Pond is a nightmare

[Celeste]

i have a 150 gallon pond. we built our own filter out of a 5 gallon bucket. make sure you have a way to bypass the filter for the winter, so the water goes straight from the pump to your water feature.

for winter, we dont do much of anything. we cover the pond with mesh all year long to keep debris out (some inevitably gets in, but it helps) and then when the trees are really dropping everything, we cover it completely with a plastic drop cloth that is hung from the porch railing and falls down over the pond, held in place by rocks so the leaves from the tree just slide off. once the leaves are all off the trees, we uncover it, and put a floating trough heater in it, which keeps it about 40 degrees. we gave up on floating plants. they die every winter.

then at night we cover it with chunks of styrofoam insolation. we dont bother cleaning it until spring. every spring we totally empy it out, scrub the sides, churn up all the gravel and just clean it ALL out (we leave the filter alone, havent even rinsed it out in 4 years) then fill it back up, get it to the same temp as the water we're keeping the fish in temporarily, add dechlorinator, etc. and put the fish back. the good bacteria in the filter survive every winter and keep the pond from going through a cycle, the pond is clean and clear, and everyone is happy.

even during the winter, the pond is ugly, but all the water perameters are perfect. the fish arent eating (their metabolisms slow down so much from the cold they dont need to eat, would actually kill them if they DID eat) so they're also not producing waste, so everything stays really stable over the winter.

i say just leave it alone for now and wait until spring to give it a thorough cleaning. so long as your water perameters stay stable, theres no need to mess with it right now.

 

[Dangerdoll]

if you're living in a cold climate, I would suggest getting a rubbermaid container and bringing the fish in over the winter. 40 gallons sounds small enough for a freeze over..... generally, if there is less than 3 or 4 feet (I would say 4 to be on the safe side) anywhere in the pond (left, right, top, bottom) you risk the chance of that freezing over unless you have a heater for it.

 

[Harry Tolen]

I would tend to agree with Dangerdoll. A 40 gallon pond is on the small side, and it may freeze completely, which stands a good chance of killing the goldfish.

They should do fine in a Rubbermaid container or even another rigid pond container kept inside (say, in your basement) over the winter, although I would recommend that you get a filter (sponge filter/air pump combo will work fine) for while they are indoors with no plants growing.

 

[Gold]

I can not believe this! You Do Not Have To remove the fish from the pond.
I have a 25 gallon Barrel pond, with no filtration, no heating, and just one common goldfish and some snails.
Also may i mention i live in England!
I have left that fish out all through winter in his little pond, i just leave three corks floating in the water, so when it freezes up, i pull them out in the morning and he has a little air whole.
In winter, the whole pond ecosystem will slow down as the weather gets colder. The plants will stop growing, and you fish will move around less and eat less. Hence feed him less than in summer.
And, i do not know your cleaning routine for your pond, but i do a 20% water change each week what ever the weather.
Also always ensure your pond has some surface area available to the air, but even if it does completely ice over, the fish could probably survive on the oxygen in the water for a day.

All in all, obviously I do not know where you are from, but not many places get colder in winter than in England. Also it may help that I have a common goldfish, which are exceptionally hardy, you may have a fancy variety that are less tolerant of temperature.
But I have kept my common Goldie in -5 C in the winter; he just goes into semi-hibernation mode, where he slows down his movement.
While I think you should be okay with no filtration, as long as you are religious on doing a 20% water change each week, and have plenty of live plants in there.

 

[pbrack]

It's hard to answer when you don't have a concrete area of where you live. Here in Ottawa, the temperatures can range from 40 C to -40 C. So, if your winters get colder than -5 C to -10 C, I suggest you bring the goldfish inside!

 

[chefkeith]

I can not believe this! You Do Not Have To remove the fish from the pond.

If the fish had a choice, I bet the fish would rather be inside where it is warm instead of outside in the freezing cold.