Northeast winter coming

[Kirk44]

Hi everyone I'm in New Jersey and was wondering what's the latest people in this area wait to shut down their ponds. This is my 2nd winter and shut it down early October. I'm wondering if I can go a little later this year.

 

[TheFishGuy]

Hi everyone I'm in New Jersey and was wondering what's the latest people in this area wait to shut down their ponds. This is my 2nd winter and shut it down early October. I'm wondering if I can go a little later this year.

I am in zone 4a. or maybe it's 4b, and I shut down at the end of October, once the fish have gone into winter mode, and things start to get some ice.

 

[poconojoe]

I'm in northeastern PA, so probably similar weather to you. I usually cover my pond with a net when the leaves start falling. That's when I pretty much winterize it. I have a lot of trees and the leaves are just starting to fall. It's bad to let the leaves accumulate in the water.

Before I set up the net, I'll get rid of all the tropical plants which will die soon anyway. Then I'll trim back any winter hardy plants, scoop the bottom for any debris, install my deicer and raise my air stones up to about 12" below the surface.

So, I'm guessing maybe in a couple weeks. If the leaves really start to fall big time, I'llhave to do it sooner.

 

[Jhn]

I don’t really shut down my pond, leave the pumps running all winter. I just wait for the tropical plants to die back usually a few hard frost will do it then pull them out, trim back the hardy plants, around the same time. Probably towards the end of October beginning of November most years. I don’t have many big trees close to the pond other than a magnolia tree next to the pond, so no need for any leaf net. My smaller ponds i toss pond breathers in them and then plug them in once ice starts to form.

 

[GBBUDD]

I have waited for the weather to get ugly once it gets close to 35 for extended periods of time then ill pull the plug . Detach the pump from its external plumbing . Place the pump in a plastic bag to keep the gaskets from drying out. That has been so far around the first of the year. But this year I added a underground cistern this year between that and the 6 foot deep bog I think it would be fine to run all year water temp wise but I'm not so comfortable with ice jambs

 

[Kirk44]

That's the thing I really worry about is the ice blocking the stream water fall area. The weather can really change over night. I don't have any trees on the property so that's not much of a problem. I'll probably go till the last weekend of the month. I have one pump in the bottom of the pond that I have to pull before water gets too cold. The other is in the skimmer and net to bad. I'm not a winter person so shutting the pond down is a bummer .

 

[mrsclem]

If your pump is on the bottom, I would raise it up. Two reasons- If you have a water loss issue, your pond won't drain completely and the water at the bottom won't be disturbed. I'm in So. MD, I leave my filters running until I start getting ice on the ponds then unplug them and plug in my pond breathers and heaters. I shut my bog down when the frost has killed off most of the plants.

 

[addy1]

I shut things off as it gets cold, the bog cools the pond water a lot.

 

[GBBUDD]

That's the thing I really worry about is the ice blocking the stream water fall area. The weather can really change over night. I don't have any trees on the property so that's not much of a problem. I'll probably go till the last weekend of the month. I have one pump in the bottom of the pond that I have to pull before water gets too cold. The other is in the skimmer and net to bad. I'm not a winter person so shutting the pond down is a bummer .

There's two schools to pulling the pump my thought is that your gaskets won't dry out and crack if the pump is left in t he bottom of the pond.
Whe others are affraid out the pump freezing if your pump freezes then your f I sh are as good as dead.

 

[mrsclem]

I used to pull my pumps before in the winter. I store them in a 55 gal drum with water in my basement. Now I just leave them in the pond. If I get ice, unplug the pump and drop it to the bottom. Whole lot less work in cold water!

 

[Kirk44]

That's not a bad idea. I'm not sure leaving the pump in the pond un plugged would be a bad thing. Then just plug it back in the spring.

 

[Gemma]

I don’t really shut down my pond, leave the pumps running all winter. I just wait for the tropical plants to die back usually a few hard frost will do it then pull them out, trim back the hardy plants, around the same time. Probably towards the end of October beginning of November most years. I don’t have many big trees close to the pond other than a magnolia tree next to the pond, so no need for any leaf net. My smaller ponds i toss pond breathers in them and then plug them in once ice starts to form.

This exactly!

 

[poconojoe]

I used to pull my pumps before in the winter. I store them in a 55 gal drum with water in my basement. Now I just leave them in the pond. If I get ice, unplug the pump and drop it to the bottom. Whole lot less work in cold water!

This is what I do now. Instead of pulling my pump and storing it in my basement in a bucket of water, I just unplug it and lower it to the bottom. It also saves me from having to disconnect the flex PVC from the pump outlet.

 

[TheFishGuy]

This is what I do now. Instead of pulling my pump and storing it in my basement in a bucket of water, I just unplug it and lower it to the bottom. It also saves me from having to disconnect the flex PVC from the pump outlet.

what is up with the bucket of water? I have just stored my pumps dry in there box in need be, is that bad for them?

 

[poconojoe]

what is up with the bucket of water? I have just stored my pumps dry in there box in need be, is that bad for them?

It is said you should keep your pumps submerged to prevent any rubber parts from drying out. I used to drop them in a bucket of water in my basement for the winter. Now I just lower my one pump to the bottom of the pond after unplugging it.