Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations Snow removal - how much is needed?

I searched the archives to learn about how important (or not) it is to remove snow from Northern ponds. Bill Cody posted he removes 20 to 30% of the surface area.

I would imagine like all things pond, there are a lot of variables and no hard and fast rule.
Some of my variables are: 2/3 acre pond 8' deep at deepest, most of it 6 to 7' deep. Pond is only 2 years old and not quite full. Embankment pond with no appreciable watershed runoff and no incoming stream. There are a couple of hundred fish up to 10" in size plus innumerable forage fish.

I shoveled off of the pond last Sunday and again today - maybe 20% of the surface. Last week it snowed 2" on Monday negating my work.

I would like opinion on if the oxygen levels will crash and fish will die if I do not shovel. There has been ice and several inches of snow (like 12" where it is not shoveled) for the last 2 weeks. Any generalities? - Like "If there is 4" of snow, little light will get through, and if that condition persists for 4 weeks, the fish will die".

I don't mind the exercise but I'm not sure I can keep up with it.

I ran a wire for an aerator but none installed. I would way prefer a balanced pond that did not need aeration for the fish to survive but I am guessing that is not a good plan.

AATW - You are correct there are a lot of variables. I thought I posted information about light transmission through ice and snow cover, but maybe I was mistaken.
Here is a gereralization:
1. Clear ice 5"-6" thick allows 85% of the light to pass through.
2. Cloudy ice 15" thick allows 10%-12% of the light to be transmitted into the water whereas 15" of clear ice allows approx 65-75% of light transmision.
3. A snow layer one inch thick blocks out 83%-90% of the light.
4. Snow 5" deep over 3" or more of clear ice blocks out almost all (98%-100%) the light.

The older your pond becomes the more likely it will experience winterkill due to oxygen shortages. This is because as ponds age they accumulate more organic sediments on the pond bottom. Organic sediments, incuding last seasons dead underwater vegetation, are responsible for consuming most of the oxygen during dark periods. Average water depth also plays a big role in winterkill. The deeper water has more volume to depth ratio and thus more dissolved oxygen has been stored before the ice formed.

Conditions with frequent snows on ice are frustrating for trying to keep some snow off the ice. Sometimes it seems like I am shoveling 4 or more times per week. It is how I get some excercise during winter. Pushing snow on the ice is not that difficult. Small patches of snow free ice are much better than no shoveling at all.

Cecil Baird has a small snow blower to assist him in snow removal. As I get older and weaker I am thinking of buying a small used hand operated walk behind snow blower. I have a John Deere lawn tractor with snow blower, but I will not take a chance of using it on the pond.

Thanks Bill. I talked with some folks at the Jones Fish booth at the Cleveland Home show on Friday. They said I had less to worry about with a new pond but did not make the connection to the decaying organic matter.

My ice appears cloudy to me. I don't know the thickness - did you check your thickness? Our weather must be close to the same so perhaps my ice thickness would be similar to yours. Or Cecil's _ Cecil did you measure ice thickness?

Any thoughts on amount of "dark time" it takes to be a threat to the oxygen users below the ice?

My ice thickness currently ranges from 5" to 6". My pond is sheltered and ice form later and leaves later than on ponds that are more exposed. Snow cover and increasing ice thickness are both insulators and slows ice formation.

Oxygen loss-consumption due to dark time is a progressive thing. I have measured DO on ponds that had been covered with 8"-10" of snow for 2.5 wks and DO was still good 8-9ppm. I would get nervous about oxygen loss after 3 wks of darkness and less than 10 ft of water. I think not enough DO testing has been done on various snow covered ponds to provide real good information on this topic.

The ice thickness on my main front pond is 9 inches. I didn't measure my back ponds but it appears to be the same. I blew snow off of the two back ponds that have fish today.

My front pond has snow on it, but no more than a couple of inches. And I am still catching fish near bottom so the D.O. must not be too bad. LOL The bad news is we are expecting a snow storm with up to 10 inches starting Tuesday A.M. I can assure you I will be blowing off snow after that.

Trust me a snow blower is much easier than shoveling!