Steps to winterizing

[tbendl]

Oh nice. The leaves haven't even started turning here yet. I've got probably another 3-4 weeks before they begin turning. How long did yours take to build Peter?

 

[peter hillman]

Oh nice. The leaves haven't even started turning here yet. I've got probably another 3-4 weeks before they begin turning. How long did yours take to build Peter?

The motivation part goes a long way. It was simple, a few elbows and tees, I made it custom to fit with the supplies I had. Used a torch to bend the pipe the way I wanted it. Funny thing I had to take a break while making it because it got so hot! But the locust is leaving leaves all over the deck every morning already. Most of my yard is starting to turn yellow.
I also got up and covered the gutters yesterday with these wonderful snap in covers, fit so well, so easy so cheap! People who don't get real winter are soooo lucky.

 

[sissy]

I sewed my window screening with fishing line by hand .Hint don't watch TV while doing it ,I poked my fingers several times with the needle .I also got the sewing needles at the dollar store and used the larger one

 

[sissy]

The motivation part goes a long way. It was simple, a few elbows and tees, I made it custom to fit with the supplies I had. Used a torch to bend the pipe the way I wanted it. Funny thing I had to take a break while making it because it got so hot! But the locust is leaving leaves all over the deck every morning already. Most of my yard is starting to turn yellow.
I also got up and covered the gutters yesterday with these wonderful snap in covers, fit so well, so easy so cheap! People who don't get real winter are soooo lucky.

I thought those were supposed to bubble up when you install them or is it an option to go either way

 

[zigzagbuddha]

We left our pump and waterfall running all last winter with no issues. We have two de-icers we plugged in right in front of the skimmer box to keep things from completely freezing over--a low-wattage one to start with, and then the high-watt one once the air temperature stays below freezing. The high-watt one uses a LOT of electricity, so I do unplug it when we catch a few warmer days during the winter.

Other than that... definitely get as much of the leaves/tree debris out as possible before winter.

I was wondering about leaving my waterfall feature going through the winter. This is my first year with the pond, any pond, so I have been stressing out a little over this 'winterizing' stuff. I was thinking if I put a couple of air stones around the pump to the waterfall that would make it possible for me to leave it running. I'm a little confused about what a 'de-icer' is, I've even looked them up online - I feel like some kind of dimwit, not that there's anything wrong with dimwits, especially since I might be one hahaha! I was also thinking about just keeping an eye on the weather and unplugging the pump on freezing nights. I guess this first winter will be a learning experience for me, and that's a good thing, but I sure hope my little fishies don't have to give up their lives for me to learn!!

 

[teeemkay]

I was wondering about leaving my waterfall feature going through the winter. This is my first year with the pond, any pond, so I have been stressing out a little over this 'winterizing' stuff. I was thinking if I put a couple of air stones around the pump to the waterfall that would make it possible for me to leave it running. I'm a little confused about what a 'de-icer' is, I've even looked them up online - I feel like some kind of dimwit, not that there's anything wrong with dimwits, especially since I might be one hahaha! I was also thinking about just keeping an eye on the weather and unplugging the pump on freezing nights. I guess this first winter will be a learning experience for me, and that's a good thing, but I sure hope my little fishies don't have to give up their lives for me to learn!!

I was in the same position at this time last year (almost to the day, really--Tuesday is the one-year anniversary of us closing on our house and becoming owners of a pond and 3 koi). Don't feel like a dimwit--you are in the right place for advice!

I think it would be better to leave the pump running especially when it's freezing outside so water doesn't freeze inside the pump itself and damage it. Depends on your pond setup (internal vs external pump) and what climate you live in. Like I said, we kept the pump and waterfalls running through a cold, hard Chicago winter and everything was fine. There was a shell of ice that formed over the waterfall, but the water keeps flowing beneath it. It's actually kind of cool to see.

Re: de-icers, just look them up on Amazon. The high-watt one that worked well for us was about $28. It looks like an oversized red hockey puck that floats and has a heating element under it that looks like an electric stove burner. We bought a wire guard that fits around the heating element so just in case if it floated too near the edge of the pond it wouldn't melt the liner. Sometimes they are mis-described as "heaters." They're not really heaters--they get just warm enough to melt a hole in the ice to allow for air exchange and not heat up the entire body of water in the pond.

 

[zigzagbuddha]

I was in the same position at this time last year (almost to the day, really--Tuesday is the one-year anniversary of us closing on our house and becoming owners of a pond and 3 koi). Don't feel like a dimwit--you are in the right place for advice!

I think it would be better to leave the pump running especially when it's freezing outside so water doesn't freeze inside the pump itself and damage it. Depends on your pond setup (internal vs external pump) and what climate you live in. Like I said, we kept the pump and waterfalls running through a cold, hard Chicago winter and everything was fine. There was a shell of ice that formed over the waterfall, but the water keeps flowing beneath it. It's actually kind of cool to see.

