winter maintenance

[andi_mn]

hi everyone!  minnesota here and have a question for this great knowledgable group  i have a basic set up for my pond..pump in the skimmer pumps to a biofalls-that's it. but...am wondering if people in the north (winter temps to -20 ) pull their pump out for the winter. we pump our pond out to catch the fish and pull the bio stuff and filters. it seems like when i started i pulled the pump and the we kind got lazy and left it in (no water) but i also had to replace the pump last spring. suggestions?  pull the pump and store?  also wondering if i can just cut the waterlilies back and keep in the water in the basement with the fish or will they rot if not growing.
missed whatever was said  but i have found this group always to be helpful, interesting, and just generally a nice group of people. andi (not waiting for winter)

[Esther]

I'm in Grand Rapids Michigan. We get cold here but not like you I don't think. We have a pump in the skimmer/filter that feeds the biofilter/waterfall. We pull the pump and keep it in water in the basement. The fish stay in the pond. The plants that are in pots get trimmed back and lowered to the lowest spot in the pond. We float a DIY floating tub with a 75 watt bulb in it to keep a hole in the ice. That's about it.

[pond addict]

I have been inquiring about the same thing.....new to the forum, founded when searching for answers.....I tend to look up and investigate anything before making an attempt.

I live in pennsylvania....and am begining to understand how to winterize my koi pond.  From what I have been reading its cover the pond first and foremost. Move plants to deepest depth...(do i cut them back prior??) But not sure about the pump and filter.  I have a @2100 bio uv filter, a 1500gph pump in a roughly 1400gal pond.  Deepest depth is about 3'-6".  Do i need to remove lights or keep them off?  What size aerator would be needed? lastly what temp should i begin doing these items...ive read from 50degrees to 40degrees.

Im feeding them Hikari wheat germ blend which I heard was a spring/ fall formula..
do i need to add any type of treatment prior to temp drops

I know its a ton of questions....amy help is greatly appreciated!!

[Esther]

http://www.americanponders.com/forum/index.php?topic=1019.0

This is a link to a tutorial I wrote a while back. I suspect it doesn't cover all your questions as my pond is different from yours, but it may have some helpful things.

[jax]

The question about what to do with the pump and UV light is my concern. I am in central Pennsylvania. For 4 years now I have removed them in the Fall, but I'm not sure of the time I should do that.  Also, some people say they run their's year round.  Why do you take your's out Esther but leave it in water in the basement? I was thinking of just turning everything off once ice begins to form around the spillway and just let it all sit, not removing pump and light.  What's your suggestion on that?   I always put a deicing ring in mine and I balance a piece of paneling crossed the water for the fish to have a place to hide.  I keep my netting on in the winter as I am surrounded with woods.  I clean them off every so often through the winter. My water temp now is about 50.  I've occassionally thrown them in some food but not much.  Suggestions please!

[Esther]

I don't want the pump to be damaged by the freezing ice. Some pumps have gaskets that shouldn't dry out and I don't know if mine is one, but just to be safe-----. I don't know anything about UV as I don't have one. As to when I take out the pump, it's when I see the ice start forming on the waterfall. So it could be anywhere from October to December. I just don't want an ice dam to form and end up pumping water out. I do have a float on my pump so even if it did get pumped down a bit, it shuts the pump off so there's no real danger.

It was 70 here yesterday so I too am still feeding the fish. Mine seem to stop being interested in the food eventually so they kind of give me a signal. But it won't be long and 50 is a good temp to use. Some will say lower temp. You do realize that none of what I'm saying is set in cement, don't you. We all differ in how we do our ponds but we all agree that our end goal is the health of the fish. If it works for you, then good. 

[pond addict]

Thanks Esther found your link pretty helpful

[jax]

I've read your information on your site too Esther and appreciate it.  I thank you for the recent information.  I don't know about the seals on my pump so I think I should just pull it to be safe.  I do not want to be buying a new one come spring.  I've never put it in water over the winter so I think I'll just continue like I have been.  My fish are slow movers now.  Not much interest in food.  They pretty much tell me when to quit feeding them.  It just amazes me that they can go so long without a morsel.  Tough buggers, aren't they.  Usually it's late November or December before the ice begins to form on my waterfall so I'm going to continue using that as my guide to pull everything, like I did before.  Thank you for all the information.  My biggest concern next spring will be keeping all the string algae out once more.  It was horrible this year.  Sure don't want a repeat of that mess.

[Esther]

Jax, I had SA horribly too once. Sometimes I starts up but (ducking) treat it maybe once, maybe twice and then it behaves. I have used the barley straw a couple of years but am not convinced.

As for your pump, why not do a search for your brand on the computer and see if you can find a manual. Sometimes they have a "contact us" spot that you could ask them about it. If it doesn't say to do the water thing over winter---don't. I know that some years we haven't done it so it's probably dumb for us to do it now.

 

[labs2006]

   I am well into my first winter in midwest Illinois. Was attempting to keep all going as normal in 4ft deep pond. Though the temps have caused the ice at the end of pond (18 inch deep) to freeze up around the skimmer and pump so I had to remove them. still running bottom pump to biofall all iced over but still flowing. Had sprinkler pump keeping a hole in the center till ice closed in on sprinkler. shut off sprinkler pump and placed in heater to maintain hole. fish seem slow but active.

[Julles]

All I can say is, I'm sure glad I live in South Texas.   

[Esther]

But we never have to add ice cubes to our ponds in the summer, to keep the fish cool. LOL