Winterizing a New England Pond Tips

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ddechellis

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Jun 13, 2006
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All,

I will be winterizing my ~350 gallon pond in my backyard for the first time this year and I was looking for any tips. Right now I have about 10 goldfish and 2 comets - one part of the pond is 28" deep and the middle is 21" deep and the other end is 24". From speaking to the previous owner fish have survived in these winter conditions.

I have started feeding them autumn/winter food but some other questions:

* I've heard placing hay on top of the ice helps - any truth to that?
* I've heard lights at the bottom of the pond during the winter helps for kois - does this apply to other fish?
* When should I shutdown my water circulation/take out pump, first frost?

Thanks for any advice - I am not naive to think some fish will die but anything I can do to keep the pond in ideal conditions would be great.

Thanks
 

Dangerdoll

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Aug 27, 2002
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where are you located? Your pond is under 3 feet deep at it's deepest so you will most definitely need a center heater to keep the a hole in the ice for gas exchange...and to avoid total freeze.
You'll need to install a netting over the pond to prevent too many fall leaves to fall into the pond as they may throw off the balance of the water and you will be unable to maintain it due to the winter unless you'd be ok with using a pool- skimmer type thing to remove the leaves from the pond surface daily in the fall.
I've never heard of the hay idea and would be concerned about when the ice melts.... that hay will end up on the floor in the pond... is that what you want? With having the heater in the pond, you will not need to be concerned with the top.
I've never heard of keeping lights in the bottom of the pond either and can only wonder, how the koi will respond to the lighting when their pretty much going into a sort of hibernation, their metabolism is slowing down to where they will not need the feedings....
You should limit their eating now to every 3 days or so if the weather is cooling off.... as the weather cools, so does their need for the food and creates more of a mess than anything else. When the water/wea
You can shut down the filter when the water/weather starts dipping between 40 and 50 degress.


just realized you are locared in New England, sorry about that... but details remain the same then...
 
Last edited:

Sploke

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Oct 20, 2005
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There isn't too much you'll have to do, other than making sure there is a hole in the ice at all times throughout the winter to enable gas exchange. Is there a reason you want to/have to shut down the filter for the winter? I will be running my filter all winter long, but mine is inside in my basement. This will add some heat to the water as it passes through the house, and since I have an open portion, it will also enable gas exchange inside so I don't have to worry about keeping a hole in the ice. You could look for a cattle water trough heater, but they are fairly powerful and would be expensive to run all winter. A few large airstones grouped together near the bottom should supply enough movement to keep the water from freezing solid.
 

frloplady

AC Members
Straw on the ice would sure make one huge mess.

Small pvc framed greenhouse cover with a lightbulb (2 for burn out safety). You do have snow to contend with.

Best with that size pond? build a tank or buy a stock tank and put it in your garage with your filtration hooked up and move the fish in. They will be happier and you know how the fish are doing.
 
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