dave s

morning all
i am in my second year with a koi pond, now last year i left the pond as it was in the summer and the fish were fine no probs. but this year i lost a couple of fish and i put it down to the sudden drops in tempriture,we have a large lake very close and a number of carp died ther. now i have since been advised to cover the pond in the winter so the question is do i cover or dont i and if the answer is yes what is the best way of doing it.
dave

koimaster

i would say its dependent on depth of your pond 3ft of water will tend to fluc more than 6ft as the fish will go to the bottom where its less acceptable to temp changes the deeper the water the better [less it changes] i cover my pond every year thou as the past 2 winters have not kind on the koi keepers so much so i brought a heater but can afford to run it lol
have a look on e-bay for some bubble wrap its what i use and holds the temp stable i hope this helps

dave s

thanks for the advice
my pond at the deapesr is one meter
this bubble rap do i have to suspend it above the water or just lay it on the top
cheers
dave

koimaster

hi again lol
i lay it over the water surface leaving a gap for any gasses to escape

dave s

Thanks for that
now about water
i have been told not to mix tap water with rain water???
dave

koimaster

the only reason i see behind you being told this is the fact that to gather water via the rain to fill a big tub might take days in which time the water will go stagnant , and the fact it might be slightly high in acid

dave s

thanks for your help

koimaster

no problems chap i have noticed this forum is alittle dead and i run my own i basiclly glad to help