Pond life.

First thing to check is the Plant life in there , the Plants will happily Oxygenate the Water . If you are going to fit a pump then I would be inclined to spend the money on a good pump that filters well and provides UV filtration too for that larger Pond . These MAY not be necessary though . I`ve seen many ponds that had a nice balance to them because they did not have too many Fish in them and the Plant life could cope with it quite nicely . As the temperatures fall , the Fish will be inclined to eat less so I wouldn`t be too worried about going down there everyday and bunging food in there . When the temperature drops to around 8 degrees the Fish will stop feeding , it may even happen around 10 degrees . As the temperature drops even more the Fish will head for the bottom of the pond and for all intents and purposes , will hibernate for want of a better word . They will move around , but they wont patrol as much . If they do get hungry then they will rummage about for morsels . The danger you have with bunging food in there is that it doesn`t get eaten and stagnates and starts to produce Ammonia .

Ooh just remembered , you may be better off adding small amounts of Trace Elements over the Winter . Now is the time to learn your art Phil , as the problems will certainly arise more in the warmer months . Get yourself a Water testing kit as well to test for Nitrates and Nitrites , Ammonia and Ph .

Originally Posted by Jayneflakes

At this time of year, deep ponds can stratify into to two distinct layers of water. Oxygen rich and oxygen depleted. If this occurs you can get anaerobic bacteria in the sediments at the bottom which will cause the pond to give off hydrogen Sulphide, which stinks. As the bacteria build up they reduce O2 levels even more and the pond will effectively become stagnant and you can lose fish. To avoid this, get some oxygen in there ether by using pond plants or a pump. I studied this for my degree in 1996, is it sad that I can still remember the details?

Originally Posted by bluefishman

+ 1 on the pond plants, they produce oxygen

There are some plants in the ponds, thought there seems to be more in the smaller ponds that has the pump and filter!

Originally Posted by Richie

Cold temp freezes water... So I was learn't in Physic at Skoll

By simply placing some ramdonly scattered tennis balls into the water before it freezes one might add, one can remove them and get below the ice layer to feed fish if required.

every fancyed going to the local refuse collection tip/dump to retreave an old discarded fridge...
If the Bad cfc's have been removed then simply rip out that old compressor, (the majority of fridges / freezers are discarded due to cosmetics looks and not functionalaty) the compressor will pump air into you pond via some rubber hoses easy gained from an iron mongers or other suitable retail outlet.
they will also inflate tyres too.

hth's if not then Meh.

You are indeed wise, as my mum mentioned the tennis ball trick last night!

Not sure on the fridge pump idea, as it won't be waterproof and I'm not a fan of being electrocuted!

Originally Posted by xXBADGERXx

First thing to check is the Plant life in there , the Plants will happily Oxygenate the Water . If you are going to fit a pump then I would be inclined to spend the money on a good pump that filters well and provides UV filtration too for that larger Pond . These MAY not be necessary though . I`ve seen many ponds that had a nice balance to them because they did not have too many Fish in them and the Plant life could cope with it quite nicely . As the temperatures fall , the Fish will be inclined to eat less so I wouldn`t be too worried about going down there everyday and bunging food in there . When the temperature drops to around 8 degrees the Fish will stop feeding , it may even happen around 10 degrees . As the temperature drops even more the Fish will head for the bottom of the pond and for all intents and purposes , will hibernate for want of a better word . They will move around , but they wont patrol as much . If they do get hungry then they will rummage about for morsels . The danger you have with bunging food in there is that it doesn`t get eaten and stagnates and starts to produce Ammonia .

Ooh just remembered , you may be better off adding small amounts of Trace Elements over the Winter . Now is the time to learn your art Phil , as the problems will certainly arise more in the warmer months . Get yourself a Water testing kit as well to test for Nitrates and Nitrites , Ammonia and Ph .

Cheers bud, my dad mentioned the feeding stuff and oxygenation stuff last night.

What the hell are trace elements though?

How much am I looking at for a decent pump/filter/UV system, and what brands should I be looking at?

How often should I have the pumps on over winter and summer?

