Just how cold can it get?

[blacksmith37]

I have a story (actually a lot of them); don't know if it goes here or off topic.
In Chicago area ,in the late 70's (when we had global cooling), I had a large above ground pool (for kids , not fish). It was 38' X 16' X 4'. Febuaury, it is naturally covered with ice. One morning , I am looking at it (from the warm house) and it looks like the ice is not level ; that must be an optical illusion ! Later in the yard I look again , and the ice is not level. I had a 38 X16 X 4 ice cube. One end was melting slightly faster and made it unlevel. The vinyl liner was shattered.

[eddie]

you have nothing to worry about from cold weather and koi or goldfish . i would woorry more about over feeding and bringing the pond through the winter.you did not say how big your pond is or how deep. most pepole do`nt feed at all when water temps get below 50 degs and they shut down there filters fothe winter.this is our 4th year to sell koi and goldfish.
5 to 6 in or larger koi have no problems,but last winer i wintered 500 to 6002 to3 inch ones those babies need to be feed. also get on the usaaka web site and read up. alsoa little history koi have been known to freeze and thaw in the spring. (cyrogenics)

[imagirlgeek]

you have nothing to worry about from cold weather and koi or goldfish . i would woorry more about over feeding and bringing the pond through the winter.you did not say how big your pond is or how deep. most pepole do`nt feed at all when water temps get below 50 degs and they shut down there filters fothe winter.this is our 4th year to sell koi and goldfish.
5 to 6 in or larger koi have no problems,but last winer i wintered 500 to 6002 to3 inch ones those babies need to be feed. also get on the usaaka web site and read up. alsoa little history koi have been known to freeze and thaw in the spring. (cyrogenics)

Thank you for the info. Our pond is small, only about 450 gallons, and about 3 ft. at it's deepest. We run our filter 24/7/365.

Thank you for the great information! That little nugget about cryogenics blows my mind!

[pt lavell]

fed mine 3 times in the last 2 days. very small amounts of low protein wheatgerm & snow peas.

[eddie]

one thing i forgot to mention earler and one thing you haveto remember is wind chill factor.if it is 29 degs outside and a wind chill of 10 degs and your filter or waterfall is running your pond water is 10 degs.

[pt lavell]

one thing i forgot to mention earler and one thing you haveto remember is wind chill factor.if it is 29 degs outside and a wind chill of 10 degs and your filter or waterfall is running your pond water is 10 degs.

Hopefully it won't get that cold......If it does I can turn on my secondary pump which pulls water from approx 6" from the top of the water line. I can bypass the biofilter/UV light as well. Right now our pond is 69f and we just hand fed the koi. They were really eating up alot and sucking our fingers for more.

On a secondary note: My wife is wanting to convert our pool next year. That's a huge project. Just when I thought I could relax and enjoy the backyard with a cold beer.

[pt lavell]

KOI Pond water temp is dropping fast, no ice on it yet...... There's a sheet of ice on our smaller Comet pond and it's suppose to get even colder! The KOI are acting weird, even have flashed a couple of times and all water perimeters are good. No feeding but now I feel we should have main lined a spa heater to keep the water temps stable. Anybody noticing strange behavior from their fish?

[pt lavell]

big pond is 47f, just poured some warm water to break the small sheet of ice on the smaller comet pond. they are still alive.....

[MasterHuang]

my 3 big 15 inches pleco didnt make it...........i hate cold weather

[pt lavell]

my 3 big 15 inches pleco didnt make it...........i hate cold weather

WHAT!! How deep is your pond?? I have 3 as well that are about that same size and now I am really concerned.

[MasterHuang]

my pond is close to 4 fts deep..........

[pt lavell]

Oh no,............ Can you please tell me if they float or did you see them on the bottom?? This is very important for me because we have big rock caverns in our pond and I have not seen our plecos for almost 3 months!!!

[MasterHuang]

they will stay at the bottom, normally at the coner......

[pt lavell]

just got home and found 1 on the bottom with all the koi nibbling it's fins. saw another hanging out in the center of the pond for the first time in 3 months. going out right now and main lining the pump with a spa heater.

[blacksmith37]

Now I am getting concerned :this global warming just won't stop ! The pond is 54F (with 250 watts and cover), the "fish room" (on garage) is 58F, need to check "greenhouse " next. And the COLD weather is just now coming .
I saw some danios in the pond around Christmas, but they are not going to like this .