Winter Pond Care

With the cold weather finally closing in it's time to make sure your pond is ready for winter. The pond will have naturally been winding down as the temperature has dropped, fish metabolisms slow down as well as plant life dying back. While not a particularly fun or inspiring time for a pond keeper, winter is an essential time of the year in which to prepare for the more enjoyable time in the spring and summer.

Fish (Useful Blogs: What to do if your pond feezes over, Pond Temperature)

By now you should have switched to using Winter Wheatgerm Food. This should be used once water temperatures go below 10-12 °C, and should be used until the temperature is < 7°C. This is the temperature at which fish naturally stop eating and start to hibernate at the deeper parts of the pond where the temperature remains most constant. For this reason, its also a good idea remove the pump from the very bottom of the pond and slow down its flow rate. Some pond keepers may remove the pump from the water over the winter and use it as a time to carry out routine maintenance. This avoids circulating the cold water from the surface with the warmer water in the depths.

To avoid the pond surface from icing over, solutions vary widely from expensive pond heaters to floating something on the surface to prevent the ice forming completely over the water. This is by no means a set science with many people reporting different successes with varying solutions.

Plants (Useful Blogs: Pond Sludge, Winter Plant Care)

With the plant life dying back, this is the best chance you'll have of clearing the pond of any debris and performing a general cosmetic tidy up. It is particularly important to make sure you remove any dead organic material from the pond as this can slowly affect the water quality and chemical balance as the matter decays into sludge. This can cause an increase in nitrate levels which will give you problems with blanketweed and green water come the spring. The surface debris can be removed through cover nets or skimmer nets.

Some pond-keepers take this opportunity to perform a partial water change, but it is important not change all the water, and to ensure any new water is treated with de-chlorinator if taken straight from the tap.

Any frost sensitive plants should have already been removed and placed in a safe place to winter, with hardy water lilies being placed in the deeper parts of the pond. Along with protecting the plants, it can also be the time to prune and transplant many of the plants as they are dormant and will suffer less from the trauma.

General Equipment Maintenance (Useful Blogs: What to do if your pond feezes over)

The removal of the pump shouldn't have an impact on the filtration as pond bacteria become less active when the temperature dips below 10°C, as well as there being less waste from the fish and little chance of green water. Therefore it is a good chance to remove the pump, clean and re-grease (depending on manufacturer's instructions), and store along with the UV clarifier and filter (which you have drained and cleaned out). We recommend storing your pump in a bucket of water and stored in a frost protected area (pump only). This is to prevent the bearings from drying out and potentially seizing. This is especially important if you have been using your pump in a hard water area.

If you intend on keeping the pump running to prevent freezing and from stagnating, then move the pump closer to the outlet (waterfall, fountain or filter outlet) to avoid disturbing your fish in their hibernation period.

Winter Equipment

There are several pieces of equipment you should invest in; we have outlined the important ones below.
• Pond Cover Nets: Nets are great; they help to keep out surface debris (tree leaves or pond-side plant debris) which would otherwise harm the pond if left to decompose in the pond. If you have fish without any plant coverage, the cover net will also help to protect them from predators. 
• Pond Heaters / Dei-Icers: Gases produced by decomposing material become trapped under the ice and can pollute the water, potentially harming your fish. Deicer’s keep an area of the pond ice-free, allowing the harmful gases to be released from the pond and they help to reduce stress amongst your fish.

Other Useful Information

You may also find the below blogs useful:
• November and December Pond Care
• January and February Pond Care
• Why is my Pond losing water?
• Why do chemicals in the Pond fluctuate?
• Pond Calender (Seasonal Advice)
• Pond Checklist
• Top Tips

If you have any queries, please email us on info@pondkeeper.co.uk.