When do I shut down the pond for winter?

[karenskoipond]

Did my major fall clean out today in prep. for Chicago's winter season which is quickly approaching. We found 2- 5 inch koi in my bog garden they're babies from may or june's spawn I presume. It was quite exciting. I've also divided up all the plants which I have to say quadrupled in size this summer, and replanted bringing up our potted plant count to over 40 plants including lilies. and now 36 koi. It was a wonderful first season with the newer and much much larger pond. Hubby and I are still going back and forth on how to or if we'll cover it completely for the winter. Water temp is now down around 52* and the koi are all hanging out at the bottom we're down to feeding once a day and they're still eating. I'm thinking by this weekend we'll be done. All that's left to do is to sink all 40 pots and turn off the pumps, pumps will be on for a while yet. I'm thinking we're going to play it by ear

 

[Sweet Lew]

I started my cleanout yesterday (mainly just trying to remove as much algae as possible). Will finish sometime this month. Since I don't have fish, I figure I can keep the pond going until the first frost.

 

[DrDave]

Karen
If you are at 52 degrees F, stop feeding. Your fish will look for more food but don't give it to them.

 

[nc0gnet0]

Dr. Dave


What do you do when climate is fluctuating and Water temperature might dip to the low 50's for a few days then back up into the 60's for a few days, etc etc? At how many days above 55 do you resume feeding? October to April seems like a long time to go without food........

 

[DrDave]

If your pond is below 55 degrees F then do not worry about feeding. If you have a few days above that, do not worry.

Dealers that ship Koi, do not feed them for days before shipment, Fish will survive just fine without daily feeding.

I know of people who never feed thier fish, they let mother nature provide. I do not agree with this, but the fact remains, some of them survive.

Don't let your stomach drive your passion to feed, they are cold blooded and have different metabolisms than we do.

 

[nc0gnet0]

Well my water temperature has been hovering around 60 degrees. I do have it partially (1/2) covered with a solar pool cover. So what your saying is (if I understand you correctly) once the water temperature hits 55 degrees, stop feeding, even if we get a warm spell that sends temps into the mid 60's for an extended period of time (say two weeks). it's Michigan Dr. Dave, we have had christmas's in the below zero range all the way to the mid 70's.

 

[DrDave]

I said a few days, not weeks. Please re-read my response. Even of you did not feed them for those 2 weeks, they would be fine. That said, a few days is my recommendation as the longest above 55 after a cold snap.

 

[nc0gnet0]

Cool....thanks!

 

[oldmarine]

I have to admit, I'm a little slow sometimes. I have to ask why is everyone turning everything off in their ponds for the winter? The fish are still in the pond, right?

When I first moved back to Tacoma, WA in 1981, I had a sinder block pond that I my father built way back in the sixties. It was about the size of a bathtub, but it was two feet deep. I had some cheap feeder goldfish in it for several winters before that thing finally cracked and started to fall apart. It had no filtration, just a container full of water with goldfish. Every winter it would freeze over, and at times, for a week or more it would freeze down deep so that the fish were incapsulated in ice. They had a void of unfrozen water in the center where the fish were. What amazed me was that they never died from being almost suspended in ice. I never did anything to the pond during a freeze in fear of killing the fish myself.

So why is it so important to shut down filters and systems of the larger ponds during the winter?

 

[koiguy1969]

at least where ponds freeze over or temps stay real low for long periods..warmer water inverts and settles on the bottom when it gets that cold. the fish settle there in the warmer water, when your filter and falls (or return ) is left running your water may not freeze but the water is pulled from the lower region exposed to colder air and water temps and pumped back in the pond..disturbing the stability of the temperature tables in the pond. the temp at the bottom moves up and down,and the fish have to expend valuable energy adjusting themselves with the temp.. this further stresses the fish when their immune system is already slowed down and weak. and your filters bacterial colony is dead at those temps anyways so your filtration would be limited to mechanical only at best.

 

[DrDave]

I would think that a submersible in the bottom that is there only to keep water moving and does not pump it up or out, would help keep the lower part from freezing up. The heat of the motor, albeit very little, may also aid in keeping the lower section from freezing solid.

 

[oldmarine]

Thank you KoiGuy & DrDave,

I appreciate your explanation, thank you, now I understand. You guys are great.

 

[oldmarine]

DrDave & KoiGuy,

My boi-filter is uninslulated and above gound. Would it be wise on my part to bypass, empty, and clean it for the winter? My water pump is under water in with the skimmer/pre-filter in a reservor connected and next to the pond.

 

[DrDave]

If your pond bottom is clean and the fish are dormant, you might consider draining you filter it since the possiblity of freezing exists there. With no food, there is no waste to speak of so you might be ok.
There are others more experienced with wintering over ponds than me. You might want to consider what they have to say.

 

[oldmarine]

Thanks DrDave, so far I'm on track. Sometimes it's just the little details that keep us from doing things right. I really don't like learning from my errors.