[MWG] Today's Pond Q&A
------------------------------- Today's Pond Q&A In this issue: - WHAT SIZE PUMP DO I NEED AND WHAT ABOUT UNDERLAYMENT FOR A LINER? - OVERWINTERING GOLDFISH IN CANADA - WILL THE BABIES MAKE IT? ----------------------------- Question> Hello Carolyn, I am getting ready to install a new pond and I am trying to figure out what size pump I need. I am going to have two different pools, a lower one and higher one. The lower one is going to be about 3,000 gallons and the top one (approx. 600 gal) will have a waterfall 2' wide, that flows directly into the bottom one. What size pump do I need? Another question, I have heard that an old piece of carpet works fine for a underlayment for the liner. Is this true or will it eventually start molding and smelling? Thanks - John _/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/ Pond Filters, Pumps, UV's and More... Discount Prices at Our Online Store! http://www.macarthurwatergardens.com _/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/ Answer> Hi, Gail, The old belief was that you should use old carpet or newspaper for underlayment before putting down the liner, but since then we found it has attracted rodents and other pests. That led to holes bitten or dug into the liner! So, my advice on that is to rake and clear the ground well and forget about the old carpet. There are companies that make underlayment for liners which are not rodent-attractors. As for the pump, you didn't say how much higher the head pond will be so I can't give you anything like exact sizing for pumps, but look for one that will turn over 2,000-3,000 gallons an hour. You will want to find a pump that runs on the least amount of electricity for the most power so check the amperage. Did you look at MacArthur Water Gardens website? Plenty of pumps to choose from there. The secret is to combine the two ponds and figure on turning over the entire water once an hour. If you are planning on stocking with koi, think about getting the next size (bigger) pump and filter. Better safe than sorry! Did I mention that the water from the bottom pond should feed the top pond? - Carolyn == Question> I also live in Canada and have found that we need a depth of 24 inches in order for the fish to survive. My question is will this years' baby goldfish survive. It seems my mature ones were very prolific and I now have at least 40 little fry swimming around right now. - Susan == Answer> As if in answer to Susan, this just came in from Brian: I can help you out on this one. Yes they will over winter just fine if she does the correct preparation. I take 2" Styrofoam SM and cut the edges to the shape of the shore of my pond. Then I lay it on top of the water leaving an opening in it for the pond heater of about 20" across. The hole is larger than the heater. I then install an aquarium bubbler into the water, fairly high up, to help gas off any ammonia. By laying the Styrofoam SM on top of the water, it helps keep the power bill down, as I am not trying to heat the world, only the pond. I have done this for 5 or more years now and it works absolutely fantastic and I have as many as 15 to 20 goldfish in my pond of all ages.. Don't feed the fish, keep the heater and bubbler going and your little friends will be just fine in the spring. In NB they get a lot more snow than we do, so the frost line won't be near as deep as ours in Alberta. I even heat the smaller shallow side of the pond with only a trouble light placed in a small Rubbermaid tub with pea gravel in the bottom to help it sink into the water, the pea gravel also absorbs heat from the light bulb and makes a more consistent heat transfer.. There you have it, some more ideas. Tell Phyllis to make absolute sure that the opening at the top stays open, they can get huge amounts of snow there. The snow will help insulate, but may also cause the hole in the top of the pond to close over. Happy winterizing. Brian Champion, Alberta Note: Thank you, Brian, and all who responded to the Overwintering in Canada article! - Carolyn == Happy Pondkeeping! Brett Fogle MacArthur Water Gardens www.macarthurwatergardens.com © MacArthur Water Gardens 1698 SW 16th ST Boca Raton, FL 33486 -=-=-=-=-=-=-=- This email is never sent without permission. You (or someone using your email address) bought something from MacArthur Water Gardens, or signed up for our newsletter, affiliate program, mini-course or requested a fr^e report.. The information we have on file is Your name: Friend Your email: If you wish to be removed from this list, simply click once on the link below.
Message Added: September 29th, 2005 at 1:00 pm
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