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Showing results for tags 'winter'.
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So here is a brief account of what I did, when, and where. In the conservatory with the wrench... I live in Colorado Springs and one of my first fish acquisitions, before I fell down the "nerm hole", was 6 common/comet goldfish. I quickly realized they would need more space and I had been planning on making a small pond so this project commenced as Pond #2 (it was the second "pond" test). I purchased a 70 gal HDX storage tote and buried it half (or more) into the ground. I wrapped the unburied portion in emergency thermal blanket then filled in dirt around that. In the springs we get a lot of sun and melt off, the ground also doesn't freeze for too long or deep (relative to other areas). The thought was to use the ground to help trap thermal energy and the foil around the upper portion to potentially reflect any escaping heat (at that level) back into the water. I placed a smaller tote inside of it and used a power head to pump water into the bottom, through a bulkhead, and out the top through holes. I first constructed it in the fall and the gold fish spent their winter inside. The first winter top was a piece of double sided greenhouse placed upon it. At our coldest, around January or February, I found it was considerably frozen through on top but I was fairly certain it had not frozen completely. The goldfish were transported into the "pond" in the spring and when fall hit I constructed my second top using PVC and clear shower curtains. The A-frame structure was "double walled" in the hops that an air buffer would help better insulate. The top became covered in snow (hence the A-frame design) but I didn't get any ice until late January or early February. The Ice was quite thin and when I put in a pond de-icer (the smallest one I could find which was still relatively large) it actually warmed the water slightly and de-iced the entire surface. (better photo to follow) In the end I only had the de-icer in for a few weeks and the goldfish seem quite content. I am planning on building a larger pond this summer, using pond material, and will likely be recreating a similar (albeit nicer) top for the next winter. Hopefully this helps those in similar climates or helps to spark your imaginations. PS. The piece of wood in the corner is incase any critters fall in and need a place to crawl out. -
I just started a mini pond. I have two 17 gallon HDX tough bins from Home Depot in my kitchen. I got two to hopefully prevent bowing. I’m in Seattle so it’s been in the high 50s - mid-30s and rainy. I currently have cull neo shrimp, hitchhiker snails (ramshorn, bladder), and six medaka from the Co-op. I didn’t wanna shock them by putting them outside. I keep my house pretty cool but I leave the lid on overnight (just on top, not snapped on) to keep the heat in and prevent evaporation. I’m picking up some acrylic soon to use that instead of the lid. That way I can keep warmth in but let light through. I’ll keep a little crack of open space though to ensure some air flow. My plan is to bring the pond out on my porch when the air temp reaches at least 70 degrees high and 55 degrees low. I know the water volume isn’t that much but I’m hoping that the acrylic will help keep the heat from the sunshine in. Then from that point on, I’m hoping I can permanently leave the pond outside. It’s a Southern facing porch so lots of sunshine. I know medaka can survive pretty cold temps but I’m wondering if using a cold frame (like for gardening) on my porch would be helpful in the fall/winter. I have a raised porch (10 steps up if that matters) so it wouldn’t benefit from thermal heat from the ground. But I’m wondering if it would make a difference by helping to hold warmth from the sunshine and additional protection from the frost and occasional snow. The water in my tub is only 10 inches deep; the length is 27” and width is 18” so I’m not sure if that’s enough to prevent the ice from getting down to the fish. I saw that Ryo Watanabe recently posted a video showing one of his medaka ponds with an ice layer and it doesn’t look very deep but the fish were still moving. But I’m not sure how much below freezing the air temp was. -
This will be my first "winter" having fish tanks. I live in Florida, so we don't really get much of a winter, but we've had a longer than normal cold snap and I noticed last night that the water now smells strongly of chlorine, when it never has before. Last year was a pretty mild winter and I don't recall the water smelling like it does now. They only release water reports for the year prior, and it doesn't show chlorine/chloramine levels so I have no idea what level it normally is, so that's no help. My pH also went from 7.8 to 8.2. I do water changes every other week for all but one tank, but I'm worried the sudden change in water quality/parameters may cause issues. Will small, gradual water changes help? Should I change a smaller amount more frequently? -
Here in north TX we just had a temperature swing from 97 to 50 in about three days, and these kinds of swings are typical for the area. admittedly, I forgot this before switching our tank from room temp to tropical stock, and now I'm concerned about keeping the temperature stable throughout the winter months. my husband and I live in an apartment, so improving the insulation for the room the tank is in isn't possible, so what other ways can you insulate an aquarium? tips for power outage or travel would be helpful too.
