First year closing a pond

[qclabrat]

alright another one of these
this is a new pond with GF and plants in pots and a bog with plants. I'll just ask lots of questions long the way to get me prepared.

1) leaves, do I try to pick out all that have sunk to the bottom?

2) when do I stop filtering the water?

 

[Jhn]

Depends on the Amount of leaves, if it is a lot you could get them out, as best you can. Otherwise, they will decay and eventually turn into silt.

By stop filtering do you mean turning pumps off? As long as the pump isn't at the bottom of the pond, I would just leave it running. Just don't want to mix the colder top layer of water with the warmer bottom layer of water during the cold months.

 

[CometKeith]

I'm in the Chicago area. I remove my bio-filter about when I stop feeding them and when I start doing my yard stuff for the winter like putting away pots and decorations I don't want sitting out. You definitely don't want your filter going through a hard freeze with water sitting in it and it's no fun taking it out of the pond and cleaning it when the pond water is close to freezing. The bio-filter doesn't really do anything below 50 degrees because all the beneficial bacteria dies out. I leave a small pump and airstone running all winter but take everything else out. It's hard to say exact dates, but usually I take my filter out by the end of October and put it back sometime in April. Since its going up to 80 degrees by the end of this week I may delay taking stuff out until I can see that the weather is getting cold for good. Re leaves. Anaerobic decay is bad for your fish. You want to take as much of the leaves out as possible or use a net if you have a lot of trees nearby. If you leave the leaves in and don't keep the water moving over the winter you will have very poor water quality which you will be able to detect by the smell! Actually spring time and poor water quality is much more dangerous to fish than freezing winter temperatures. Good luck!

 

[qclabrat]

Depends on the Amount of leaves, if it is a lot you could get them out, as best you can. Otherwise, they will decay and eventually turn into silt.

By stop filtering do you mean turning pumps off? As long as the pump isn't at the bottom of the pond, I would just leave it running. Just don't want to mix the colder top layer of water with the warmer bottom layer of water during the cold months.

that's right, I'm expecting the water to start freezing around Christmas/Kawanza and January/February can get colder than most of NJ, as I live on top of a ridge. I'll do my best remove leaves. I'm pretty sure it gets cold enough here to damage my pumps and filters so I'd like to remove them but preferably not in December when its close to freezing.

I'm in the Chicago area. I remove my bio-filter about when I stop feeding them and when I start doing my yard stuff for the winter like putting away pots and decorations I don't want sitting out. You definitely don't want your filter going through a hard freeze with water sitting in it and it's no fun taking it out of the pond and cleaning it when the pond water is close to freezing. The bio-filter doesn't really do anything below 50 degrees because all the beneficial bacteria dies out. I leave a small pump and airstone running all winter but take everything else out. It's hard to say exact dates, but usually I take my filter out by the end of October and put it back sometime in April. Since its going up to 80 degrees by the end of this week I may delay taking stuff out until I can see that the weather is getting cold for good. Re leaves. Anaerobic decay is bad for your fish. You want to take as much of the leaves out as possible or use a net if you have a lot of trees nearby. If you leave the leaves in and don't keep the water moving over the winter you will have very poor water quality which you will be able to detect by the smell! Actually spring time and poor water quality is much more dangerous to fish than freezing winter temperatures. Good luck!

Can you tell me what type of aeration you are using? I have a deicer (need a back up) but still need to buy an aerator for the winter.

 

[Angel]

that's right, I'm expecting the water to start freezing around Christmas/Kawanza and January/February can get colder than most of NJ, as I live on top of a ridge. I'll do my best remove leaves. I'm pretty sure it gets cold enough here to damage my pumps and filters so I'd like to remove them but preferably not in December when its close to freezing.

S nj here i have kept my pump in the pond over winter 8 years now no issue.

Can you tell me what type of aeration you are using? I have a deicer (need a back up) but still need to buy an aerator for the winter.

you can build one cheap with a small pump. my winter pump/spare is about 800 g/hr or under i forget. This year i for about $10 i built a venturi air system.

 

[mgmine]

I would get a net to keep the leaves out otherwise pull as many out for as long as you can. As for the pump and filter I like doing mine while the weather is still nice. Although the temps are still in the 70's I plan on shutting down next week. It can turn cold in day at this time of the year and I don't want to spend an hour or so on a cold rainy day. Don't worry about the fish they will survive without the filter. They better because they have many months to go without one. As far as putting air in I have a couple of air stones off Amazon

 

[qclabrat]

S nj here i have kept my pump in the pond over winter 8 years now no issue.



you can build one cheap with a small pump. my winter pump/spare is about 800 g/hr or under i forget. This year i for about $10 i built a venturi air system.View attachment 105145

do you blow out the hoses? or just disconnect so it does not crack the plastic bits?

Also not sure I understand how a venturi can work in very cold climates. I get several days and weeks in the teens here the past few years. Can you explain your system a bit more?

 

[Angel]

do you blow out the hoses? or just disconnect so it does not crack the plastic bits?

Also not sure I understand how a venturi can work in very cold climates. I get several days and weeks in the teens here the past few years. Can you explain your system a bit more?

didnt blow out lines as before i had no check valve to the falls so gravity drained it back to the pond.

the venturi creats a bubbling effect to keep the water surface broken

https://imgur.com/a/BHUv6

 

[teeemkay]

Yes, scoop out as many leaves as you can before the pond freezes over. You don't want them decaying on the bottom all winter. I agree with the suggestion about the leaf net. I have one and it keeps a good 90% of the leaves and pine needles out of the water and the skimmer box. I don't leave it on all winter--I remove it when there is the first risk of heavy snow.

 

[CometKeith]

Can you tell me what type of aeration you are using? I have a deicer (need a back up) but still need to buy an aerator for the winter.[/QUOTE]
Hmmm..... It's like a cheap air pump I bought at Petco a few years back with a large round ball for the bubbles to come out. It's recommended to put the airstone as close to the middle of the pond as possible and not on the edge. My garage is next to the pond and I keep the pump in the garage where the temps are better than outside. i don't know if it helps keep the air warmer coming out of the airstone but it can't hurt.