Originally Posted By: ewest
To northern pond owners. Will 5 feet in SE PA be deep enough to avoid winter kill ? Also with that being a possibility how will it effect your suggested carrying capacity and species selection?

MAW with the depth you stated you may have problems with winter kill . If so that possibility will reduce the suggested amount and type of fish that will do well. Let's see what some of your northern neighbors say.


If the pond is aerated correctly during the winter, yes, or I should say at least yes in my experience. I have had PS/FHM/Papershells survive in water that was barely as tall as a 5 gallon bucket under 8" of ice. I have also had RES survive in a 5' deep pond under 6" of ice. The deeper pond had winter aeration set up properly, the shallower one has one diffuser in the middle all year. That one is 1/20 acre.

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3/4 to 1 1/4 ac pond LMB, SMB, PS, BG, RES, CC, YP, Bardello BG, (RBT & Blue Tilapia - seasonal).