Pond Pump

newfieannie · #1 05/06/07, 04:16 PM

okay folks, here goes! I had 70 or so speckled trout delivered to my pond yesterday. what I need to know is do they require a pump to keep them healthy? now,This is just a very small pond about 70x50 or so. I know my husband had big plans for this .cause I found the pump and all the pipes or hoses in the barn but the pump is so heavy I can't lift it and this all looks so complicated. isn't there a smaller pump that will serve the purpose. and does it go down in the pond or mounted on the 4x4 he has sunk in the middle.(and if not what do you suppose that is there for)? this pond is in the woods with large trees all around but lots of light can get through. grass is growing up through the pond on both ends. and other plants.( I guess this means it's not dead?) 2 gold fish have been living in there for a year without a pump. I want to continue on with what he started .but I need to downsize. will a simple pump suffice?.I have access to electricity all around the pond because he had lights strung around. sure ,I can do a search but I wouldn't get near the info I would get from the experts on here. thanks, Georgia.

fantasymaker · #2 05/06/07, 05:51 PM

water temp and oxegen levels are what coun,t spraying the water into the air should help increase the oxegen level and may help cool or heat the water depending on conditions.Evaparative cooling may help cool the pond even in temps above 55

fishhead · #3 05/06/07, 07:32 PM

How deep is your pond?

I have 7 acres of shallow commercial production ponds and I don't use any summer aeration even with the high feeding rate so unless you start dumping pounds and pounds of fish food in the pond my answer would be to skip the pump during the summer.

For my winter aeration (a must) I use compressed air piped to a 4' circle of soaker hose lying on the bottom of the pond. In one pond I use a submersible pump to push water to the surface.

Stay away from any pump that lifts the water above the surface. They are meant to be pretty and are not that effective plus they waste a lot of electricity.

If your pond gets direct sunlight for a few hours each day it should be fine in the summer. In the winter you can get by with a small submersible pump. That gets away from the hassle of freezing air line.

newfieannie · #4 05/06/07, 08:51 PM

5 or 6 ft. or so deep. and who knew I had to feed them fishhead? I thought they would find their own food. guess i do have a lot to learn yet. in any case you are a business and this is just pleasure for me unless I get to like it and dig more ponds.(smile) guess I'll have to go buy some fishfood. Georgia.

fishhead · #5 05/07/07, 08:22 AM

They will find their own feed but if you want faster growth you can feed artificial dry feed. Just don't overdo it. A pound per day should be safe.

5-6 feet should be plenty but you'll have to aerate in the winter OR you can always fish them out in the fall and restock in the spring. It will probably be cheaper to restock each spring than aerate. I could picture a nice family get together with the kids catching the dinner. If you feed them a little each day they will be easy to catch.

Vera · #6 05/07/07, 09:15 AM

Can't help with the pump question (Fishhead is the man for that kind of stuff), but I bet it'll turn into a great habitat over time

Don't go by the goldfish though, those things are indestructible unless you have ducks in there eating them. I think they could survive being frozen in sewer slush!

When you bought the trout, did the seller mention anything about their requirements? I always thought that trout need cold water, and either running (as in stream) or deep (as in lake)... but come to think of it, they stock them in fishing ponds in high-elevation Arizona too. Maybe they have pumps.

blue gecko · #7 05/07/07, 09:20 AM

Do you have the equivelant to our county extension office? They can be so helpful in all things rural. My mother has a catfish pond and uses a solar set up to aerate the water at night. Seems to work quite well. Anyway the pond guy from the extension office has been a huge help in evaluating the needs for her pond.

fishhead · #8 05/07/07, 09:31 AM

Ponds dug into the water table (like gravel pits) usually stay colder because they are connected to the groundwater. The deeper they are the colder they stay if you don't mix the water.

Vera is right trout definitely need cooler water. Summer aeration will warm the water by bringing bottom water to the air which is usually warmer.

Just don't go crazy on feeding and you should be able have a nice fishing pond.

newfieannie · #9 05/07/07, 12:37 PM

nope, no kids around to catch them. perhaps I will use them the winter and stock again next year

No, the seller didn't offer any info. i guess they figured if I was going to pay that much for a few little speckled trout then I would know how to care for them.

yes,there are people I could call but i prefer to come here. sometimes when men in authority are dealing with women they are a bunch of ****heads and I tend to say stuff.lots of stuff.!

It is good to know the gold fish are indestructible. note to self to buy lots more.

I do wish to thank all of you for your kindness in providing what I'm sure will be all the info i will need to get going. Georgia.

Maura · #10 05/07/07, 12:48 PM

The wind blowing across the pond should be enough to aerate the pond. Are there little ripples from the breeze? Call the county extension and ask if your pond is deep enough to overwinter the fish. It probably is.

newfieannie · #11 05/07/07, 01:33 PM

breeze? more like a gale! the farmer next to me has clear cut everything for miles to grow grass for sod and the wind seems to be always blowing up through the holler and across my pond. which is good cause it's the one place I can sit when the weather is really hot and be cool. Georgia.

fishhead · #12 05/07/07, 01:36 PM

I've overwintered fish in 12" of water (under 36" of ice) when the ice was very clear and we had no snow.

As long as sunlight can penetrate to the water dissolved oxygen isn't a problem. Some fish raisers plow the snow off their lakes to allow the sunlight to penetrate.

newfieannie · #13 05/07/07, 02:58 PM

oh well then, i might be able to overwinter in 6ft. at least a few just to try. the pond freezes like a rock and I could get down and push the snow off with a scoop. they are 8 inches now and they should be a nice size by next spring. or do they just burrow in the mud and just go dormant? no, that's flowers that do that I think. you did know I don't have a liner in this pond? Georgia.

lots of sunlight because my trees are poplars and the leaves are gone in the fall.

fishhead · #14 05/07/07, 03:50 PM

No I didn't know about the liner. Most ponds don't.

If you leave some and they get big enough they will eat the new ones. If it fits in their mouth it's food.

If you can find some amphipods they make excellent food for fish and are good to stock in the pond. They never need aeration.

newfieannie · #15 05/07/07, 05:01 PM

fishhead: you got to start talking in laymans terms.! dont anybody laugh but I had to search out Amphipods. oh sure, I knew Amphibian and by the way there's lots of frogs and salamanders etc.etc. in the pond.
so... amphipods are arthropods. 2 of the legs are both different(and even that sentence alone doesn't make sense to me.) "okay" says I " but you're no further ahead then when you started. " reading a lot more and it looks like they are a crustacean like shrimp, crabs,lobsters etc. but not exactly the same. phoned around. no problem . I can get lots. that's a job for next week.

thanks a lot fishhead. I'll leave you alone now. looks like I'm all set to go..
Georgia.