Thinking about Winter... I have a question..

[JBtheExplorer]

So, unfortunately in a few months it'll be too cold out to keep the pond going.
Admittedly, I know absolutely nothing about things I should do for winter, but I'll ask those questions in the future.

The one question on my mind now... When I had my preformed 30 gallon pond it would be disgusting in Spring. Dirty, smelly, thick, full of leaves and we even had a dead mouse in it once. It was just a nasty mess. Obviously with a 30 gallon pond the quick solution was to pull it out, dump it out, scrub it, and put it back in.

Now when that time of year comes around, I have no idea what to do with my 400 gallon pond. I'm guessing there's a better way than draining it out and cleaning it, but have no idea what that would be.
The pond is just shy of 3' deep, and we will be bringing the fish in, along with most plants.

Also, since I have two resident frogs, I'd like to know what I can do to make sure if they choose to hibernate in my pond, they have the best chance of survival.

 

[slakker]

I too am interested in this topic... I'll tag along for the info...

 

[addy1]

I am sure you are way colder than us.

I just put in a air stone to keep the water open, leave the fish and plants in my 300 gallon lotus tank. Same with the 1000 gallon stock tank, both are 2.5 feet deep. The fish do fine.
The big pond gets an aerator also, it is 4 feet deep. I have one pump that takes care of the three ponds.

The small preforms and deck pond get ignored, 16 inches to 2 feet deep, the plants all survive the few fish in them do fine (deck pond had a shubunkin I did not know was there) the preforms have rosey red minnows in them and a stray gf fry.

All the plants I have stay outside, I have lost a few things, but if they don't survive I don't replace. Tried bringing stuff in for the winter, became a huge pain, so done with that. No way to bring in the fish, too many and no tank big enough to handle them.

The frogs will go to the bottom and hibernate, at least some of ours do.

 

[dieselplower]

At three feet deep if you can keep a hole open in the ice using an earator or a water pump to agitate the surface, most everything should live. If you have potted plants I would chop off the growth and put them at the bottom. Other than that, try using a screen to cover the pond as leaves come down, or, use a net scoop them out before Winter.

 

[DrCase]

Not much winter down here, I do take off my ball valves on my filter drains and use a rubber caps

 

[addy1]

I remove ball valves, pump and leave the pipes open. So far they have survived down to 5 degrees without rupturing. Stuff bubble wrap into the skimmer. I did forget to disconnect the hose that goes to the preform, the brass faucet valve ruptured, now on list to disconnect lol

 

[sissy]

pond heater would work in your climate I know colleen uses one and I have one after the 2010 winter and now is the time to buy them it is off season .CHEAPER :cheerful:

 

[cr8tivguy]

When the leaves start to turn, I plan on putting a net over the top of my pond to keep the leaves from falling into it (I have a big bush and a Japanese Maple) that are right next to my pond). This should help keep the majority of the leaves out. Before I close down the pond, I plan on cleaning the bottom with my pond vacuum.

Pumps get taken out and put in a bucket of water in my basement (they need to stay in water so the seals don't dry out).

All valves are opened.
Drain my Bio Filter (it's plastic and might crack)
Unplug lights, UV clarifier.
Remove all floating plants
Cut potted Lilies and bog plants back
Leave Air Stones and Air Pump running through the winter.
Install a Tank Heater (they are pretty cheap) which floats on top of the water and keeps an opening in the ice.

Then keep my fingers crossed until Spring. (grin)

In the Spring, I'll...
Vacuum the pond again
Install the pumps
Do a water change (condition the water)
Dose with Beneficial Bacteria
Add new floating plants
Then begin feeding when the water temp gets above 60

 

[sissy]

When I rebuilt my water fall I insulated under the liner that I put my tank on with the 2 inch ridged foam board with holes drilled in it .I even put it under the waterfall I figured it couldn't hurt and ran all my hoses inside the waterfall ,they leak it can only go back in the pond .I figure I had it laying around so why not .Of course my winters don't get that cold and last year I ran my heater right over my pump and kept my filters running and really think it helped keep water clearer and cleaner .

 

[Fishylove]

Im thinking CE kept her bog going last year, anyone else keep theirs going too? Or should I shut mine down?

 

[Dave 54]

When prepping for winter the most important thing to do is to give your pond and filters a darn good clean just prior to the first cold snap .
We have insulated everything we possibly can against the cold with 22mm Polystyrene sheets pubble, wrap Roof insulation etc,
Another thing we do is have sheets of Polycarbonate to insulte both the pond and filterhousing against the cold and heat the air around the filters by use of an 800 watt oil heated radiator that keeps everything quite toasty .
The upshot of all this preperation is that our koi are nce and toasty throughout winter.
Another thing wee dont stint on is water changes, which go on throughout the winter months using the trickle meathod to add the water back into the pond were the ambient temperature of the pond acctually warms the fresh water.
If done correctly you hardly loose anything in the way of temperature.
All this puts you in good stead for the next spring/summer/Autumn

rgrds

Dave

 

[sissy]

but most areas had a semi mild winter and she did have freeze up problems

 

[Fishylove]

So turning off the bog won't make the water in there stagnant? I feel like it would be like turning off a bio filter, not cleaning it and then starting it back up in the spring.

 

[addy1]

It never has with mine, when I turn it on in the spring, about 3 - 4 months later the water has no smell when it starts running again. Like the rotten stagnant water stink. A little dirt comes out with the first water flow, but ow good water. Within a day all is clear and clean.

 

[Fishylove]

Well Ok! seems simple enough