When to turn off filter in winter.

[bagsmom]

Good morning! I think the best bet would be if some of our folks in the northeast chime in. It will all depend on your winter weather in your part of the country. I know you will get some good advice!

 

[Jhn]

As I mentioned in your other post I leave my pumps/ aerator running all winter, but I move the air diffuser up to a shallower spot in the pond and my pumps are in skimmers. I have had the entire pond ice up about 10” thick before with the pump still running and have never lost fish.

I would move at least one of your pumps up to the shallower portion of the pond or boost it up on something off the bottom and leave it run all winter. Just be sure that the return can’t divert water out of the pond if it starts to ice up.

 

[Lisak1]

You're doing great!

So your only filtration is the two buckets and they are on the bottom of the pond. With four feet of depth to work with, if you can easily raise the pumps up off the bottom a foot or two, I think you'd be fine to run them all winter if you wanted to. How often do you need to clean your filters? That would definitely be a factor.

For the record, I don't think your filter set up is going to do much if anything to alleviate ammonia in the pond, either summer or winter. Your homemade filters are doing mechanical filtration but it's biological filtration that breaks down ammonia. (Unless I'm misunderstanding your description - I have the mechanical savvy of your hamster's sister!)

 

[addy1]

I shut all off and run a pond breather.

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[Ronfire]

Any disadvantage or problem to having an air stone mid way the pond as well a Pond breather. Worried about being a little overstocked.

 

[Ronfire]

First year with Koi for the winter, hard to believe thy can live for 4-5 months without food.

 

[Lisak1]

You'll be surprised @Ronfire when they come out of winter bigger than when you last saw them in fall!

Lots of folks keep an aerator running all winter - we've done it, but don't really feel its necessary since we keep the pond on all year long. However I do move my aerator to a higher spot in the pond on a shelf just in case we need it during the winter.

 

[Ronfire]

Thanks Lisak,
Just ordered a small aerator and will run in conjunction with my Pond breather for the winter. Still thinking of having a 2nd pond breather in case the one fails while we are away for 4 months. I had 1 fail last year and melt the pump, fortunately the goldfish survived. API was great and replaced it at no charge. This year I have a larger deeper pond and some large Koi.
It can get to -30c here for maybe a week at a tiime so I plan to partly cover the pond to keep some heat in aas well as protect it from snow sliding from the roof 2 stories up.

 

[addy1]

Any disadvantage or problem to having an air stone mid way the pond as well a Pond breather. Worried about being a little overstocked.

Make it a smallish air stone, a friend of mine loss all his fish one winter. He had a large aerator, large pond, kept around 1/2 of the pond open from ice. Every fish died.

I have used a low flow pump, like 325 gph in a bucket it keeps a real nice hole in the ice. I use that in the low end of the pond and the breather in the deep end. Mainly to keep some open water for the birds.

 

[j.w]

I turn off my aerator in winter and just let my falls keep one spot open if we get ice. Not real cold like the freezing north eastern states from us tho. Still I think the fish like some calm waters in the winter to stay a bit warmer.