Koi Pond, and freezing point of water, please read carefully?

Question

I am building a Koi Pond. The problem is I live where it gets very cold (NY). Some days are around 30F--1F. As you know this can freeze my fish. I can not seem to figure out how deep the pond should be so that it don’t freeze them.
Please don’t just toss numbers at me because the deeper it is the more it cost, try to be technical with this.

Also if you have a supporting web sight that would be great.

Thank you every so much for your help, it really means a lot to me.

Answer 1

I live in the Rocky Mountains (borderline zone 4-5) and we usually have at least 30-45 days below freezing, and usually a week-10 days or more where it is below zero. I know your area has more humidity than we do, but I think temperatures should be comparable. We have a 3,000 gallon koi pond that we have had for the last 8 years, and this is what we do to successfully overwinter fish:

First of all, the pond itself has a "shallow" end and a "deep" end. The deep end is about three and a half feet deep, and is about ten feet in diameter. The shallow end is only two feet deep, and is about six feet in diameter.

We put in a horse/livestock trough heater to keep an area about three feet wide ice-free in the winter, and keep a bubbler re-circulating water just at the surface. This allows for the exchange of gasses to occur at the water's surface (if your pond freezes over the gasses will be trapped, your water will foul, and no oxygenation can occur). The bubbler keeps the water circulating. You want to be careful that you don't have the water from the bubbler exposed to the air for a long time, as in a water fall with a heavy flow. You can end up "super cooling" your water (signficantly dropping the temperature rapidly, which stresses your fish), as your water will actually often be warmer than the surrounding air temperature. You just want enough bubbling to break the surface of the water.

The only winter we've lost fish in the last 8 years was when our pond heater malfunctioned and it froze over (which is why we've gone to the livestock water trough heater - it's heavier duty).

There are also some winter preparation things you can do to increase the chances of survival for your fish that have to do with timing of fedding/stopping food, and medications, which I will be happy to share with you if you contact me through my profile (I hate to take up more space here - I've gone on long enough. That's what happens when you ask a fish geek a question on one of her favorite subjects!).

Ponding is a great hobby and I wish you the best of luck with your new venture. Hope this helps.

Answer 2

Make sure one of the hoses hasn't slipped and is pumping water out of your pond, sometimes that kind of leak is hard to see. You may have a hole in your liner, which you probably won't be able to find until spring. I would top it off, but be sure you use Aqua Safe or another brand that takes the chlorine/chloramine out of the water, that is quite a bit of water to replace. If it goes down again, you definitely have a leak. The water level should rise slightly as it freezes, but because it won't freeze all the way to the bottom, it won't be noticeable. If your pond is at least three feet deep at some point, koi really don't need a heater unless you are in Alaska or somewhere like that. They go down to the bottom and pretty much hibernate. My pond did evaporate some, I have a waterfall, and it went down about 4 inches, but I refilled it and the level hasn't changed since in a month.

Answer 3

Your best bet would be to consult with a local garden center that installs ponds near you for the correct depth since they'd be more familiar with your local conditions.

The general depth for a koi pond should be 3-4 feet, with a deeper well of around 5 feet to make sure it doesn't freeze completely solid (this can go as much as 6 feet in places with severe winters). The entire pond doesn't need to be that depth, just an area that can comfortable house all the koi at their adult size.

You might be able to get away with less depth by constructing a cold frame of wood an plastic sheeting/plexiglass over the pond to create a little "greenhouse effect", but I wouldn't use this to cut more than a foot off the recommended depth if you would make one.

Answer 4

A koi pond should also be larger because koi get large despite the size of the pond, it is recommended that a koi pond be not smaller than 1000 gallons in volume, the bigger it is the better. It also needs to have an area of the pond at least 3 feet deep, 4 - 5 may be better.

Answer 5

What will be important is to have one area in the pond large enough to hold all of your fish (plan for adult size) that is deep enough not to freeze in the coldest part of the year. Certainly not all of the pond needs to be this deep. This is called digging a deep well in the pond.

The average deepest freeze depth in NY state is almost 4.5 feet deep. You should allow 14-16" more for a safety margin and for fish movement. So a reasonable deep well for your pond will be 6'.

Remember that Koi get quite large and will require adequate space to move around in the well, so for several adults the well may need to be most of the pond bottom at 4-5' across.

Sorry, I have no ready online reference but instead used Textbooks. If I can be of further assistance, feel free to email me.

MM

Answer 6

I live in Illinois,about the same latitude as St.Louis. In this area a freeze proof pond has to be about 4' deep. Our temperature sometimes gets colder than the numbers you mention. Get local advice for the most reliable figures. A call to a local garden center that does water-scaping should be a good starting point,I'd try several different sources. A clue would be to find out how deep cities in your locale bury water lines. Here it's 3'.

Answer 7

Make sure the pond is at least a foot deep ... and don't worry if the fish 'freeze' because Koi can actually keep the water from 'freezing solid' ... that's why they are used in cattle fields in the winter to keep the water as water and not ice so the cattle can 'drink' ...

Answer 8

If you are planning to start on your woodworking project, this isn't something you should use, it's something that you would be insane not to. Go here https://tr.im/GCaXc
Truth is, I've been a carpenter for almost 36 years, and I haven't found anything like this for less than 10's of thousands of dollars.

Answer 9

koi can live in froze ponds, and have done till now
may i suggest 4ft deep, when its start to freeze over, put in a tennis ball ,so you have hole to let in fresh air,

Answer 10

Hopefully your recirculating the water to keep it fresh. That in itself should keep it from freezing, The other thing you can do is add a plain old aquarium heater to the stream.