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Is There Anything I Should Be Doing to My Pond During the Winter? – Pond & Lake Q & A

Posted on October 24, 2008 by joemejia

Picture of a pond during the winter.

Q: Is there anything I should be doing to my pond during the winter? – Cindy of Colorado

A: During the winter season there are just a couple things you should be continuing to do help make the following spring a breeze:

Continue to run your aeration system: As I’ve said many time before and will always continue to say it…aeration is important. Continue to run your aeration throughout the winter to help prevent winter fish kills as well as promote an overall healthy pond.

Add pond dye & natural bacteria: Now is a great time to use Pond-Clear 2 in 1 with Nature’s Blue before the ice begins to accumulate. Not only will this continue to shade your pond, it will also add a boost of beneficial bacteria that will go to work to break down fall leaves and debris.

Remove any dead debris from around the pond: Remove dying or dead cattails, tree branches or twigs from around the edges. Allowing these to decay in your pond throughout the winter will add more nutrients for algae and pondweeds to grow during the spring. Doing these few things will help for a great spring!

Filed under: Pond & Lake, Winterizing | Tagged: , , , , | 7 Comments »

Can I Run My Waterfall & Stream Throughout the Winter? – Water Garden Q & A

Posted on October 4, 2008 by joemejia

Picture of a Waterfall in the Winter.

Q: Can I run my waterfall and stream in my water garden throughout the Winter? – Carla of Pennsylvania

A: A majority of water garden owners will shut down their water gardens entirely during the Winter, but there are still quite a few that don’t.

Have you ever seen a waterfall with a stream running during the Winter? Its amazing! Ice begins to build up on the falls and you’ll see sections where the water
flows underneath the ice throughout the stream. It really is a beautiful scene.

Having said that, yes you can run the waterfall and stream throughout the Winter, but it depends on these couple factors:

Pump Size (Gallons Per Hour): Here is the major factor in whether or not you can continue to run your waterfall and stream throughout the Winter. Your GPH or gallons per hour must be greater than 2,000 as the water is coming down the waterfall and stream. If this flow is not obtained, then there is a greater possibility the water could freeze, causing ice dams in the stream and pushing the water over and out the side of the stream. If this happened, your water garden would be drained in no time.

Long Streams Beware: Even if you have 2,000 GPH of water coming down the stream, if the stream is quite long, longer than 10′ or 15′, then it may not be a good idea to run the system throughout the winter. In long streams, there is more opportunity for ice dams to be created and thus draining your water garden. If your stream is longer than 10′ to 15′ and you still want to try and run your system I would advise you to use a little bit more flow than 2,000 GPH and to watch it regularly to make sure these ice dams are not created.

I wish you all the opportunity to enjoy your water garden throughout the Winter. Again, it really is an amazing site.

Filed under: Seasonal Care, Water Gardens & Features, WG-Winterizing | Tagged: , , , , | Leave a Comment »

Getting Your Pond Ready in the Fall for Winter – Pond & Lake Q & A

Posted on October 4, 2008 by thepondguy

Picture of a Pond in Fall.

Q: What can I do now to get my pond ready for the Winter? – Linda of Kentucky

A: Get Your Pond Ready for the Winter Months
As our warm summer months come to an end; I receive many questions regarding “pond winterizing”. Winterizing your pond is an important step to ensure a safe and healthy start-up next Spring. Here are a couple easy tips you can use this fall to help you on your way.

1. General Clean Up Tips: Set aside a few hours to do some picking up around your pond. Clean the inlets or outlets of any debris that may have fallen in and rake out sticks or brush that may have fallen into the pond. If debris are left in the pond to decompose, they will contribute to the build up of nutrients and muck. Adding Pond-Clear 2 in 1 Natural Bacteria with Pond Dye is a great way to help to reduce the nutrient load and muck levels in the pond as well as shading your pond a beautiful blue color. Keep applying Pond Clear until the water temperature drop below 50 degrees Fahrenheit.

2. A Final Pond Treatment: Treat any remaining algae or pondweeds using Algae Defense or PondWeed Defense respectively one more time before winter. This
will make for a much cleaner pond in the Spring. You will also want to use these last few months to get a handle on emergent weeds such as cattails, lilies or grasses; Avocet and Cide-Kick are perfect for this. When vegetation naturally dies off under the icecap – oxygen is depleted from the water column and remember that this will only contribute to a winter fish kill.

Just doing these basic tips will help ensure a cleaner, healthier pond in the Spring.

Filed under: Pond & Lake, Winterizing | Tagged: , , , , , | 5 Comments »

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