Winter is not here yet, but...

[Nova]

For those in the Carolinas, can you run your waterfall all winter? I live right near the central border of SC and NC. Sometimes we get snow, sometimes we don't. Winters can be low 30's at night or in the teens. What precautions or preparations do I need to take? Last year I my pond didn't have a waterfall and just had a simple fountain pump that I ran all winter with no problems and it was a cold winter. The UV light I stored away for winter.

This year I have a waterfall, skimmer and pressurized filter, how does all this work in the winter?

 

[addy1]

This is my first year with the stream etc. Last year turned all off. The biggest problem of a water fall is ice dams, one area freezes up there goes all the water in your pond.

We will be shutting down once it gets to the freezing temps.

I don't know about pressurized filters, you might want to read up on yours see what they suggest.

 

[sissy]

A pressurized filter may crack in cold weather with the changes in temps .I had one on my first pond and the side split on it and lost a lot of water in that first pond .After that I decided to build a bigger pond and make my own filter .It was a tetra filter with a built in uv .It was 35 degrees when it split and cracked that night and I was debating turning it off just that day and didn't because I heard on the news it was supposed to warm up again .

 

[Nova]

I may have to shut down the waterfall and get another simple pump/fountain for the winter.

 

[sissy]

As long as your pond does not freeze solid you should be fine I do this for winter

 

[sissy]

The hose is usually under water so as not to make the water colder .this was just to show what I do ,it also helps to add oxygen to the water

 

[Nova]

It never freezes solid, we just doesn't get that cold here. Even if the nights are in the 20-30's, days are 40-50's. I have seen up to 4 inches of ice on the pond at school and it is a very small pond. The school has the bio-filter, I suspect the top layer of that will freeze and could very easily block the outflow pipe. I would have to convert that pump back to a fountain for the winter also?

Those that have bio-filters in areas that get partial or complete freeze, what do you do in the winter to keep water circulating and oxygenated?

 

[sissy]

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[stroppy]

i have used a pressure filter and had no problems with it freezing but i would try and miss the waterfall to return to the pond and perhaps just use a hose for water back into pond, you can also part bury those filters or cover them with something to help protect them

 

[Nova]

Mine is mostly buried with just the top showing and was planning on covering it all with pine straw and something else, maybe black plastic. The black might draw heat during the winter to keep the area around the filter warmer. The UV light I have is in the skimmer and will removing it before it gets too cold.

 

[ashirley]

I also live in upstate SC and I do run my waterfall and pump all winter. My old pond was not as deep as the new one ( only 2 ft) so I wanted to keep the water flowing. I have never had a problem even when part of the pond froze over and it snowed on it.

 

[DrCase]

It never freezes solid, we just doesn't get that cold here. Even if the nights are in the 20-30's, days are 40-50's. I have seen up to 4 inches of ice on the pond at school and it is a very small pond. The school has the bio-filter, I suspect the top layer of that will freeze and could very easily block the outflow pipe. I would have to convert that pump back to a fountain for the winter also?

Those that have bio-filters in areas that get partial or complete freeze, what do you do in the winter to keep water circulating and oxygenated?

Your temps are just about the same as mine
If it gets real cold and looks like the temp is going to stay low i bypass the water fall and send the water back to the pond thru a pipe straight off the filter

 

[sissy]

last winter here was scary I had my pipes insulated and still one froze and busted and lost a lot of water and lucky I caught it or I would have had frozen fish sticks .I pulled them up this year and insulated them even better I put a hose in a hose and wrapped wire around them so I could find them and then put the foam pipe insulation around them and then I wrapped them with a bigger pipe insulation that I bought at a plumbing supply house that was blue and said pipes wrapped in it do not freeze to 20 below zero and it was 25 dollars for 50 feet of it ,it better work

 

[Davidless]

Since we are on the freezing toppics, will the Savio skimmers and bio falls be ok with water that may freeze in them? I don't want to drain the water level below my skimmer height to pump the skimmer dry. Water level will be too low for the fish. but then again, I don't wanrt to crack my skimmer or bio falls buckets.

Thanks,

David

 

[addy1]

Since we are on the freezing toppics, will the Savio skimmers and bio falls be ok with water that may freeze in them? I don't want to drain the water level below my skimmer height to pump the skimmer dry. Water level will be too low for the fish. but then again, I don't wanrt to crack my skimmer or bio falls buckets.

Thanks,

David

what I am going to do with my skimmer, if we get it hooked up..........

I am going to do one of these:

Large black plastic construction bag put in skimmer, fill with expanding foam, displace water
Large black plastic construction bag put in skimmer, fill with peanuts, displace water
Large black plastic construction bag put in skimmer, fill with bubble wrap, displace water

The main thing I want to do is push the water out of the skimmer, our lines are buried deep enough I am not worried about the lines.