vich Posted September 27, 2007 Report Share Posted September 27, 2007 i have 4 - 6 - 8 inch fish that i cant leave in the small preformed pond i have them in. I was thinking to get a 50 gallon rain barrel and put them in a unheated garage with an airstone. Will this work? Is 50 gallons enough? thanks vic Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bosshog Posted September 27, 2007 Report Share Posted September 27, 2007 Don't see why it wouldn't. Don't feed them much if at all, when they are really cold they won't eat much and it just pollutes the water. How did you make out with the barley straw? Brad Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sam Chicklets Posted September 28, 2007 Report Share Posted September 28, 2007 An unheated garage will be around the same temp as outside. The barrel will have all surface areas around it top bottom and sides exposed to the ambient temperature that will cause it to freeze solid. This is not a good idea unless you plan on heating the barrel as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bosshog Posted September 28, 2007 Report Share Posted September 28, 2007 OOPs missed the unheated part. I wouldn't go that route either. Brad Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Qattarra Posted September 28, 2007 Report Share Posted September 28, 2007 (edited) Do you have a cold room? Maybe something uninsulated under the front steps usually? It is my understanding that gold fish and koi go through a dormancy where they don't eat for many weeks at a time. When I first moved to my current home, my goldfish tank got placed in the basement , out of the way , while we settled in . Shame on me , but I forgot about them for 3 MONTHS! When I remembered them and took the unopened boxes off their tank , there was maybe 6 inches of water left. I moved the tank upstairs , topped off with fresh treated water and started to feed them . Every last one of them was fine. They all lived for the next 3 years until I gave them away. Edited September 28, 2007 by Qattarra Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vich Posted September 28, 2007 Author Report Share Posted September 28, 2007 How did you make out with the barley straw?Brad Worked great. found some at tlfs and threw it in. algae disappeared and never came back. I do want to make the pond a little bigger though. vic Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vich Posted September 28, 2007 Author Report Share Posted September 28, 2007 Do you have a cold room? Maybe something uninsulated under the front steps usually? ``````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````` well i do have a unfinished basement but I thought it would not be cold enough. The fish are plenty fat, I didnt feed them all that much and they are huge, must have been bugs and what not. I am planning on renovating the basement this winter so I kinda wanted them out in the garage. vic Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vallisneria Posted September 28, 2007 Report Share Posted September 28, 2007 Couldn't you just throw a aquarium heater in the 50g if it was in the garage to keep it from getting too cold. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snaggle Posted September 28, 2007 Report Share Posted September 28, 2007 Couldn't you just throw a aquarium heater in the 50g if it was in the garage to keep it from getting too cold. you would need to have a very large heater to heat it with out insulation if you get 2-4" of foam insulation and rap the barrel it should be fine with a couple 300w heater on on the bottom and one in the middle. I would also add a small power head and a sponge filter just to keep the water moving and clean. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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