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    Thread: Houston temperature

    1. #1
      david pinder is offline Senior Member
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      Houston temperature

      Ok folks we down in Houston have never had to deal with 7 degree temps and freezing every nite for a week. What steps do I need to tell the people here to do. I know
      to keep a hole in the ice. Have told people to turn off their waterfalls have gotten a lot of resistance from people saying they have never turned theirs off.

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    2. #2
      One Poet's Garden's Avatar
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      11 degrees on Monday! Holy smokes! A lot of people are going to have their gardens wiped out.

      I had a garden there for a few years, and we had some cold snaps. But even so, the ponds never froze over: the ground stayed warm, and the cold temperatures passed quickly. If folks have a way to keep their water circulating, everything should be fine. As far as I can tell, it's only going to stay below freezing for about 36 hours, and that's not enough time for the ground to lose its heat.

      Funny story: I once flew from Houston (in the summer) to San Diego for a wedding. Everyone at the wedding complained about the humidity. In San Diego. Near the shore.

      I mention this because sometimes weather is relative. I imagine everyone in Texas thinks the sky is falling, but here in DC, we're jealous of your ten day forecast!

      Thanks,

      Bill

    3. #3
      david pinder is offline Senior Member
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      The temp will be 36 hrs of hard freeze but it will be freezing everynite for the whole week with temps never getting high enough to thaw anything. Now there saying 7 degrees it seems everytime Ive looked its getting worse



      Quote Originally Posted by Wlantry View Post
      11 degrees on Monday! Holy smokes! A lot of people are going to have their gardens wiped out.

      I had a garden there for a few years, and we had some cold snaps. But even so, the ponds never froze over: the ground stayed warm, and the cold temperatures passed quickly. If folks have a way to keep their water circulating, everything should be fine. As far as I can tell, it's only going to stay below freezing for about 36 hours, and that's not enough time for the ground to lose its heat.

      Funny story: I once flew from Houston (in the summer) to San Diego for a wedding. Everyone at the wedding complained about the humidity. In San Diego. Near the shore.

      I mention this because sometimes weather is relative. I imagine everyone in Texas thinks the sky is falling, but here in DC, we're jealous of your ten day forecast!

      Thanks,

      Bill

    4. #4
      delbert is offline Supporting Member
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      I haven’t had winter for a few years .
      Now I’m 3 days into a 10 day below freezing forecast,
      Monday night looking at 0 for a low

      Im keeping my ponds running I covered my filters and ponds with tarps . So far I’m good

    5. #5
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      David:

      Ask them to trust you at this point.

      At the very least mention Ice Dams and that their ponds could be drained by the pumps if this occurs.

      Koi that have never seen cold water below 40 will most likely lay over. They are extremely fragile if this happens. If turning the waterfall off can save a few degrees and prevent "super chilling" by just a few degrees it is worth it. There will be more than enough oxygen in the water for them to "breath' without a waterfall. Koi that have been effected by cold water may not show problems until later during Spring start up. Oh.... that's right you guys in Eastern TX really don't have this problem we call Aeromonas Alley. Or it only lasts a couple weeks where you are. But maybe mentioning that might get a couple of folks to listen.

    6. #6
      One Poet's Garden's Avatar
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      Quote Originally Posted by david pinder View Post
      Now there saying 7 degrees it seems everytime Ive looked its getting worse
      David,

      One thing I learned when living in your neck of the woods: I paid no attention to the local forecasters, much less the weather channel. None of then have editorial independence, and they often have economic agendas. It's NWS or bust. Here's one link: https://forecast.weather.gov I'm guessing that 12 degree monday night is going to start coming up.

      I got my koi pond through northwestern Pennsylvania winters by disconnecting my waterfall but keeping the pump running so the water kept turning over. It really is the best bet for folks, even if it's counter-intuitive. The ground warmth stored in all that gumbo is your friend!

      Thanks,

      Bill
      Last edited by One Poet's Garden; 02-13-2021 at 12:17 AM.

    7. #7
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      With so many variables, every situation is a little different, and strategies that will work for one pond may not work for another even when exposed to the same weather.

      Weather varies by how low the temperature goes, how long it is low, and the wind speed. All of this should be about the same for a geographical area. However, the wind factor is affected by the size of the waterfall/stream and whether they cover with a tarp and if the pond is placed where the house blocks the wind.

      Other pond design variations that can affect how well it holds up in a cold snap include pond size and depth, and whether it is all in-groud, partially above ground, or all above ground. Different filter designs and especially pump sizes can also be a factor.

      So results can differ even in the same yard. A small pond with a small pump may freeze up starting with where the water flows out of the pipe to the pond or waterfall. (I've had this happen more than once.) But a big pond with a big pump may have no problems.

