shut down the waterfall

[onemean]

I have around 6k and 3 1/2 foot deep pond. Should I allow the waterfall to run all winter? im in ny and it will freeze but my waterfall/boifall is big and likely won't freeze provided we don't have any loss of power. i do have a large aerator to keep the surface in multiple spots from freezing. all of a sudden i have some long algae attached to everything. will this die or must i remove it? thanks in advance.

 

[sissy]

thats string algae and I don't leave my waterfall running in the winter here .When things go wrong they go wrong fast and your pond can empty in an hour and if it freezes over it can be even faster if your pump is a high gph pump .It can happen at night and you may not know until it is to late ,after last winter do you want to take that chance .You can remove the string algae by hand and then you can spray it with peroxide also .But if there is alot of it remove most by hand .Believe it or not I use a dollar store toilet bowl brush the round ones are great for that .I buy several because I help my neighbors with there ponds .I would not leave my waterfall running ,I don't think you would want to risk that as you can burn your pump out besides killig your fish.Not worth it been there done that

 

[addy1]

I would shut off the waterfall, we are going to turn off our pumps around the first week of december or whenever it really turns cold here. Then we will just be running a aerator to keep a hole in the ice for my lil fish. It is not worth the worry, for me, to keep things running and hope no power fails, no ice dams form etc. The string algae is forming due to the change in the temperature, I have a little forming due to my plants dieing back, lack of nutrient competition. It will die off as the temperature drops

 

[taherrmann4]

Same here when it comes to my waterfall, it will be shut down for the reasons stated above.

 

[j.w]

Any day now shutting mine down also.

 

[onemean]

thanks for the advice . i will be doing the same as well then. so i guess i will have to suck dry the biofalls and lower the skimmer to the point where the lines will be empty?

 

[sissy]

suck dry LOL I use a shop vac to get the water out of my water lines .I used an air compressor one time but that would have made a great cartoon ,I got soaking wet .The shop vac has less power so works better .I use the filter in it that is for water and is foam .I bought a small shop vac that I only use on the pond it was 12.99 on sale at lowes

 

[j.w]

Would have liked to see that cartoon sissy. Can you set up a permanent type video camera by your pond so we can have a good laugh now and then of all the stuff you go through in your experimenting?

 

[sissy]

Hey I could make money that way LOL .I have done some pretty stupid things and trying now to think things out first before they find my butt drowned in my own pond .Make some really funny headlines would probably be in every newspaper across the world .I would be famous and not even know it .DARN

 

[addy1]

We would tell you sissy,...................Hey Sissy check the news you are on again!

 

[digginponds]

Hey I could make money that way LOL .I have done some pretty stupid things and trying now to think things out first before they find my butt drowned in my own pond .Make some really funny headlines would probably be in every newspaper across the world .I would be famous and not even know it .DARN

I fell in today,and it WAS cold. yea I would shut down the fall,plastic,cold yea not good,and what if ya loose power,then you gonna have to jump in ,spash 'round and get frost bite,or worse,not a perty pic ..........

 

[sissy]

fell in LOL and sure glad it was not me but then again not as cold here but still cold enough to shiver your timbers off .

 

[CometKeith]

You should keep your waterfall going as long as possible because this will reduce anaerobic decay from organic materials that have fallen into the pond. That's the rotten egg smell you can detect in the spring that fosters growth of bad bacteria. It really depends how much sun your pond gets and other factors that affect whether the waterfall freezes up but keeping it going longer will only help the overall health of your fish. The biofilter doesn't do anything under 50 degrees and should be removed. Last year I took my pump out Dec 1st and put it back in March 1st and this year I am going to keep my pump running longer weather permitting.

 

[addy1]

We are so warm here right now, the pond is still running the fish nibbling on plants and swimming around. Our first pond icing, last year, was 12/4, but I also had no pump running, we shut it off in october, no fish except the four that surprised me in the spring.