for winter

[fish pond Den]

I wanted to ask what you thought about this. For winter I want to build a roof over the pond for winter cause I think that would help a lot for the snow and the cold. I wanna see what you think about this adding the roof on and throw in the heater for winter.

now if I add the roof do I still have to stop the waterfall and the filter that's in the water or should I just leave one pump in there with the air bubbler and heater.

 

[MitchM]

How deep is your pond?

 

[fish pond Den]

It's 3 feet

 

[MitchM]

That's probably below your frost line, so the warmth from the earth will be sufficient to keep your pond liquid during the winter.
If your pond is small enough for you to build a cover over, a cover is a great way to eliminate heat loss and evaporation from your pond. Remember to take into consideration what kind of snow load you could have and how strong the winds could get and build the cover accordingly.
Don't leave the cover on for too long in case it gets warm enough to grow mould on the inside surfaces.
You could leave the entire setup running and be fine.
One consideration is power outages. What would happen if the power went out for a couple of hours? Would plumbing lines freeze and break? If so, then use only an aerator or a submerged pump to keep water circulating instead of keeping everything running during the winter.
The most important consideration is gas exchange.
Using a heater is a waste of money, in my opinion.

 

[fish pond Den]

Yeah I have a small pond I was just starting out with it. So you would not use a heater so should I live I pump in there for circulation. The plumbing is really noting it's not like yours lol you have a nice one. So no heater but leave a pocket in the ice though

 

[MitchM]

If that was my pond, I would probably go with a cover and a pond breather or submerged pump.
It looks like it's about 1 foot above ground, so only 2 feet into the ground, which may or may not be above your frost line.
Wind and exposure to the elements is a huge factor for how quickly a pond loses heat.
Do you have many fish in there and what size are they?

 

[fish pond Den]

It is 3 feet deep and 4 feet square all around. It's about 2 or 3 inches above cause I boxed it out then goes 3 feet in the ground. I have 4 koi's in there 3 inches.

would you turn off the waterfall and take out the filter from underwater to.

 

[fish pond Den]

There 3 pumps in there I was going to take out the 2 and leave this one in there.

 

[MitchM]

Yes, I would turn off the waterfall.
A large pre filter on your pond would help prevent the pump from clogging.
Like this one http://www.thepondoutlet.com/home/tpo/page_4407_269/ez_bio_filters_by_matala.html
The free prefilter that that pump comes with the pump you posted could clog up too quickly.

Overall the goal is to keep the water circulating, minimally, and allow for some method of gas exchange.
That's it.

 

[mgmine]

The roof is not going to help one bit with the cold which means that you can't leave the pump in unless it sits on the bottom of the pond. As far as the snow, a roof would keep it off but why do you want to bother with that? As far as your fish go I think you have to many of the wrong kind. Koi will grow quickly and will need more room in a year from now. I would just shut things down, drain what ever lines need draining bring in the pumps throw in an air stone and call it a day.

 

[Lisak1]

What kind of heater do you have? It would have to put out some significant heat to keep your pond from freezing even with a covering over it. And anything that puts out that kind of heat is going to be expensive to run. More commonly people use a de-icer the purpose of which is to keep a hole in the ice to allow the gases that build up in the pond to escape. But it doesn't keep the pond warm. Snow is actually good insulating cover - we think of it as cold, but it actually helps to keep things warm(er) that are covered in a blanket of snow. I wouldn't bother if your concern is the snow being too cold.

Your 3 inch koi will soon be 18 inch koi - start digging! Our fish appear to do most of their growing over the winter months - I'm sure it's because we go months without seeing them, but they are definitely bigger in the spring.

 

[MitchM]

The roof is not going to help one bit with the cold .....

The term "cold" is too general.
A pond cover will eliminate heat loss from the wind and reduce heat loss from evaporation.
Snow also evaporates.

 

[mgmine]

When it gets cold enough the pond is going to freeze roof or no roof. Once it freezes it will stay frozen roof or no roof until it warms up. The wind and snow will have no effect on the frozen water. A roof could actually hold the cold in and keep the ice from melting just as shade does on the side of a hill.

 

[MitchM]

Wind does have an effect on the pond. Higher wind values make the ice thicker. When ice forms, it freezes in both directions, up and down. Without wind, and with increased humidity, a pond will stay warmer.

There are 4 ways for a pond to lose heat.
In order of significance, they are:
Evaporation
Convection
Radiation
Conduction.

A pond covering will greatly reduce heat loss from evaporation, convection and radiation.

For the formulas and a thorough explanation, have a look in my signature for the pond heat loss formulas and discussion.

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