What Do I Do With The Pond Over Winter ?

[Rooster]

Setup a small pond this summer.... with pump driving a fountain and external filter.... What should I be doing with it over winter ?
Ive read that the bio filter wont survive under about 10c, its been near 0c here for a few days, so should I turn off the pump ? If so, for how long ? Should I be doing anything for the plants and goldfish ?

TIA

 

[ncjharris]

You don't say where abouts you are in the world, but if you are here in the UK, then this months edition of Practical Fish Keeper has a couple of pages on what to do with ponds over winter.
It can be found at most WH Smiths (those bigger than ones in stations).

 

[Mad Duff]

The main thing is to make sure you have something that will keep an area of the suface ice free. THis can be acheived with a football or something similar to make sure gases can escape. I leave my pumps running all year round and have never had a problem, this also helps keep the suface ice free.

As for the Bio filter, my filter is full of freshwater shrimps which do a grand job of scavenging on all the muck in there and they keep on doing the job through the cold months. My personel preference is to leave everything running including the UV, but others may say different.

 

[Rooster]

You don't say where abouts you are in the world, but if you are here in the UK, then this months edition of Practical Fish Keeper has a couple of pages on what to do with ponds over winter.
It can be found at most WH Smiths (those bigger than ones in stations).

Mmmm, thought my location was in the profile, ho hum - I'll check the settings !

Yep, UK - Near Nottingham, and flippin cold it is too.... the pond has had some ice around the edge for days now !

Thanks for the mag tip - good excuse for laying off the porn for a month !

 

[The-Wolf]

As for the Bio filter, my filter is full of freshwater shrimps which do a grand job of scavenging on all the muck in there and they keep on doing the job through the cold months.

what a fantastic idea!
maybe you should do a seperate post so others can benifit from your notion.

 

[Soaup]

Whatever you do if it ices over completely you need to break the ice but dont smash it as you can send the fish into shock. The best way i have found is put a hot pan on the surface and let it melt through

 

[Mad Duff]

what a fantastic idea!
maybe you should do a seperate post so others can benifit from your notion.

Not really a notion Wolf, the shrimp must have come into the pond on birds feet or as young in the plants, either way they have set up home in my filters and seem to love it. It can be a bit of a pain when I am cleaning the filters as there are usually hundreds on the filter foams so it takes ages to get them off and back into the filter.

When I get time I will post a couple of diagrams of the filters I have made, they are fairly easy to make and maintain and cost alot less than alot on the market.

 

[J_acon]

what a fantastic idea!
maybe you should do a seperate post so others can benifit from your notion.

Not really a notion Wolf, the shrimp must have come into the pond on birds feet or as young in the plants, either way they have set up home in my filters and seem to love it. It can be a bit of a pain when I am cleaning the filters as there are usually hundreds on the filter foams so it takes ages to get them off and back into the filter.

When I get time I will post a couple of diagrams of the filters I have made, they are fairly easy to make and maintain and cost alot less than alot on the market.

That sounds like a good idea, keeping shrimp in the filter. I would like to see how you did that