That is a shame, GB. Sadly, Murphy rules and stuff happens. I hope you can keep it from happening again. Sandy

Was able to finally get a # for Fish Mate. Instead of $200 for a new UV/Bio Filter, I am going to be able to buy a new housing for $29. (plus $10 for shippin).

Things are looking up.

That is a shame, GB. Sadly, Murphy rules and stuff happens. I hope you can keep it from happening again. Sandy

Sorry about that. I reloaded the page and didn't expect my message to be reposted. Glad things are looking up. Sandy

Another lesson learned - what a pump running dry sounds like. I'm sorry it happened to you though.

Happened to me when one of the dogs bumped a spitter so it 'spit' off to the side of the pond - only a few inches of water left by the time I noticed. Only had little gold fish and they survived, but my pump now sits on a brick.

Much worse having to deal with the problem in the winter with snow and ice. Hope your fish are still doing well.

S

Well, the death toll mounts. I noticed that one of my larger goldfish has floated to the top, and now is encased in about 1/4" of ice.

But I see the 2 koi, and 5 other goldfish lazily swimming around under the ice. So, perhaps it was just his time to go, and not indicitive of more death to come.

Hoping for spring!

The cold temperatures are causing problems that have not been seen in years.

Does a UV and Bio filter really do anything in a cold environment? I have a pump in the pond with some filter material to clean the water if it gets dirty, but the output water never leaves the pond.

Good luck.

I don't know if the bio portion does any good in the winter. I think it's probably too cold for the bacteria to be doing any good. However, come spring, they are still there, and I introduce powdered bacteria to jump start the cycle.

As for the filter, it must be doing something. I cleaned it in December when temps got into the 50's. It was pretty full of sludge, and the water clarity improved greatly after a cleaning.

For winter '09, I think I will disconnect my filter though. Last year I didn't have a problem, but don't want to have any problems again.

On a side note, I got some anti-choline stuff, and added it to my pond. Although I had only lost 1 GF, and 4 minnows, I didn't feel comfortable with untreated tap water in the pond. Unsure of how quickly it would have disappated in the cold with only a 5" hole to vent.

It's now frozen over completly, so I'm glad I added it yesterday. Fish probably like the extra slime anyways.

A couple of years ago I kept a 125 gal aquarium at 40F all winter with 7 6" koi in it. I fed these fish small amounts of regular koi food every day. The filter had no problem keeping up. At 40 the bacteria is still working and I would guess that it still works all the way down to 32F. But the colder it gets the slower it works. But does this mean leave your filter running all winter? No the bacteria that is living in the pond can and will keep up in a normal pond.
Mike

What a bad experience,but the knowledge makes you a stonger ponder....right? Sounds like you have it under control. Good thing you checked the pond that evening.

Regards,
Lisa

Sounds like the pond angels were watching over you while you went through this:) I had a pond drain earlier this season. Pumps running low are not a good sound. We use well water, so chlorine wasn't a problem. Seems like most of mine survived. Will have to wait until the spring thaw to find out for sure if they all lived.

Sorry to hear about your larger goldfish. It probably was its time. They are usually pretty tough fish.

A good lesson: leave some space between the bottom and the pump in case this happens. This is probably all that saved mine. Not sure how much area they had when mine drained since it was covered in ice, but it must have been below the intake of the pump since it quit pumping water. I am only hoping that the pump is okay now.

Good advice to check ponds often even in winter. You never know.

They sell detached activation devices for sump pumps. You plug one of these into an electrical outlet and then plug your pump into it. There is a part of this unit that goes in the water. You place it 8 inches below water level. If water drains out for any reason, this part goes dry and shuts off power to the pump. This has saved me a number of times.

Thats a good thought. However, in the spring, I'm going to reposition my pump. I'll be putting it on a brick platform. If this issue props up again, the pond will drain, but leave approximatly 10" of water in the bottom.