If you reside in a temperate zone, fish from temperate zones can easily overwinter outside. On the other hand, tropical fish would die without a water heater. We will be looking at how you can keep cold water, temperate climate fish happy during a typical winter.

If you live in an area where winter is cold enough to create ice, you will have to bear this in mind when you construct your fish pond. How thick is ice normally in your region? In most cases, a ‘deep end’ of thirty to forty five inches should be sufficient, but you will have to get advice locally if you do not know the answer. A pet shop, a neighbour or the zoo can offer the required advice.

The other problem with winter and ice is that a layer of ice prevents noxious gases escaping and oxygen entering, as it would do in the normal course of events. Therefore, you will have to ensure that there is always a hole in the ice. However, smashing a hole will frighten the fish.

There are several ways by which this air hole can be kept open under mild freezing conditions:

Aerator: a bubbler, can be positioned in the pond. It has to be submerged, obviously, and it has to be fairly vigorous, so that the bubbles keep breaking the ice above it. If it is put in water that is too shallow, it can freeze up too, so that is a consideration to be borne in mind.

De-icer: a mild, floating heater. This kind of apparatus does not produce enough heat to threaten pond liners, but it is adequate to keep a small surface locale ice free under most weather conditions.

Water pump: a pump pumping water at force through the surface can keep a breathing hole in your pond, but only under fairly mild icy conditions. The pump must be placed in deep water or it could freeze solid.

Hoola-Hoop: if the weather is only mildly icy, a hoola-hoop with a round football floating in its centre can be successful at preventing ice forming within the hoop. The wind keeps the ball moving within the hoop and ice does not get a chance to develop.

This hole in the ice is critical. Your fish will be semi-dormant in the winter and you may not see them for months, but they still need to breathe and excrete and the gases that that and the plants give off need to be allowed to escape or they will poison the water and kill your fish.

At this time of the year it is extremely important not to over-feed. Fish build up layers of fat in the summer and live off that fat during their semi-hibernation in the winter, but they do eat occasionally. The only problem for you is that you will not know which days they decide to come up for a bite.

This is where the hoola-hoop can come in handy again. If you only feed within the hoola hoop, you can see how much food has been taken and how much has been left. Aspire to give no more than they will eat.

Owen Jones, the writer of this piece, writes on many subjects, but is now involved with water garden pumps. If you are interested in a Solar Powered Pond Pump, please go to our web site now for a great deal.

When considering how to make the perfect koi pond, you first have to think about where you are going to put the koi pond and what it will look like. These questions have two governing factors: where you would like it to go and where it should go for the good of the fish.

Size is a very critical factor, because the larger the pond, the less maintenance it will require and the better it will be for the fish. Fish tend to grow to a size that is comensurate with their environment up to their maximum size, but koi are large fish, so you should take that into account. The quantity of fish you would like is also a factor.

The first step is actually making your koi pond. This is not a tricky task, but it does have to be done properly, otherwise you will be fixing your pond for the rest of your life. Maintenance will be far more strenuous as well. So, you have two choices: either get in a professional or get a book on the subject. In fact, it is a good idea to get a book anyway.

If you are going to have the pond made for you, it is a good idea to get up to five estimates. Dismiss the top and bottom quotes and then either choose the lowest of the three or add them up, divide by three and select the one that is the nearest. This way you have selected a fair price. If you choose to go it alone, read your book of suggestions first.

Be aware that your pond and your kois’ future happiness, indeed their very lives, are in your hands alone. The builder may be a competent builder, but what does he know about fish ponds? The salesperson in the pet shop is trying to sell appliances, no matter how much they know about koi. You need to know how to make the perfect koi pond yourself.

If you are still stuck, you could pick a fish pond kit. These kits contain everything you need for different sizes of pond. This is because a lot has to do with the quantity of water in the pond. The pump that you have will need to recycle the total volume of pond water at least once a day, if not more frequently.

Once your pond has been dug out and the equipment has been installed, it is time to fill it up with water. You can use tap water, but you will need to use an additive in order to get rid of certain chemicals in the water (chlorine, for instance). Then you ought to let your pond water mature for a week, with or without the equipment running.

During this period, you can be reading up about koi carp. One thing to keep in mind is that koi breed quite readily in a good koi pond. They can also grow fairly large, so it is far better to understock rather than overstock your pond. It is also better to buy smallish koi, say about six inches long, and let the fish get on with growing and stocking your pond for you.

Buy your preliminary stock all in one go and all from one place, so that they will all be healthy (or not) and they will already ‘know each other’. After you have stocked your pond, always quarantine new fish for a week, so that you con contain diseases like koi herpes. Check the quality of your pond water on a weekly basis and rectify any imbalances immediately.

You will have to check up on feeding, because koi need to give different quantities of food for different times of the year. However, koi can be given treats like dogs and they can be trained to feed out of your hand in time, once you have learned how to make the perfect koi pond.

Owen Jones, the writer of this article, writes on many topics, but is at present concerned with the fish pond filter. If you are interested in a Solar Powered Pond Pump, please go to our web site now for a great deal.