wintering
 

What you need to find out, or make a good guess at, is if your pond will freeze
solid. That's not good...
You can *bring* your pond indoors in a stock tank, into a garage, basement or
covered porch. You can get really carried away and build an indoor pond. (This
usually takes some careful negociating with the spouse.)
Can you give us an idea of exactly where you live? A ponder from that area can
give you more exact information.
Here is just a standard winter care checklist. It will give you an idea of what
to expect.

Winter Pond Check List

Tropicals should be removed and wintered over indoors or discarded.

After the first good frost trim up as much dead foligage as you can.

Remove leaves as they blow into the pond or spread nets over the pond to catch
them (anchor securely). Do not let netted leaves dip into the pond.

Stop feeding fish when the water temperature reaches about 55 degrees

Choose a method to keep a hole open in the ice.
This allows for gases from decomposing plant and fish waste to escape and
oxygen to enter the pond.

A luft pump with an airstone works well and seems to be the most energy
efficient method.

De-icers float on the surface and switch on when the water gets cold enough to
form ice.

The pump can be raised off the bottom and the flow directed up to the surface
of the water.

If the pump is turned off remove the pump, clean it and store it for the
winter.

Turn off the filter at about 40 degree water temperature, clean it and have it
ready to go in the spring. Never turn on a filter that has been sitting over
the winter without cleaning it first - noxious dead bio bugs will enter the
pond

Ponders in the really frozen zones bring in their fish (the depth of your pond
is an important factor).
A large stock tank is a wise investment. Add oxygen with a bubbler and net the
tank to prevent fish from jumping out. Do not feed the fish if the water
temperature is below 55 degrees. If the water is warmer a filter will be needed
for fish that are fed over the winter.
(A stock tank is also handy for quarantining new fish before adding them to
your pond.)

A winter pond can be very pretty and enjoyable if you are prepared.

Fussing around the pond in 2 degree weather is *not* fun, been there, done
that.


k30a
and the watergardening labradors
http://www.geocities.com/watergarden...dors/home.html

wintering
 

Turn off the filter at about 40 degree water temperature, clean it and
have it
ready to go in the spring. Never turn on a filter that has been sitting
over
the winter without cleaning it first - noxious dead bio bugs will enter
the
pond


This will be my first winter for my pond too, and my first winter living in
this area, so I am not sure exactly what to expect. I forget which zone I
am in, but I am on the Western Slope of Colorado, so we experience some snow
and cold, but generally nothing extreme. But I plan on keeping my pump and
fountain going. I use a Skippy Filter in a pre-formed 1/2 barrel liner.

Should I disconnect my filter for the winter, or keep it running? I was
planning to keep it, until I read the statement above.

Thanks!

Scott

wintering
 

Turn off the filter at about 40 degree water temperature, clean it and
have it
ready to go in the spring. Never turn on a filter that has been sitting
over
the winter without cleaning it first - noxious dead bio bugs will enter
the
pond


This will be my first winter for my pond too, and my first winter living in
this area, so I am not sure exactly what to expect. I forget which zone I
am in, but I am on the Western Slope of Colorado, so we experience some snow
and cold, but generally nothing extreme. But I plan on keeping my pump and
fountain going. I use a Skippy Filter in a pre-formed 1/2 barrel liner.

Should I disconnect my filter for the winter, or keep it running? I was
planning to keep it, until I read the statement above.

Thanks!

Scott

wintering
 

wintering
 

wintering
 

Thanks, nice to be back ;-)

I bought my air pump from
http://www.aquaticecosystems.com
It is a Luft pump and seems to be hanging in there.

I tie something to the line (a small clay pot last year) and sink the bubbler
about 8 inches down.


k30a
and the watergardening labradors
http://www.geocities.com/watergarden...dors/home.html

wintering
 

Thanks, nice to be back ;-)

I bought my air pump from
http://www.aquaticecosystems.com
It is a Luft pump and seems to be hanging in there.

I tie something to the line (a small clay pot last year) and sink the bubbler
about 8 inches down.


k30a
and the watergardening labradors
http://www.geocities.com/watergarden...dors/home.html

wintering
 

wintering
 

wintering link to zones with names
 

If you are talking Canada you are closer to a zone 2. Zone 5 is going
through the center of the USA. Here is a link with a few names for reference

http://www.usna.usda.gov/Hardzone/hrdzon3.html

"Axolotl" wrote in message
. 130...
ESPMER (K30a) wrote in
:

Scott wrote Should I disconnect my filter for the winter, or keep it
running?
I was
planning to keep it, until I read the statement above.

You'll find a lot of people do different things ;-)

The bio bugs won't be 'working' in cold water and the fish won't be
producing much, if any, waste so there is no need to filter a winter
pond. Everybody kind of goes into a stupor for the winter.

Keeping water running, as in a waterfall or fountain, can sometimes be
dicey. If things start to freeze sometimes the water can freeze in
such a way as to direct water away from the pond. More so in a
waterfall than a fountain.

Another theory to keep the pump off is that the water movement from
the pump to the fountain or waterfall, there and back again, is making
a current for the fish to swim against when they'd rather just lay
there, slowly finning their fins. Water movement makes them work
harder and use up energy they'd rather put to keeping some weight on
them over the winter.

But, all that said, there are rec.ponders who keep their pump running
and their waterfall going all winter. And all goes well, no problems.

Hi there, nice to see you back K30a.

I am not sure what zone I am in, Colour coded maps are not much use to
somebody whose colour blind. I am in Mississauga, just west of Toronto,
so I think I am in zone 5 (5a). In the past I have disconnected from the
waterfalls and redirected the flow to a standpipe over the pond, this
keeps an opening in the ice, adds oxygen and provides the local wildlife
a source of water in the winter.
However, I wonder if this is the best approach, I keep seeing people
recommending a bubbler, I tried this one winter but the air pump died
within 2 weeks. What depth should the air-stone be set to?

TIA
AXO