Covering pond for winter

I have a question...do you think there is there anything wrong with covering my pond with clear plastic for the winter?

I taped together a few sheets of painter's plastic and anchored it over the pond for our recent set of freezing nights. I placed 2x4s across the pond to hold it up over the center and then put bricks and rocks on it to secure it down. The plastic is raised about 3-4" above the surface of the water. I wonder if this will create any negative side effects for the fish or my plants?

I have it propped open for the sunshine right now. You can kind of see how the 2x4s elevate the plastic above the water surface.


I had so much trouble with surface deicers last year that I would wake up in the middle of the night during a snow storm and throw on a robe, galoshes, and a head lamp to go check on my fish. A good chuckle for DH, but it was too much...so I'm hoping this will ease my nerves a little bit.
Do you think it will even help with keeping the pond thawed? This morning the water temp was 52, which is about 10 degrees warmer than it has been in the mornings for a week or so.

I would say try it and see what happens. If nothing else it should keep deris out of the pond. Would not think it would interfere with gas exchange as long as you leave some openings in the plastic. Put a couple of spots where the plastic is held above the ground for this purpose. They would not need to be very big. If you seal the plastic too well it would be the same as if there were an ice covering.

Just as an FYI though, both my little ponds had a solid sheet of ice on them for quite a while last winter and I did not lose a single fish. I have goldfish in one and a few koi in the other. This year I am really going to try to keep an opening in the koi pond. Would hate to lose that one pretty lemon and white koi. If she makes it through the winter again I will definately have to come up with a name.

Thank you tetley, I appreciate your input and for you replying to my lowly little thread. :) Where is everyone? Out winterizing their ponds?

Last winter I had solid ice for a week straight a couple times and you're right, no body died and everything was fine...it was me that was the problem, lol. I was a nervous wreck, and I didn't even have any fish that I really 'loved' last year..it was all new guys. This year I have some stock, monetary and emotional (what's wrong with us?) so I would be worse, I'm afraid.

It worked out fine for the 4 straight days I had it on last week. This week we've had wonderful weather, though, so I haven't had it covering. Have you had bad weather yet this fall?

Had ice on the windshield of the car one day last week. The weather has warmed up a bit this week but fall is definately here. Have stopped feeding the fish in the goldfish pond as it gets more shade than the koi pond. Put my hand in for a few minutes and that water was cold. Did feed the koi today though after observing them tearing at the algea that had formed on the sides of their pond. Pulled the tropical lilies out today and put them in their winter home which is a ten gallon fish tank. They did great in there last year, cross your fingers for a repeat performance.

Art, I am not being bossy but you need to throw away your water lettuse and your hyacinths and pull the leaves off you lillies or you will have rotten stagnant water.
The lily root will live but the others won't. I always keep a stock heater in mine so there is a hole in the ice for oxigen. Bev

Not bossy, thanks for the reminder! I was under the impression that you're supposed to cut the lily leaves back after the first hard freeze, no? We are still having really nice weather most days, and frost hasn't gotten on the pond yet.
I'm scared to uncover the water's surface of plants because of predators and I'm not planning on using the plastic for good for a couple more weeks...do you think that's ok or should I toss them now?

That is up to you but I do mine early because I have a big ash tree that loses its leaves now so I do it now. My lillies have come back for 29 yrs. My pond is only 18 inches deep. After all the leaves fall and I clean some arround the pond, I take the tarp off for the rest of the winter but keep the heater in. BEV

Keep careful watch over the plastic, I've had plastic sheeting start to crack into tiny one inch pieces before, once the elements made it brittle. What a mess, I still scoop pieces out a year later.
Also make sure there is an air escape route for the gasses that build up (which is why you want some small area of ice to not completely cover over the pond)

to you have a sprayer head that circulates the water? If so that should be enough to keep the water from totally freezing, it does here in zone 7

dragonfly-thank you for your advice. I think I will probably get it done today because we are having temps in the low 20's for the first time tonight :(

Mary that sounds horrible! Do you know what mil the sheeting you used was? I bought 4 mil I think, which is one of the thicker painter's plastic you can buy...I wonder if that matters with brittleness. Yikes, I'm glad you gave me a heads up. I have one of the 2x4"s propped up on my deck next to the pond so that it creates about a foot gap of air at that spot. You can see that in this picture. Hopefully the weight of snow doesn't pull it sealed to the water.

Dee, I do have a fountain head from the filter...I have been scared to leave it on during the depth of the winter. Worried that it will freeze and ruin the motor; or it pumping water over the surface of ice and flowing it out of the pond. If you can't tell I'm a little skittish about the whole thing! I am feeling more confident about leaving it on with the plastic now though. I also don't know whether or not to believe the 'super chill' thing that people warn about.

Never thought about the plastic because I use those blue tarps. Running water does freeze. That is why I use a stock heater. If you decide to use a heater lay something behind it so it does not touch the side of the liner of the pond. I use metal rods to hold my tarp up so hang the heater over one of those. BEV

Bev, I too didn't know that I should cut my lillies back. Geeze, it's cold in the pond now, must get some high hip wadders and some shoulder length gloves-maybe I'll lower the pond water a little bit to make it more bearable. . .

Linda