Tonight it is supposed to get down to 32, maybe 31 here and I have already gotten in all my non-hardy plants, but...what should I do with my pump? I know I'm supposed to take it out when winter "really" sets in, but what about a quick freeze?
Do I leave it there and hope it's ok? On or off? I don't think it will be a long or hard freeze, but I really can't afford to ruin my pump.
Freeze warning- help!
Hi
I'm in St. Louis, so the weather is a little different here. We do get our cold weather and sometimes a few days of 0 degree weather. I've been told to leave my pump running all through the winter. I've a small pond heater to keep a spot unfrozen for gas exchange. I think you should be fine. Hope this helps a bit.
Thank you for the reply and help! I am still unsure....some of what I read says that at zone 5 and colder you should take the pump out. I left it in the other night and it was fine, though I don't really believe it froze as none of my plants lost any leaves. We have 20's and snow coming this weekend so I better figure it out!
I'm about 90% sure I've decided to take the pump out but leave the bio filter in. Now to figure out what to do with my poor fish...
Oh, it sounds like it is getting cold there. Didn't I read somewhere about a week ago that Colorado had the earliest snow ever on record this year? It's rainy and about 40ish here. My toes are cold so guess it's time to stop wearing shorts, lol.
This is the first year for my fish too. With the cold temps my fish have about stopped eating. I've noticed a couple ulcer's on 2 of my Koi, so I am totally worried about them now. Everyone says to leave them in there and that they will do fine, but I still worry.
I've put a net over the pond to keep the leaves out. Now the leaves just sit on top of the net, not too pretty. Good luck with your pond.
crystal
I take out my pump when night temperatures are forcasted and likely to stay below 40 until spring. In this area it is usually Thanksgiving week. I ignore a short cold snap or two if the night temps are going to go back above 40. As we get temps down to -10 to leave a pump running is asking for trouble. Think winter storm and possible power failure. Also, if your water returns to the pond in a waterfall you can "superchill" the water as it passes through the colder air. I don't like to have the koi waste energy swimming all winter against a current either. Spring turn on is just the reverse. Consistent night temperatures above 40 and I'm back out at the ponds, putting everything back in and thrilled for spring. Mercy, winter is drag isnt it!
Lol thank you for the help! I think it's going to come out today. The 10 day is all under 40, and I doubt it'll warm up in November! Last night I turned the pump off for a wind storm (40 mph) which was sure to blow all of the water off the fountain and out of the pond.
Winter is a drag! This is just my second one here in Colorado...so it still pretty tragic to me! Lol. I'm just going to have to let go of my fish, like I finally did all my plants....if they make it, they make it and I've done my best to protect them. Thank you for the help crystal and snapple! Susanne
Susanne,
You need to have a heater in the water for a hole in the ice so that there can be a gas exchange. Not sure what kind of fish you have, but if you have goldfish and/or koi your fish will be fine if you do this.
Typically, when you shut your pumps down in the winter, you will have layers of water that are different temps. The fish will winter in the deepest part of your pond, which will remain at about 34 degrees. You may see them moving around from time to time, but technically they are dormant. You dont' want to disturb these layers of water - I believe this is what snapple45 was getting at when they indicated that you do not want to 'superchill' the water.
We bring our pumps/biofilters and UV lights in when the water temps approach that 34 degree mark. Last year it was the beginning of December and the year before it was around Thanksgiving when this was done. Just keep an eye on your water temps.
As far as ulcers - personally, I don't think it is good to be going into winter with this. We had a situation with ulcers once a couple of years ago and that was when we started everything up in the early spring. We bought triple antibiotic foods and fed those to the fish- everybody was and still are fine. You may want to look more into the ulcer situation for this time of year as the immunities in your fish are on the decline and ulcer disease is highly contagious.
Let us know how you make out.
Carolyn
Well said and explained carolyn22. I'm a little overprotective about my koi. I use two 1500 watt deicers which keep the temp at 38 to 40 for all winter. The few extra degrees is supposed to lower the stress factor on the immune system and allow the immune system to get back up and running quicker in the spring. Or it may just be something the electric utility company dreamed up!
One deicer runs 24/7. The second gets plugged in only when we have an extended period of sub zero temps. One thing it does do is attract an amazing amount of wildlife. Its really something to see the pond surrounded by snow, steam coming off the water and birds drinking at pond edges. We put a couple of flat rocks on a planting shelf so that the rocks are just an inch or two below the surface of the water. The birds, wearing flip flops, with towels draped over their wings, line up to bathe on the rocks. Well worth the electric bill.
