When to shut the pump off ?

[Puddles]

Hey all this is the first winter ive had my pond it is 6,200 gallons .. 8 fish in it.. and i live in NE Oregon .. ive stopped feeding them for over a month now as the temps dropped in the water .. it stayed at about a steady 45 or colder .. well this last week it got cold and it snowed . so winter is coming ... ive allready shut down the water fall . but the pump is still going .. and it is like a water fall as it is just a temporary one till we get the set up done in the spring .. so when do i know to shut it down permanently for the winter and make sure there is a hole in the ice cause it can freeze over here ..

Thanks for any help on this ..

Marion

 

[sissy]

I had mine freeze up the 2010 winter and it happened fast during the days before it had been warm and all of a sudden temps dropped and blizzard started in the middle of the night and pump got knocked side ways and water was pumping out over the top of the ice and almost emptied my pond and I was lucky to have caught it .2 in the morning jammies on snowing like crazy and there i was running a hose from the inside basement spigot to fill the pond .scarey I could have lost all my fish .I got a heater after that from pet mountain .com and now strap and tie down the submerged pump better .If your pump is not a submerged one it will freeze up fast and the filter tanks i see you have will burst .If you have ice on the pond be careful

 

[Puddles]

No it isnt a submersible one .. but it is really heavy .. and ive had that happen with my pond getting drained .. the batting stuff we used in the tub for the filter decided to pop up enough to wick out the water all night ..luckily the pump was laying on it's side and there was enough water for the fish at the bottom .but like you i was out there not awake .. yelled at hubby before i ran out the door (cause i could see it from the living room ) grabbed the hose and started filling it ..lol.. ya that aint a nice feeling and i woulda been doing that in the winter also .. lol..

There is no ice now and hasnt been .. so is there any good time to shut down the pump/filter for the winter or do you have to wait till it freezes ??

Marion

 

[sissy]

most take in there out of water pumps because they will crack and shock your fish and kill them .I would never leave an out of water pump out below 40 degrees during the day because at night it is going to be much colder .You would not want that to happen .I don't really care for filters that are a long way from the pond ,I have mine set up so if they over flow there is a liner under it that allows the water to go back into the pond .The others scare me to much .My neighbor had a deer knock hers over and now with the way we set it up it is like my pond filter will run right back in also .I'm a chicken at heart . :razz:

 

[Puddles]

Ok so it is ok to have nothing run now . just shut down the pump ..?? this filter that we have funning right now is a temp one it is one of those black tubs that and it is flowing right into the pond it cant get knocked over as it is tilted .. and running into the pond .. so the fish will be fine with nothing running .. just standing still water till next spring when the chance of the water not freezing any more ??.. i just want to clear that up ..that is just the understanding i have ..

Thanks and sorry if it sounds so confusing ..

Marion

 

[sissy]

hey if you don't ask you will never know .I watch weather reports and still never know when I can shut things down and my pump is a submerged one .Here it gets so confusing we have been in the 60's and even gotten into the 70's and then for 2 days it dipped down to the 30 's .Good gosh either cold or warm make up your mind .I do a submerged pump or an aerator in winter to keep oxygen in the water .