Re: de-icers, just look them up on Amazon. The high-watt one that worked well for us was about $28. It looks like an oversized red hockey puck that floats and has a heating element under it that looks like an electric stove burner. We bought a wire guard that fits around the heating element so just in case if it floated too near the edge of the pond it wouldn't melt the liner. Sometimes they are mis-described as "heaters." They're not really heaters--they get just warm enough to melt a hole in the ice to allow for air exchange and not heat up the entire body of water in the pond.

Thanks for the response! And yeah, it was that interchangeable use of the words 'de-icer' and 'heater' that confused me. But what my question is now is why would I need a de-icer with the waterfall running and 2 diffusers bubbling?

I live in Virginia, northernmost of the southern states maybe, but we still get plenty of below freezing weather, and my pond is only about 18 to 20 inches deep. I'm going to pile leaves on the back of the waterfall and all around the pond, and I have a heavy duty triple layer net that I will put over it during snowy weather (and heavy leaf-fall) and it seems like that should help. I just have a little 'TotalPond 1200 GPH waterfall pump in there and I have it sitting in the pond on top of a low crate which the fish like to hang out in.

But if you can do it in Chicago, surely I can do it in Virginia!! How deep is your pond?

 

[teeemkay]

My pond is about 20 inches deep too. You don't *have* to have a de-icer as long as there is a hole somewhere in the ice for air/gas exchange. If the diffusers are keeping a hole big enough in the ice, then you're good.

 

[zigzagbuddha]

My pond is about 20 inches deep too. You don't *have* to have a de-icer as long as there is a hole somewhere in the ice for air/gas exchange. If the diffusers are keeping a hole big enough in the ice, then you're good.

I read somewhere about putting a milk jug with a little water in it and if the pond freezes over then you can just pull the milk jug out and voila! a hole. I don't know how appealing to the eye a milk jug bobbing around in the pond would be though.

You said you put a wire guard around your de-icer so it wouldn't melt the liner, but couldn't the fish swim through the guard and burn themselves on the heating element??

 

[teeemkay]

You can also melt a hole in the ice with a pot if needed--boil some water and then set the pot itself on the pond's surface. It will quickly melt a hole sufficient enough for air exchange. I did it a couple times when we had really hard freezes and I thought the de-icers were broken. Turns out I had only tripped the GFI button on the electrical outlet at some point--nothing was wrong with the de-icers themselves, thank goodness.

The wire guard stays relatively close to the heating element itself--the fish never got close enough to burn themselves on it. Besides, the fish generally stayed near the bottom of the pond during the winter or near the plant baskets around the edge of the pond. (These are BIG koi, by the way... about 18" long and pretty chunky...they really wouldn't fit through the wire guard. I wish I had a picture of the setup to show you.)

 

[zigzagbuddha]

You can also melt a hole in the ice with a pot if needed--boil some water and then set the pot itself on the pond's surface. It will quickly melt a hole sufficient enough for air exchange. I did it a couple times when we had really hard freezes and I thought the de-icers were broken. Turns out I had only tripped the GFI button on the electrical outlet at some point--nothing was wrong with the de-icers themselves, thank goodness.

The wire guard stays relatively close to the heating element itself--the fish never got close enough to burn themselves on it. Besides, the fish generally stayed near the bottom of the pond during the winter or near the plant baskets around the edge of the pond. (These are BIG koi, by the way... about 18" long and pretty chunky...they really wouldn't fit through the wire guard. I wish I had a picture of the setup to show you.)

18 inches?!? Wow, those are some pretty big fish!! Most of mine are only 4 or 5 inches... and I was sort of hoping they would stay that size! If they get too much bigger they won't be able to fit in their little crate sanctuary!

Glad to know about the pan of boiling water tip too, thanks!

 

[Dave 54]

Follow the steps on this article @zigzagbuddha they will help you in readying your pond for the winter months ahead

https://www.gardenpondforum.com/articles/prepping-your-pond-for-the-winter.29/

Dave

 

[zigzagbuddha]

Follow the steps on this article @zigzagbuddha they will help you in readying your pond for the winter months ahead

https://www.gardenpondforum.com/articles/prepping-your-pond-for-the-winter.29/

Dave

Good article, thank you! I especially like the suggestion of garlic and wheat germ... I have been soaking wheat germ in cod liver oil, then mixing it with finely minced garlic.

 

[sissy]

I buy food that has garlic in it (5 lb bag ).I buy mine from pet solutions and dr foster and smith have it also ,(I am now waiting for the greens stuff from webbs.I hope they like this new food for next summer