Lol, sounds nice Snapple!
Carolyn thank you for the great information. I have read about the water temp layering, which made me feel better...but then I read other things about ponds needing to be at least 3 ft deep to overwinter fish outside. Mine is at its deepest, 2 ft. And then of course I read young fish sometimes don't do well over winter...and of course mine are all less than a year or so old.
I took out the pump today. The new prediction is a low in the 20s tonight, so I didn't want to risk it! Do you think I disturbed the water layering when I took it out? Or does that not become a factor until the water gets colder? Temp was at about 42 when I was working on it.
I also finally put up a leaf net because after that wind storm last night, this morning was a very chilly clean up.
I did just get a de-icer in the mail today, and it came cracked (aesthetic) and so they are sending me another for free, even though I said I didn't care if it still worked...so now I will have two too! I think mine is much lower wattage than 1500, though. :)
Susanne
I doubt you disturbed the layering of the water temps - I think it would take more than just removing a pump to do that. What you need to worry about is your water temperature and not so much the air temperature. The air temps are not going to bother your pumps.
I dont' know what kind of fish you have, but the deeper the better. However, I will tell you that hubby and I first got started with a little 90 gallon preform pond that was only about 15-18 inches deep. That first winter we wintered over 4 koi with a heater in that pond. At that time, we didn't realize that 90 gallons was way too small for koi. We have since enlarged our pond two more times - I think we are finally finished!
I don't know how rural or urban your area is, however, I do know that you can get water heaters at Agway or at cattle trough heater at a Tractor Supply store works well too. Good luck to you.
Snapple45 - Thank you for your compliments. I too love the wildlife the pond attracts - The squirrels act like they are stealing their drinks when they come to drink. They are so cute, but they crack me up!
Carolyn
Cute fishies! How old are they? I have 3 koi and what once was 4 goldfish in about 300ish gallons. I say the goldfish once were, because I caught a stray cat fishing in my pond more than once and I haven't seen all 4 goldfish since. Grrr
We're pretty urban, but today I did note seeing a Grainger, which I think is a tractor supply? Should I add a trough heater in addition to the de-icer(s)? How much do they usually run? Thank you for being such a big help. I've become somewhat versed in my summer pond...but still learning about this winter pond.
I'm a snowbird in Cocoa Beach FL but my pond is at home in zone 5a in Cicero, NY. We take out the filter and pump, the depth is 2 - 3 foot, The diameter is 18 feet. Every spring we find more goldfish, we started with common *feeder" fish to condition the water before buying "good" fish. That was fifteen years ago, and I became attached to those fish so never bought the "good" fish. We don't feed them. I now have 5 or 6 pinkish pearl goldfish with long flowing tails. They are about six inches long. I have some mottled (remind me of a tortoise cat) and some plain. They are all black at birth and change color as they get older. I have counted 75 at one time so know I probably have closer to 90. I give them away to other ponders. They are not easy to catch. Ponding is addictive and the vesy best stress reliever that I have ever found. It's a wonderful learning experience, and will provide you with years and years of enjoyment. This year I potted all my hardy Mme. Winfron Gonnere water lily divisions which I am offering for postage next spring so if you are interested, contact me in 2008.
Hey mittsy, You'll be hearing from me in the spring re the Winfron Gonnere! Apparently you know how to manage water conditions - else you wouldn't have the goldfish population exlposion! Amazing isnt it!
"Ponding is addictive and the very best stress reliver that I have ever found."
Amen!
Am putting you in my trade tracker for Spring 2008 for 1/12 of pink hardy water lilies, have 11 to go.
Mittsy
Susanne,
Thank you. The white one is The General and we found out that he is a she..... And The General is the one that had the ulcer problem a couple of springs ago. It was bad and covered most of the top of her back. She also had the algae with the Saproglena (sp?) too and she took almost all of that summer to recover - We have had her 5 years (I think), so she is probably 6. The Showa behind her we just got this past year and she was about 7" long when we got her, so she was probably a year old when we bought her in May.
We have 2 heaters that we use. We have a 5000gal pond and the heaters go with one at either end. The trough heaters weren't badly priced - about $30 each.
Best of luck to you.
Carolyn