Outdoor Pond --- what to do with my KOI???
 

:question: Hello everyone. This may sound silly but I'm just wondering if there are any reefers out there who also have outdoor ponds?? I've been stressing about what to do with my KOI's now that winter is approaching. Has anyone left theirs outside all winter? If so, what type of heater/deicer did you use? How deep does your pond have to be for the fish to survive our harsh Canadian winter? Or would you advocate bringing the fish indoors (which I'm not too crazy about since I really don't have the space for another aquarium)?

My pond is about 1000+ gallons - approximately 24 inches deep and most of my fish are 4" - 8" (although my biggest one is about 10").

Any advice is appreciated.

Cheers

I think as long as your pond runs below the frost line, you can leave them in. Unfortunately 24" isn't below the frost line.

I know of a few people up here who keep winter koi in their pond... and you don't need to live here to know that it gets colder here than Calgary. Like reef_raf said, as long as your pond is deep enough under the frost line and you have enough circulation, your koi should be ok... unfortunately, I have to agree with the fact that 2 feet isn't enough. I believe one of the people here told me that his pond is 4-5 feet deep. Another option you can consider is buying a kiddie pool and putting your fish and plants in there. A couple of flourescent lights should be enough to keep your plants alive until the thaw comes again.

HTH
-Richer

as the others said, you will need to bring them inside, way too shallow! My current pond is 4' deep and I bring mine in for the mild kelowna winters

Go to the UFA and get a horse Trough heater ... it just floats on the surface and does not allow it to freeze up. Good even for Edmonton winters :razz:

Steve is that what you use? What is the cost like to run one of those heaters?

What about building a plywood tank in the garage? There's an article in the latest AFM that talks a bit about this dilemma and an include a bit of a how-to for a plywood holding tank.

I dunno, it's just a thought...

Rossb just built himself a 4'X4' indoor pond to overwinter his goldfish, and they are former feeders, not even Koi. It all depends on how much you value your critters. :biggrin: :eek:

Hey Tony ... I dont know what the cost to run is ( never stopped to figure it out ) but it works and I dont have to spend any time/money on a holding tank ( which I would have to drop a heater in as well ) as my garage is not heated ... I figure not having to move them and just dropping a trough heater in is a simple and effective solution with minimum amount of hassle.

I have a 60 gallon tank that I winter my pond fish in. My pond is too shallow as well to keep overwinter. The tank sits in my breakfast nook, and its kind of nice having the fish there to watch during the winter months. I don't have any koi though, just pond comets. My pond is a bit small to keep koi as they mature. I just run the tank on a Fluval 403 filter and a small air pump. Has kept them alive for 4 winters that way. I even built a new stand for it last year so it looks a bit nicer now.

What's the evaporation like in a heated outdoor pond given our relative humidity at "negative 10%" in the wintertime? Do you drop in buckets of water or do occasional water changes? (I don't have a pond so I actually have no idea how you guys do it?)