Few questions for first winter

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This is the first winter with fish and plants in my pond. Im near in charrlote Nc so I know my pond will not freeze. I had it running last winter with no plants or fish and kept the falls running all winter long. Occaisonaly Id get a thin layer of ice on top but that never lasted more than a ffew days in my climate.

So this year I have fish and plants. Ive cut back the lillies and will leave them in. I have about 1/3 of the surface covered with water hyacinth. This is where my fish normaly hide. We jsut had a good freeze and now all the water hyacinth is brown. Should I pull all this out of the pond now? If I need to pull it, should I leave a little so it will grow back next year?

Also, If I pull out all the water hyacinth, what can I give my fish to hide in? i have seen a crane a few weeks ago. Im not actually not sure if he got any or al lthe fish. They have been hiding and quit coming out for food since its cooled off.
 

koiguy1969

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toss the hiacynths, they are anuals..and cheap !! $10.00 worth next spring will quickly spread. and net the pond for protection.
 
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I would an do cover my pond in the winter. Water temps usually stays above 50.
I would also put a bypass on the waterfall. You would be surprised how much a waterfall cools the water.
 
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HI, lock I'm also in nc the winston salem area,do cover your pond with a net you can go to lowes and get fence netting for about 11 dollars a roll 40by 50 feet.the fish will do fine in the winter.
 
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hi lock. I'm in charlotte, nc, and have my pond netted over as of about 5 weeks ago to prevent the leaves from falling in. I don't usually cover my pond with a tarp, but I think I'm going to try that this year when I shut down my filter fully on January 1st. I've got an opaque tarp that I purchased at harbor freight tools (you can find it in Pineville), and I'm just going to stake it down.
 
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Thanks for the reply's. I dont have many trees near the pond so I didnt use a net this year... I sure will next year. Dont know where they came from but Ive fished alot out and have to do it again.

Last year when we got that big snow storm (ok its was an inch or two) it was really pretty looking at the pond partially frozen and the waterfalls running. Ill probably shut it down this year and cover it with a tarp as well. That should keep the fish safe since my plants will be all gone when I pull them out.
 
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yeah, even if you don't have immediate trees, you will find that the wind will simply bring your neighbors leaves to you anyway.

Sadly, the previous owner (or shall I say, fool) who built my pond put it squarely next to 75 foot tall sweet gum trees. Not only do I get the leaves, but I get those pesky balls, too. If I didn't net mine, I'd likely have a foot of mulm on the bottom come spring to clean out.
 
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well, i turn it off for about 2 months, yes. Typically January and February. I'm not sure what you mean by your pump flows through your filter means?

You just turn everything off--pump, filter, waterfall--all of it. I prefer not to have to worry about all the equipment for a 8-10 weeks and just let the pond go dormant like my fish.
 
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I have some bio-bags with media and a bio filter in the falls. What should be done with those if I shut the pond down?
 
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You can just remove your media and empty your bio filter of water if you're worried about it freezing, or you can just leave it in there until spring and then deal with it then. This year I'm probably going to empty everything out, but I've left it all in there too. Depends on how lazy I feel.
 

koiguy1969

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i wonder if throwing your media in a trash can of pond water with a small pump to pump the water to the top and spill back in and / or an air pump and stone..with some filter mud on the bottom of the trash can.would keep the media going with live healthy bacteria til spring. maybe supplimented with some ammonia drops.
 
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do you mean in a warm place koiguy? Like indoors in a basement?

I guess you could do that if you had the inclination. I would think you'd still have to do water changes to prevent the water from getting icky/stinky.
 

koiguy1969

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yes in a warm spot.. as far as water changes i dont know.....as long as you keep the water moving and oxygenated, its contiuously being filtered it shouldnt stale on you, in theory its continually becoming a cleaner and cleaner enviorment. but it would need to feed some plants to get rid of the nitrates. i dont even know why this crossed my mind, but it would help in tthe spring to start the season with an active filter like i do..
 

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