Bog winter

[Ginger2111]

I have changed pond setup completely and I'm not sure what to do this winter. My pond is close to three feet deep. I changed to an external pump, added a bog, and a waterfall. My zone is 5B (NE OR mountains). I'd love to run it through the winter because I think the waterfall would look amazing. I was thinking I might buy an extra internal pump and hook it up to run the bog and store my external pump for the winter. Do I need to worry about my bog piping freezing? Your suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

 

[Lisak1]

Remind me - how deep is the bog? If all your plumbing is buried then you shouldn't have to worry about freezing, especially if you keep the water moving. We run our pond all winter (submersible pump) and you are right - it's so fun to watch the pretty ice formations! And on the very coldest days I love to open my back door and listen very carefully to hear the sound of the running water!

 

[addy1]

Mine has too much surface area, when we start getting cold, with our psycho weather, hot one day 80 full sun, pond temp goes up, 31 f the next morning pond water drops. The bog controls the ponds water temperature. I would worry about 1) ice forming in that 27x4.5 foot area 2) the cold super chilling the pond. The waterfall is in the deep end, it is strong enough it does keep the bottom clean right below it. I would worry it would mess with the a bit warmer water at the bottom of the pond.

Right now the cold dry air is doing a good job of sucking out the water from the pond. I add a good bit every day. Turned off the deck pond, with just a tiny pump running the one small part of the pond almost dried up before I noticed. The pump was sucking air........opps

Turned off the hot tub pond the same thing was happening, those two have just 350 or so gallons per hour running.

I put it to rest and enjoy the pond down time.

 

[Ginger2111]

Lisak1 the bog is 13 inches deep.

 

[Lisak1]

Ours is much deeper, but the plumbing isn't all that deep - I would guess it's probably a foot underground but it's actually completely exposed for about a foot where it drops down into the bog.

Honestly when we ran our pond all winter for the first time we had no idea what would happen. We just hoped for the best. And then we had our first Polar Vortex in Chicago! It was nerve wracking! But it all worked fine, nothing froze, and spring was not even an issue with water quality. I guess you won't know until you try!

 

[GBBUDD]

The key is the water below a foot down not be disturbed. let that water settle and only have the surface movement much like ice at the surface of the pond that 32 degree ice is actually a fantastic insulator where the temp is always at 32. And believe it or not the water is actually warmer toward the bottom IF IT IS NOT DISTURBED. can you run the pump all year sure if it doesn't get tooo cold. the water is moving in the pipes and will take some time to ice and freeze moving water is friction and warms the water just enough untill it gets soooo cold

 

[Bluerooster]

Here it rarely gets into the single digits. But I've seen the low teens for several days in a row. I've seen a few inches of ice on the pond, but the bog, falls, and stream kept on flowing. And the skimmer kept on skimming.

 

[DigdirtJen]

The key is the water below a foot down not be disturbed. let that water settle and only have the surface movement much like ice at the surface of the pond that 32 degree ice is actually a fantastic insulator where the temp is always at 32. And believe it or not the water is actually warmer toward the bottom IF IT IS NOT DISTURBED. can you run the pump all year sure if it doesn't get tooo cold. the water is moving in the pipes and will take some time to ice and freeze moving water is friction and warms the water just enough untill it gets soooo cold

This is my first winter with my pond. I was reading your statement above about the water below a foot down not being disturbed so it stays warmer. Does this mean I should take out my airstones that sit on the bottom of my pond? Will they stir the water too much?

 

[poconojoe]

This is my first winter with my pond. I was reading your statement above about the water below a foot down not being disturbed so it stays warmer. Does this mean I should take out my airstones that sit on the bottom of my pond? Will they stir the water too much?

Tie a string to your air stones to keep them raised up about a foot below the water surface.

 

[addy1]

I had a friend with a big pond, goldfish, he put in a strong air pump with a lot of bubbles, 75% of the pond zero ice..................but during a very cold Feb the fish started floating pulled out buckets of them. He lost all except one. IE he super chilled the water. It was a pretty cold winter that year, 5ish years ago.
So I personally do not use a aerator, just the pond breather. Which last year I never plugged it in.

 

[DigdirtJen]

Tie a string to your air stones to keep them raised up about a foot below the water surface.

I will do that...thanks so much for the advice!

 

[GBBUDD]

This is my first winter with my pond. I was reading your statement above about the water below a foot down not being disturbed so it stays warmer. Does this mean I should take out my airstones that sit on the bottom of my pond? Will they stir the water too much?

First question is how deep is your pond . But even if it is a shallow pond placing the air stone to one end of your pond will alow for poisonous gasses to escape the pond . Add some o2 to the pond and yet not disturb the waters too much on the other side of the pond.
In colder climates pumping air could be detrimental and it could chill the water if the pump is sucking in 5 degrees its pushing 5 degrees to the pond which could lower Temps further then we want. Others use a heater to rely on keeping a opening in the pond. I keep my air pump in a basement walk out so the air never gets all that cold

 

[CometKeith]

This is my first winter with my pond. I was reading your statement above about the water below a foot down not being disturbed so it stays warmer. Does this mean I should take out my airstones that sit on the bottom of my pond? Will they stir the water too much?

Hi. Water that is 38 degrees is the most dense of various temperatures of pond water. This layer of water forms at the bottom of the pond so its best if you don’t disturb it so your fish have a nice place to go in the winter. I keep my pumps going but also keep on eye on them that water doesn’t end up in the wrong place like making a skating ring in my neighbor’s yard! I also use a pond breather. To me that is critical to keep a hole in the ice during the coldest days in the winter.

 

[Lisak1]

We move our aerator to a shelf to get it off the bottom of the pond.

I think a good layer of ice is incredibly helpful on a pond - snow, too - if you live where it's really cold. It provides a layer of insulation that you don't get on open water. We've had years where there was no visible opening in the surface, but our waterfall is running so we know we're getting gas exchange.

 

[brokensword]

We move our aerator to a shelf to get it off the bottom of the pond.

I think a good layer of ice is incredibly helpful on a pond - snow, too - if you live where it's really cold. It provides a layer of insulation that you don't get on open water. We've had years where there was no visible opening in the surface, but our waterfall is running so we know we're getting gas exchange.

actually Lisa, snow if it lasts too long, will inhibit algae growth, which is important as it helps replenish O2 levels. It is recommended to remove snow if it's been on any length of time and your pond is anywhere near overstocked. While there is insulating value, the ice will do the same once it separates the colder air from the water below. Not that many are going to shovel off their pond but such is what I learned from the PondBoss forums and their resulting fish losses or not. I know here in Michigan, when we don't get our typical January thaw, the big pond at the end of the block will experience fish kills.

PondBoss forums also recommends lifting the air lines.

@CometKeith ; just for reference, and I'm being nitpicky, it's actually 39 deg at which water achieves max density and inverts from bottom to top.