Facts
Facts
WPS has had five pond tours and there are some basic questions that are asked every year. We will try to answer them to the best of our ability! (Again, we are in Central Texas, Zone 8 and some of these answers do not apply for areas in the Northern states.)
| What do you do with your fish in the winter? | In Central Texas you just
leave your fish in the ponds. Make sure to keep the
filter running so that if we should have a hard freeze,
the pond will not freeze solid. The flowing of the
water through a filter, stream, waterfall or other water
feature will keep a hole in the ice allowing the gases
that could kill the fish to escape. Should you
loose electrical power and your pond freezes solid,
simply boil water in a large saucepan and place the pan
on the ice near the return of your water feature until it
melts through. Then remove the saucepan. It
may be necessary to do this several times a day until
your electricity comes back on. This process allows
the gases to escape the pond. Stop feeding your fish when the pond temperature constantly is below 50 degrees. They can not digest food well at temperatures below 50. They will nibble on algae in the pond if they get hungry. Don't worry, they will be fine. |
| What do you do with your plants for the winter? | After the first frost cut the leaves off the lilies to the crown. Then lower the lilies to the deepest part of the the pond to over winter there. For the lotus and marginal or bog plants, you can trim T the leaves off or leave them for a dry arrangement look until spring and then remove the spent leaves. When you cut back your lotus leaves, trim the stem off above the water level so that water doesn't get inside the tubular stem. If it does it could root the lotus tuber from the inside out. |
| Do I need a pump for my pond? | Only if you want water movement. It is possible to have a pond without a filter or a pump but you will need lots of plants to provide surface coverage for shading the pond so that your fish don't boil in this Texas heat! Just keep the bottom clean by manually removing debris at least once a year but preferably twice (spring and fall). |
| How big of pump do I need for my pond? | A pump large enough to
turn the total volume of water over every hour. You
can use a larger pump but you shouldn't use a smaller
one. If you want a large waterfall, divide the flow
from the pump to the waterfall and to your filter.
(Don't flush all your pond water through your filter
every hour. The filter will not function properly
if you do. Biological filters only need about 10%
of the pond volume running through it every hour to allow
the bacteria to build. 2000 gallon pond would need at least a 2000 gallon per hour pump with 200 gallons an hour running through the biological filter and the rest running through some other water feature such as a waterfall, stream or spitters. |
| How do you figure pond volume? | Multiply the longest width
x the longest length x the average depth all in feet x
7.5. Example: 10' x 20' x 2.5' x 7.5 = 3750 gallons If you want to get a more accurate measurement use the average dimensions: Example (same as above with average measurements: 8.75 x 18 x 2.25 x 7.5 = 2657.8 gallons |
| How do you get your pond water so clear? | Bio/Veggie Filtration. Click link for more info on bio/veggie filtration. |
| What types of chemicals do you use in your pond? | I do not use any chemicals since I have added my auto refillers but before then the only chemical I added was dechlorinator to remove the chlorine and chloramines from the local water source. With a properly installed pond, chemicals are not necessary and can actually do more harm than good. |
| Can I put Plecostomus (Pleco for short) in my pond? | Yes, but they will not over winter in the pond. You can catch them easiest at night by netting them while shinning a bright light on them. You have to be quick though. Move them inside to an aquarium or trade them in at North Waco Tropical Fish. You must do this before the pond water temperature drops below 70 degrees to ensure they maintain good health. Be sure to place them in pond water and acclimate them to the new water environment. |
| What is the proper way to add fish to my pond? | When you get new fish they will be in some type of container. You need to let the container float on the pond in the shade for at least 15 minutes. If the container is large, then increase the time. I like to add a cup full of pond water every 10 minutes while the container is floating. In this way, you are not only acclimating your new fish to the water temperature but also your ponds water chemistry. After the container is full and will not float any more, use a net to catch the fish and place them gently into the pond. Do not put the water from the container into the pond. Instead pour it on some of your land plants |
| What kind of snails are good for ponds? | Japanese trapdoor snails are good. They do a good job at cleaning, do not reproduce abundantly because they are live bearers not egg layers* and are interesting little creatures. *Egg layers produce thousands of snails a year and can rapidly take over your pond. |