Sharon Goode said:
Getting ready for winter and wondering about the schedule for shutting down my outside pond. 3400 gallons with Aqua II system and several aerators have stopped feeding as weather here is crazy 70 one day and 45 the next, so no feeding. Still have net over the pond as the leaves are not quite finished and want to go into the winter months with the pond as clean as possible. Can I run my filter system all winter? The water is returned to pond by a waterfall and unless it freezes solid I want to leave it on. If I were to cut filter off that would only leave aerators on? Oxygen would probably be ok, but I just not sure.
Inside QT tanks are up and running and seem to be about half way through cycle. Have several fish in each to get filters going. Sure am going to miss the Boys in the outside pond, I can see them and they make me feel guilty when I dont feed them. I just want them to come through this winter in good shape.
So, what do I do with the systems on the pond for winter?
I would not base feeding on outside temperature. It doesn't really matter. I would base it on water temperature. The fish are in the water. Not the air around the water.
You can run your system all Winter if you want to but what would be the reason for doing so? The fish arent eating much so they aren't pooping much. They are also in a hybernation like state so their breathing slows down as well. This amounts to a lot less solid waste and ammonia being produced. Your fish will not appreciate the pull caused by the pump, or the current caused by the waterfall return. They are at the bottom trying to do nothing at all. Another reason I turn off my filters that return as a waterfall is because exposing the water to the cold air cools the water more than I want it too. Do you really want to take your 40 degree water and expost it to 0 degree air more than you need too? This could cause the water to cool to below it's normal freezing point, and is not good for the fish. I feel the same way about air. Why would you want to introduce 0 degree air into a 40 degree pond? I would not want to do that.
Cold water has a higher oxygen content than warm water. Combine that with the fact that the fish are consuming less oxygen and you will be more than OK turning off your main pumps and just running air. But as I previously noted, I prefer to not run air. Last Winter all I ran in my 1600 gallon pond was a 300 gph water pump that is shot straight towards the surface. It kept a hole open all Winter (Im in Michigan). I did not lose any fish. I do believe it costs a bit more to run a water pump than an air pump, but i do go from a 1300 gph pump to a 300 gph pump so I guess I save a few cents.
Personally, if I were you, I would shut down almost every thing. I am going to leave my pump and hoses in the bottom of the pond all Winter. My 300 gph pump will be set at a depth of 18" and has an extension that ejects the water about 6" from the surface. It creates and nice volcano effect and the water stays open. My 2 cents.