      My large pond with large pumps may freeze over, then a sheet of ice will form over the waterfall, but the water keeps flowing underneath. I have not suffered losses or equipment damage to this point, but the next few days will be a big test. I worry that ice may start damming up the flow, re-routing water and draining the pond. So I plan to monitor closely. My system made it through -14 F in 2011. Though right now the lowest forecast is -8 F (much lower than the 10 F they were saying a few days ago), it is projected to stay well below freezing for another week, which could make it worse. So it is definitely a concern of mine.

    8. #8
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      I am very glad I'm not having to deal with such freaky weather! My heart goes out to all koikeepers dealing with a real winter.

    9. #9
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      .

      26 degrees. Ice rain falling. Ice covering every elevated surface. The deck, tree limbs, birdfeeders. We haven't seen 32 degrees since Thursday, we haven't seen 50 since a couple hours on February 5. Before that, it was January 21st. I had to sprinkle ice melt on the deck stairs to get down to the greenhouse.

      And yet the concrete landing at the bottom of the steps is wet. Not frozen. The garden paths are mostly long puddles of mud. It hasn't been cold enough for the ground, or the water on the ground, to freeze.

      Funny story: I had a little shotgun shack in the Heights. We were about to have a cold snap like the one predicted for Monday. I had heard stories of people saving their tropical plants by running their sprinklers all night, as if the ice that formed gave a little insulation to the stems. So I tried it.

      I woke up to a clear, cold, sunlight dawn. The light on all that ice made the garden look like a sparkling crystal palace. It illuminated bromeliad flowers sheathed in ice. One of the most beautiful things I've ever seen.

      And I did actually save a bunch of plants that way, although not the bromeliads. Alas!

      Thanks,

      Bill

    10. #10
      david pinder is offline Senior Member
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      Gonna shut everything down for 48 hrs except 2 100 wt bubblers more and more people here are coming around to shutting it down even some major pond builders are telling them
      to shut down.

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    11. #11
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      Cold here too ! 18 right now !OK. OK C
      But up the hill a piece !
      PURA VIDA
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      I doing good with the tarps so far no ice yet ,
      I kept my waterfalls running, I put foam board over the top then covered with plastic and a tarps
      Today I got a inch or so of snow on them . My low tonight is 9 tomorrow’s low is 1

      The snow is holding the tarps down good now , and should help with the wind chill

    13. #13
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      Best of luck to everyone for your koi & landscape plants.
      Nancy



      Koiphen 2013 Koi Person of the Year!

    14. #14
      kdh is offline Senior Member
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      Quote Originally Posted by delbert View Post
      I doing good with the tarps so far no ice yet ,
      I kept my waterfalls running, I put foam board over the top then covered with plastic and a tarps
      Today I got a inch or so of snow on them . My low tonight is 9 tomorrow’s low is 1

      The snow is holding the tarps down good now , and should help with the wind chill
      Im in Northwest AR Bella Vista. With windchill could reach 20- or possibly more.
      Last edited by kdh; 02-15-2021 at 07:02 AM.

    15. #15
      cottagefog is offline Senior Member
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      It is when you lose power in your area that will send pond owners into another dimension.

      Pipes, pumps and filters above ground will start to freeze and freeze fast at 7 degrees.

      I saw a video of an aquarium in someone's house in Texas that was frozen after they lost power!

      Good luck to Texas!

    16. #16
      Matt24's Avatar
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      Quote Originally Posted by Matt24 View Post
      ... My large pond with large pumps may freeze over, then a sheet of ice will form over the waterfall, but the water keeps flowing underneath. I have not suffered losses or equipment damage to this point, but the next few days will be a big test. I worry that ice may start damming up the flow, re-routing water and draining the pond. So I plan to monitor closely. My system made it through -14 F in 2011. Though right now the lowest forecast is -8 F (much lower than the 10 F they were saying a few days ago), it is projected to stay well below freezing for another week, which could make it worse. So it is definitely a concern of mine.
      Hope everybody is hangin' in there. Here is the ice sheet forming over the waterfall over the last 3 days. Now -2 F and falling.

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    17. #17
      delbert is offline Supporting Member
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      If I thought I could lose power to my pump , I don’t think I would of tried this .
      It just won’t end

    18. #18
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      It bottomed out at -13 F yesterday morning. The pumps kept flowing, thankfully. The waterfall didn't quite completely freeze over. It left a little hole for birds to drink. I got to worrying that ice would build up in the filters (basically 100 & 150 gallon tanks of media covered with tarps), block flow, and overflow. But they did not. It is still cold and covered with snow, but melting a little. Seems like the worst is passed. Hope y'all have all made it okay.

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    19. #19
      Matt24's Avatar
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      Quote Originally Posted by delbert View Post
      If I thought I could lose power to my pump , I don’t think I would of tried this .
      It just won’t end
      Should be a nice warming trend beginning Saturday. I'm hoping to get to see a little of the pond surface.

    20. #20
      delbert is offline Supporting Member
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      Quote Originally Posted by Matt24 View Post
      Should be a nice warming trend beginning Saturday. I'm hoping to get to see a little of the pond surface.

      This is are last real cold night . I’m liquid under the tarps & snow

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