I will try to find a water testing kit this week.

Cheers for everybody's help.

Oh, I've just remembered.

I have a couple of waterproof switches outside, with wires coming out the bottom. One operates the pump/filter (I forget the name, but I will go and check) and the other doesn't appear to do a lot. I have traced the wire, and it appears to go under the water in the top pond. What the hell is this for???

Originally Posted by phil24_7

Cheers bud, my dad mentioned the feeding stuff and oxygenation stuff last night.

What the hell are trace elements though?

How much am I looking at for a decent pump/filter/UV system, and what brands should I be looking at?

How often should I have the pumps on over winter and summer?

I will try to find a water testing kit this week.

Cheers for everybody's help.

http://www.swelluk.com/pond/pond-fil...lters-600.html

That is a very good price on a UV clarifier and filter system . It doesn`t matter about filtration so much over the winter . You really need a hassle free pump to be honest . If it gets clogged you can actually run them dry and knacker them . A pressurised system like the one in the link will provide good movement of Water . In the summer months you will need to provide more filtration than in the winter .

Ok , Trace Elements . These are measured in teeny weeny amounts and are little essential minerals that your plants will need to replace in the water , happy plants , happy fish . In the wild , Koi will get all their trace elements from the snow melt that happens in Japan . The snow returns back to a liquid form and picks up all sorts of stuff on it`s way down through the soil and clay of the hillsides and it then runs into the Koi ponds . We have no such facility here and our water companies will remove a lot of these in their process . Some pond fertiliser tablets may have these in by the way so it is always worth asking your supplier when you get one .

Originally Posted by phil24_7

Oh, I've just remembered.

I have a couple of waterproof switches outside, with wires coming out the bottom. One operates the pump/filter (I forget the name, but I will go and check) and the other doesn't appear to do a lot. I have traced the wire, and it appears to go under the water in the top pond. What the hell is this for???

That could be for a seperate UV cleaner , you will switch it on and notice naff all happening . The cleaner is basically a UV bulb under water in a box with a coil of clear tubing around it . The pond water is fed through this coil and the water travels around the UV light , killing off certain bacteria . It is in a coil as this provides a longer time in the presence of UV light rather than just running past it in a straight line . I could be wrong though and it may not be attached to anything like that at all , so don`t take my word for it . Usually you can get into the pond and find something near the bottom of the deepest part that these will be wired to . SWITCH them OFF and UNPLUG them first , if your not sure then kill the power to the WHOLE house with the big OFF switch ...... even then I have heard stories of some pillock having wired things accidentally into a neighbours supply . Other things to check for are little patches of gravel next to ponds or even the obligatory gnome or potted plant , something electrical could be hidden underneath them for easy access .

I'll pop to a pond supplier this week and have a chat and purchase supplies.

The pump I have in the small pond at the mo is a Fish Mate, pressurised filter, 2500UV. The inlet tube comes from the bottom of the pond and the outlet goes to the underside of the water feature, this then trickles down back into the pond.

I guess I'll have to jump in the pond to find out what the heck I have in there already... That's gonna be cold!

I'll post up some pictures soon so you can see what your helping me with!

Ha, ha. The link you posted is for the filter I have in my small pond!

This surely means the power wire that goes into my pond, is not a UV filter, as that is built into the pump?!?

Could it be for oxygenating the water?

Originally Posted by phil24_7

Ha, ha. The link you posted is for the filter I have in my small pond!

This surely means the power wire that goes into my pond, is not a UV filter, as that is built into the pump?!?

Could it be for oxygenating the water?

Well there you go , that is a bit of a coincidence as I thought "He`s gonna have a fair amount to do so let`s see what would suit him best for the money" ..... lo and behold . The one I was gonna recommend was the one in the link but nearer the bottom as it shifts more water per hour . Not all Pumps come with a UV clarifier built in , that lead may have been for a waterfall pump or indeed it may have been for a UV filter and seperate pump and the original owner put a Fish Mate in or something . It could even have been for underwater lighting , the possibilities are long and boggling as to what that lead could have been for or IS being used for right now .