Originally Posted by MrsGumby
Do I need to keep open water in the winter? When there are fish, my family used to like to go I e fishing.

Also, aren’t the diffusers supposed to sit on the bottom of the pond? Or do I want them at different levels? We have muck build up on the bottom and lots of water meal and duck weed on the top.

Lastly, we love to go on paddle boat rides to see the fish. If we put pond dye in the pond, would we still be able to see them?

If the pond freezes over in the winter for more than a few weeks, 2" of milky ice and 2" of snow will stop sunlight transmission, effectively putting a stop to photosynthesis in the pond, and the O2 in the water will be slowly depleted by all the living organisms in the pond. How long that O2 level lasts varies so much from pond to pond that I cannot answer it. I have seen a winterkill in a 6' deep, 1 ac pond within 2 weeks after freezing over solid. (Windmill system, no wind and heavy cloud cover for 2 weeks, then the wind started back up and there were dead fish in the hole that opened up, and dead fish when the ice went off the pond.)

Diffusers for the summer are on the bottom in the deepest part of the pond. DIffusers for the winter are on the bottom (if possible) in 1/4 the total pond depth, where the open water will extend all the way to the shore so if something goes in, it won't have to crawl back up on top of the ice to get out.

The purpose of dyeing the pond is to minimize sunlight transmission, so being able to see the fish all depends on water clarity and the color of the fish. (I can see light colored Koi in a dyed pond at 3' water depth).


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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).