Speaking of Winter

[mrteach3]

Hey all,

I have been reading a few posts about readying ponds for winter. I usually keep my main pump running all winter long, but I wouldn't mind shutting it down to save some electricity. I do have a smaller pump that I could use to keep a hole open in the pond. My questions stem from if it is okay to shut the main pump down without damaging it??? Should I be concerned with the bottom or top filter box, or main tube to pump the water to the top box cracking due to the cold???

I attached a picture of my pond if that would help. The main tube to pump the water runs up and around the right side of the pond.

View attachment 3883

View attachment 3884

 

[Big Red]

very nice pond. I have a similar setup but turn off my pump in the winter. based on help I have received here from members of this forum, the following are things I did which led to a successful winter with no loss of fish or mechanical issues.

1. removed pump from skimmer box and brought it inside to be kept in a bucket of water.
2. placed an empty soda bottle, with cap on, ( 2 liter) into the skimmer box to prevent ice formation
3. drained water fall bucket, removed filter media, and placed another soda bottle in there just in case rain/snow accumulates.
4. Don't forget to drain pipes!
5. Bought an aquarium airpump ($40 at Petco). Placed it into a tupperware container covered with aluminum foil with small holes in it. Placed it on a small rock for elevation and plugged it in and ran the airlines into the pond. I tied small pepples to the lines to weight them so they would stay about a foot under the surface of the pond.
6. I also used a floating pond heater but i do not believe it was necesary as the airpump kept a nice size hole open in the pond throughout the winter.

Hope some of this helps!
BR

 

[mrteach3]

Sure does Big Red. Thanks. Good ideas. Now I have to figure out how to get my pump out of the skimmer box. It has one big fitting I am not sure if I can loosen. I'll figure that out

Either way, how did you go about draining the pipes to the top filter box???

Also, I have a small pump that I use to drain water when doing water changes. It is supposed to be a fountain pump. I wonder if using that pump as a fountain will circulate enough water to get oxygen to the fish, or if I really need to run air lines that stay in the pond for that reason.

Hmmm...might be worth a try, but I would hate to lose my fish.

Thanks again.

 

[digginponds]

I like to shut off the main pump as well,also cork all tubes and pipes going into ,or out of the pond to keep the cold air out,least I go to that extreme,as well with a floating heater....btw nice pond......I use a foutain pump,and attach a hose on it to try to circulate the water from one end of the pond to the other.......But I may add I keep the foutain pump aimed in the middle of the water.Why ,well the water at the bottom won't freeze[if deep enough].2 water at the bottom holds the winter sun's heat.The top layer of water freezes therefor allowing the pond to hold heat,with a minor hole from the heater...I never try to crack the ice,as fish are very sensitive to that bad bahavior........ In my lifetime I have never lost a fish to winter..egrets yes,winter no,they just hibernate......... works for me..

 

[addy1]

Hard to think of winter when it is 92 outside, still having record heat here!

It will be interesting to see how ours handles it's first winter, we just have a small pump running, trickle flow down a few of the streams to circulate the water some. Most likely will shut that off also when it gets colder. The large pump and skimmer are not being put into service until next year.

 

[digginponds]

Yea it is hard to think of winter,but before we know it.We had a 59 degree night already .Also here's a hint.I like shutting off the waterfalls on cooler nights ,just so the water doesn't loose it's heat as the colder months start showing up.I'm sure your pond will do just fine addy1,especially if you are fish free,lol.

 

[addy1]

We are fish free at the time, do have two frogs, multiple toads, a real pretty lime green little guy, maybe a tree frog, water bugs............but no fish.

Will turn off the trickle flow as it gets colder, the small ponds where just sitting and getting too much algae and mosquitoes, they have cleared up really nice with the small flow. Also put in some parrots feather to help with filtration.

 

[Big Red]

I have a check valve between my skimmer/pump and waterfall. Afetr turning off the falls, and taking out the pump, all I do is take off the check valve and gravity pulls all of the water back out to where I direct it. I just realized as I am writing this that this works for me because I have flex pvc pipes. If you have regular pvc this won't work for you.

 

[Big Red]

Also, mrteach, if you are using a submerged pump in winter, I don't know how deep your pond is, but remember not to stir up the water more than a foot and a half or so. You don't want to mix the bottom water with the top. The air bubbles are simply a way to keep open a hole in the ice in order to let gasses out.

 

[mrteach3]

Thanks everyone. The pond is a work in progress. Who's isn't I guess??? Was just trying to figure something out for this year, but was concerned with my fish dying and things cracking.

 

[mheiderscheit]

What do the soda bottles do to keep the water from freezing? Or. Am I missing the point altogether?

 

[Big Red]

They don't keep the water from freezing. They do however, continue to move slightly, preventing the skimmer box and waterfall 'container' from completely freezing. If this happens, they can be damaged by the expanding ice....or so i've heard. Makes sense and it's an easy percaution to take.

 

[mfwing82]

oh boy ! I just got my pond up and running now I better start thinking of my winter plan.

 

[addy1]

Do you have koi in there? I can't remember. A friend of mine lives in pa he leaves his fish in for the winter, no pump running, his pond freezes not solid, they do fine, but they are shubunkin's not koi.

 

[Big Red]

Yes. Koi and Comets. Have not posted pic in a while so maybe I'll try to do so this weekend. problem is my camera takes them in files too large and everytime I shrink them to fit they look horrible.
I do not keep my pond running all winter. Last winter I turned off the pump in November, ran a $40 petco aquarium aerator w/ 4 airstones into the pond, and also used a floating de-icer. This was probably overkill and might try just the airstones this winter but last winter was ferocious so didn't hurt.
Fish were all fine. It also helps that my pond is very deep. Fish were 4 feet down.
BR