Winterizing in MI

[Coinr]

This is my first winter with fish, pumps, a skimmer and waterfall. I have a few questions that I haven't been able to find answers for. My pond is 1600 gals, 4 ft deep, has 5 koi and 6 various goldfish. Im putting in an aerator just a foot or two below the surface. Do I need to worry about my skimmer freezing and cracking or should I dig it out. I have the kind you put inside the liner and backfill to keep it in place. It seems to be made of very heavy plastic. Can I just leave my pumps submerged and what do I do with the filter media for the winter (I have a waterfall filter and will remove it for the winter). The pond is going great, the fish are well and I hope to keep It that way. Thanks.

 

[sissy]

Skimmer if it is empty weather should not harm it but people in your temp area would know more and I don't have a skimmer as no need for one .My filter I made a lid for it and leave it but then again i sure am warmer here than you I leave my pumps in the water down low but the same warmer temps here .I use lava rock in my filters so leave that too .Gosh hope some of the people in your area can tell you more and help you before old man winter gets here .

 

[brokensword]

Coinr:

I'm in Mi too, so should understand your situation, though mine is a bit different (my pond is covered and there is no external debris, with all plant material either trimmed away or taken out as I shut down the pond). I don't have a skimmer, so can't tell you if it will handle the weather or not, but were it me, I'd take it out for the season, just in case. (unless it's a bear to unhook/take off) I've already unplugged the pump (submersible) and it will stay beneath the ice line for the winter. They say to keep the pump under water(like in a bucket/container), even if you take it out and store it inside. I have an aerator, about 12" down on a shelf, and that's the main means of keeping a hole open for gases to escape. Unless you have a large fish load, oxygen shouldn't be an issue as the cold water (winter) holds more than the warm (summer) and fishes' usage drops as they pretty much go dormant (not the right term, but it escapes me in the moment). I did, however, order a heating element, just in case this winter is more normal (as opposed to our 'near winter' of last year) and the temps remain low without a January thaw. If you don't have a lot of debris that can compose over the winter, and your fish load is lite while your gallonage is high, you should be fine. Last year, I only had 17 goldies but they were busy and now, I have near 100, though most are less than 2" still. You don't have to worry much about the ice covering over unless it's for a long length of time with no break. I plan on keeping the heater unplugged, even if the aerator ices over, unless the ice cover lasts more than 3 weeks. Then I'll plug it in periodically and recreate a hole so any gas buildup can escape. But from everything I've heard/read, you don't need a hole open all the time. At least, that's how I'm approaching this wintering problem.

Oh, re your filter media; since most of the bacteria is also not going to be working for you at the lower temps, I'd take that out and give it a good cleaning, ready for next spring. The waterfall should be turned off, if stories of icing up and ponds then being drained severely are any indication. Still, some keep everything on and working the whole winter. I just don't see the point; there's a natural pond at the end of my road and I guarantee you there's plenty of decomposing vegetation, no running pump/water, and no aerator to keep the ice open. And unless we have NO thaw (which happened a couple of years ago, if you remember), the fish don't wash up on shore. I'm just not taking the chance that the thaws will be on time, hence keeping the ice open as much as I can within reason.

YMMV


hope this helps.


Michael

 

[CometKeith]

Michael, i agree with the vast majority of what you said until the end when you compared your pond to the natural pond. It is extremely unlikely the "natural pond" has the same bio-load yours does. It's hard to make that sort of comparison.

 

[mtpond]

This is my second winter with my pond. Last winter I drained the water out of my skimmer which took my water level down about 4 or 5 inches in the pond. Since my pond depth is only about 3 1/2 ft deep and the bottom of the pond was 32 degrees for about a week I decided to fill the water back up the amount that I had taken out when I drained the skimmer. After adding more water the bottom warmed up to 36 degrees. The ice in the skimmer only froze a couple of inches on the top and the skimmer was fine come spring. Even tho last winter was mild I'm going to do the same this winter and leave the water in the skimmer. I keep a really good eye on my pond during the winter. I check the pond temps a couple times a day, make sure the air pump is working, check my fish (providing the ice isn't to thick) and check the skimmer. Is your skimmer similar to this?



I pulled the filter and pump out of my skimmer and put them down stairs and also took filtration out of my waterfall and drained the water out of it.

 

[brokensword]

CK:

I suppose, but consider how much less decomposing debris I have versus the natural pond (my pond is enclosed, not much anacharis established). And, there ARE a lot of fish in the one down the road, nor is it that deep (8' max in the middle with much of it at less than 4'--I know, once while skating in the winter, I fell through!). And no air to keep any holes open, nor filter (though the cattails and such pretty much have that covered, I bet). Anyway, hard to quantify but you're prob more right than not. That's why I'm keeping the air going and making sure there's no solid cover for any length of time.

Michael, i agree with the vast majority of what you said until the end when you compared your pond to the natural pond. It is extremely unlikely the "natural pond" has the same bio-load yours does. It's hard to make that sort of comparison.

 

[Coinr]

Thanks for the help. So I guess This weekend I'll shutdown the pumps and make sure they're deep enough that I won't worry about them freezing, I'll remove the filter media, hook up my aerator and I'm leaning towards removing the skimmer. Kinda a pain, but a little time spent now beats buying a new one in the spring. I was leaning towards buying a deicer and think I'm going to go ahead and do it. It's a small price to pay for peace of mind. Besides, I don't need to run it unless necessary.

 

[addy1]

Thanks for the help. So I guess This weekend I'll shutdown the pumps and make sure they're deep enough that I won't worry about them freezing, I'll remove the filter media, hook up my aerator and I'm leaning towards removing the skimmer. Kinda a pain, but a little time spent now beats buying a new one in the spring. I was leaning towards buying a deicer and think I'm going to go ahead and do it. It's a small price to pay for peace of mind. Besides, I don't need to run it unless necessary.

Take some bubble wrap, plastic bag and a rock. Stuff the plastic bag with the bubble wrap or peanuts add a rock for weight stuff it into the skimmer to displace the water. Your skimmer should do fine. That is what I do for mine.

 

[Frankp]

I leave my skimmer in place and just put a half filled two liter soda bottle in it. So far so good, haven't had any skimmer problems with ice.

 

[Coinr]

So I shut it down for the winter last weekend. Thanks for the additional ideas. I used addy's idea. I think addy's method or the soda bottle method will both allow for some expansion if the remaining water freezes. I think they will give before the heavy duty plastic of the skimmer will. I will know for sure in the spring, but am not really worried.

 

[callingcolleen1]

Hello Coinr! I don't have a Skimmer, just three ponds that all flow together and I never shut my pumps down, run them all winter with a 1500 w cattle heater when very cold. I have large sedge plants that are now dormant, lots of winter hardy pond plants that fish love to winter in. Fish have been outside for over 20 years now, all winter. I don't have problems with my setup. I don't use a bubbler so I can't help with that. Hope everything works out for you this winter!

Pictures of the ponds today. The bottom two have lots of ice now. Going to be colder tonight!

 

[sissy]

I also hang a milk bottle with some crushed oyster shells in it and poke holes all around it and hang them from my bridge but would be the same for the skimmer .I don't have a skimmer no leaves or trees around the pond .

plus we don't usually get that cold here .Glad for that . :razz: