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SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
Ken Embleton and Justin Hazenberg have an additional task when going about their autumn yard work - emptying their outdoor fish ponds in preparation for the winter months.

Justin and Jennifer Hazenberg built a 680-litre aquaponic system in the front yard of their 49 Street house last year. This system combines a fish pond system with hydroponics - growing plants in water. - Katherine Hudson/NNSL photo

Embleton purchased the water fountain that sits outside Embleton House Bed and Breakfast on 52 Avenue three years ago.

The pink concrete is stained green from the copious amounts of algae from this past summer season, partly due to the warm weather and partly due to a malfunctioning bulb in the filtration system which kills the tiny organisms, that needed to be replaced. He said a pressure wash will do the trick.

The fountain is empty of the 30 to 50 goldfish and koi it usually houses. Embleton emptied it last week, later than usual due to the prolonged fall season.

A friend of his has indoor aquariums and winters the fish until the fountain is cleared of snow and snow mold in May, which is then refilled with fresh water and set up for another season. The fish are transported to and from the fountain in 20-litre pails, said Embleton.

"There are some chemicals you can put in to neutralize it but if you just let it sit for a few days before you put them in then you're usually OK," he said.

The two species are hardy. Goldfish can live under a surface of ice if they have at least 12 to 16 inches of water to swim in.

"We have a couple of koi. One we've had for like three years, it's probably 15 to 18 inches long. The others are goldfish and they started out about an inch and a half or so and some of them are up to six inches now," said Embleton.

"The cold doesn't seem to bother them, but you have to be able to circulate the water."

Once the fountain is cleaned, it will sit empty for about eight months until Embleton cleans it out and refills it with fresh water. The water is not heated, he said, but there is a filtration system and a pump. "It's a fair bit of upkeep when you think about it," he said.

Water flows over the three layers of the fountain and splashes into the large tub at the base where the fish live. The fish eat regular fish food as well as bugs that land on the water's surface, said Embleton.

Just down the road, on 49 Street, large orange koi and speckled goldfish were still slowly swimming at the bottom of a pond in the front yard of the house of Justin and Jennifer Hazenberg on Monday. Due to a generous fall season, the fish have stayed in the front yard longer than usual. Justin said he usually takes the fish out in September.

The Hazenbergs developed the 680-litre earthen, plastic-lined fish pond due to their front yard constantly flooding because 49 Street is higher than the property line.

"Three or four years ago, I dug it for drainage," said Justin.

"We'd always have a big lake in the front yard."

The pair are both engineers. Justin works with water treatment systems, while Jennifer specializes in waste water.

At first, the water and snow would accumulate throughout the winter and, every spring, Justin would pump it out of his yard. He then bought goldfish to live in the pond to help keep the mosquito population down.

Now, he has about 15 goldfish, seven koi and a garden of Swiss chard, strawberries and tomatoes all thriving through aquaponics - a concept that integrates growing fish and vegetables together.The fish produce ammonia as waste and, as the water pumps through the system, bacteria convert the ammonia to nitrites, which is then broken down to nitrates - a more inert form of nitrogen which "plants love," according to Justin.

The water is then cleansed and circulated back to the pond.

The plants sit on a packed gravel bed above the pond and the water is filtered up and back to the pond electronically. The water is heated by a solar water heater.

"The key is to have lots of aeration, with the pump going and lots of biofilter," said Justin.

Justin also installed a ultraviolet clarifier which kills the algae, keeping the fish environment clean.

The Hazenbergs own a large ActionPacker container which Justin has converted into an indoor pond to keep the fish during the winter.

Once the spring comes, the aquaponic system will start all over again, attracting more curious onlookers.

"People stop and look all the time. It's kind of cool, especially the kids. You look out the window and there's a whole bunch of kids peeking in," said Justin.

The interest in fish ponds runs in the family, apparently. Justin helped build a pond for his parents when they lived in Fort Smith a few years ago. Now, they have a pond on Rivett Crescent in Yellowknife.

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