First winter for our Northeast Ohio small pond - aerator needed??

[DenMare]

We are a little late in figuring this out, but I've read too much online and now I'm more unsure of what to do than before. We just got our pond completely finished in early September and then winter came early. The pond is approximately 500 gallons, and two feet deep with a ledge that's about 1 foot under the surface. We have a submerged pump encased in filter material hooked to a bubbler rock which produces a lot of water movement. We've had ice forming on the surface and the bubbler is still going strong so far, but we don't want anything to freeze and break. (The bubbler rock sits on another ledge.) We are pretty sure we need to unhook and remove the pump, but we aren't sure if we need an aerator, or if just a deicer will be sufficient for the winter.

 

[DenMare]

Zone 6A

 

[MitchM]

Probably for your size pond the best thing would be to put a cover over it and keep it running.

 

[JBtheExplorer]

The pond is approximately 500 gallons, and two feet deep with a ledge that's about 1 foot under the surface.

It doesn't seem like 500 gallons, based on the image, but I could be wrong.
I like all the butterflyweed!

 

[MitchM]

Probably for your size pond the best thing would be to put a cover over it and keep it running.

Actually, if there are no fish in it and the pump sits on the bottom, you might be fine just letting the pump run and disconnect it from the hose to the rock.

It depends on how much wind the pond is exposed to.

.

 

[DenMare]

Probably for your size pond the best thing would be to put a cover over it and keep it running.

Cover it with what, and how does that keep it from freezing?

Actually, if there are no fish in it and the pump sits on the bottom, you might be fine just letting the pump run and disconnect it from the hose to the rock.

It depends on how much wind the pond is exposed to.

.

There are 7 small goldfish.

 

[DenMare]

It doesn't seem like 500 gallons, based on the image, but I could be wrong.
I like all the butterflyweed!

Thank you! We raised and released 127 Monarch butterflies this summer. It’s hard to get an exact calculation of gallons because of the ledges and the rocks we lined it with.

 

[JBtheExplorer]

We raised and released 127 Monarch butterflies this summer.

Nice! I've raised some in the past but I just let nature do its thing in my native garden this year.

 

[MitchM]

Cover it with what, and how does that keep it from freezing?
There are 7 small goldfish.

A cover is a frame made of of plastic tubing or wood framing with a plastic sheet over the top.
Covers help prevent freezing because they eliminate wind and reduce evaporation at the pond surface.
A pond's heat loss is greatest at the pond surface through evaporation. Covers cost nothing to run.

Everyone's pond is different because each pond is exposed to different weather conditions.
Your main objective is to make sure that the pond water is able to process gas exchange during the winter.
Some people use an airstone, some a floating heater, some a pond breather (your pond is too shallow for that), some use a cover and of course some use a combination.

The main thing is to be aware how exposed your pond is to winter's cold dry wind.

.

 

[Spartamets]

Very nice looking pond!

 

[saugeye tom]

I'm

We are a little late in figuring this out, but I've read too much online and now I'm more unsure of what to do than before. We just got our pond completely finished in early September and then winter came early. The pond is approximately 500 gallons, and two feet deep with a ledge that's about 1 foot under the surface. We have a submerged pump encased in filter material hooked to a bubbler rock which produces a lot of water movement. We've had ice forming on the surface and the bubbler is still going strong so far, but we don't want anything to freeze and break. (The bubbler rock sits on another ledge.) We are pretty sure we need to unhook and remove the pump, but we aren't sure if we need an aerator, or if just a deicer will be sufficient for the winter.

North of Dayton....all I do is put a 600 GPh pump in the bottom to keep the water circulating . It moves the surface and never freezes solid

 

[saugeye tom]

 

[DonnaD]

We are a little late in figuring this out, but I've read too much online and now I'm more unsure of what to do than before. We just got our pond completely finished in early September and then winter came early. The pond is approximately 500 gallons, and two feet deep with a ledge that's about 1 foot under the surface. We have a submerged pump encased in filter material hooked to a bubbler rock which produces a lot of water movement. We've had ice forming on the surface and the bubbler is still going strong so far, but we don't want anything to freeze and break. (The bubbler rock sits on another ledge.) We are pretty sure we need to unhook and remove the pump, but we aren't sure if we need an aerator, or if just a deicer will be sufficient for the winter.

We’re in Geauga County and we just put a bubbler in for the winter.

 

[saugeye tom]

 

[saugeye tom]

They do all year..even during a hard freeze

 

[Patfish]

Licking County here and I use a homemade box with a lightbulb that floats on the surface to keep a hole in the ice. It turns on at 35 degrees and off at 45.

 

[bettasngoldfish]

Lake County, Ohio

Two small ponds (250 and 500 gallons) I use a pond de-icer and 4 air stones (powered by air pump which is in a rubbermaid box to keep it out of the elements) the 250 gallon pond is raised and covered with polycarbonate roofing sheets for the winter.

 

[sissy]

welcome and do like I do with my lily pond .I used heavy plastic over it like a hoop house .Colleen does it in Canada

 

[big ron]

welcome and do like I do with my lily pond .I used heavy plastic over it like a hoop house .Colleen does it in Canada

I have a 2500 gal koi pond in zone 7 also and I cover it with a frame ( PVC ) and clear reinforced poly ( woven ). for the winter . I run 2 aerators 12" deep all winter and turn my pump off. The poly acts as a hot house even when it is cold and my water hardly ever freezes . If I know the temps are going to get real low for a few days I run a heater to keep a hole in the ice. Has worked great for 9 years.

 

[saugeye tom]

ok