking around and bugging the poor fish for sure :D

COVER IS DONE..........MOSTLY. Now because I took the net off I am worried the fish will jump out. Does anyone know if they might do that?? I thought they might be feeling less frisky with the cooler weather. Do fish jump out of the pond? I know most people put on a net to keep things out but I do it to keep things in, LOL Uumm I have no idea how to get a picture on here, so I stuck them on my pittiful little pond page of pictures http://emobile02.googlepages.com/
I'm not sure if anyone cares enough to look, but they are there unless someone knows how to put one on here?? There is nothing on there but a couple of pond pictures :-)

Pretty cool, Elaine! Now you just need a platform at one end so you can be out of the wind. My guys haven't jumped out yet, but they do try and climb the rocks every once in a while!

Yes, I have to put some sort of platform in there. That will be this weeks project! :lol: I was thankful for the nice weather to work in today!

Looks great Elaine! One thing you will learn is us ponders NEVER miss a chance to see someone elses pond! hahaha

Now I can't be sure, but that looks an awful lot like a rum and coke in your hand in the last picture! You gotta share! :D

Derrick

You guys will be sorry you asked for pics!

The building of the yard!

Somehow I loaded them in reverse order so you see the yard 'unbuilding'. Last August's project.

Very nice! Do you charge admission??LOL

Is it a concrete base, or brick?

OMG Sharon, what a great yard you have! What a nice pond! I am very jealous :P I am adding another part to our deck in the Spring to the pond and am very excited about it. After seeing yours I am embarrassed I showed mine, LOL I know mine will be much nice next year, I was just glad to get done to the stage I did! Gives me something to dream about this winter........

Derrick, Oh Jeez! I didn't realize my pictures could be made bigger! Gross and there I was in my yard slumming clothes with a drink in my hand. And......yes of course it was a rum and coke :D !!!!! K well now I would like to see a picture of your pond too?????

Where are ya Chris? Can I see a picture of your pond too.....please?????

hahaha...my pond isn't much to see at the moment! It's just a puddle compared to everyone elses! :D

Ha Ha, ok well, I don't blame ya for not sharing, expecially since we all have seen Sharon's beautiful pond.....oh well we will all get there someday. I am going to go crazy this Spring on mine! One thing I learned about pictures is be careful what you post cause you might get caught looking your worst, LOL LOL I had to redo my page :P

WOW you did a great job and sharron that is great. KK I showed my husband yours and explained that is what I need right there and after that I will get him on the waterfall and stuff later LOL. Tomorrow I am taking pics of mine and I will get them up for ya. Mine is reaaalll small compared to yours. I also have a third acre pond that has fishing fish in it but I did put 2 koi and 2 grass carps and never saw them since. It is just to big and way to deep parts are 20 ft deep I am sure they will get huge in there it to is an all clay pond. One day after my new big pond I will try to catch them LOL that will have to be on video then sent to home videos I am sure I would win especially when the HUGE snapper in there comes after me. I wont have a drink in my hand I will have a hat on that hold two beers and straws LOL. you guys are funny.

Patio is stamped concrete, pond is just liner in the hole.

You guys are embarassing me now..........last year at the unveiling my neighbor commented that it was exactly how I described it to her..................12 years ago!

hahaha...yes, I tend to have a beer or two...or a few more on occassion...when doing my pond work. I will have to sit down and tell yall bout the story of why I got the pond, and the reason for it's off location. I will posy some picks too of the construction. I made it far harder on myself than I had to! hahaha

:lol: :D

I dont seem to have a pic of me working on the pond, so here is one of me doing my other passion (no, not THAT other passion!)...drumming!

Derrick

http://i190.photobucket.com/albums/z106/ro...er/Derrick1.jpg

Chris, that is cool that you also have a big clay pond like I do. I wish our creek didn't dry up every year :-( Yes, your Koi are probably in there and doing GREAT. When I first put mine in they were 3 inches long and I never saw them for 2 months. They will grow fast in all that space. I don't aerate mine, although I would like too. I think they do fine with all the surface space. I caught all the Koi out of there now (no small feat) all there is in there now is 3,000 babies that I can't get out and after I had to pump it down to 2 feet deep I doubt they will survive the winter :( I wish I never put goldfish in there cause gosh, do they ever reproduce. I am looking forward to seeing your pictures! Elaine

P.S. hahahahahahaha the beer hat and straws made me laugh out loud. That would be the perfect ponders set up. That way it would leave 2 hands for catching fish...........

Hey Derrick, cool picture of you and the drums. Odd combination of drums and ponds, lol, but I do ponds and motorcycles so I guess that is a funny one too :lol:
I don't think we ever get our first pond right. I wish so badly that I could have had a more natural looking one but I have 3 dogs so I had to have it raised to keep them out :angry: Bad enough they are in my big pond everyday stiring up the clay and making it mucky. The big fish are real interested in the swimming dogs and I don't know if they like them or not but they get right in under their legs and scare me to death. They are like torpedos when the dogs are in there. I want to figure out how to add a waterfall and stuff to my new pond. I just wish I could make up my mind on an idea and DO IT!