i have an 1800 gallon koi pond with 10-13 koi and goldfish. . i have a bio filter and waterfall. what do i do in the winter? do i unplug the pump?? any more suggestions will be appreciated. this is my first winter with the pond.
Categorized | Waterfall Pumps
My Koi Pond In The Winter. First Winter Coming Up …do I Unplug The Pump To Stop The Waterfall???
Posted on17 November 2009.
6 Responses to “My Koi Pond In The Winter. First Winter Coming Up …do I Unplug The Pump To Stop The Waterfall???”
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My pond is considerably smaller, so I just bring my goldies inside in the winter. You’ll certainly need to get some kind of de-icer to keep a hole in the surface to allow gases to exchange. Here’s a link with some:http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/pe…
Here’s another excellent link that talks about what to do to winterize your pond, when to change their food, and stop feeding altogether:http://dragonflylanding.ca/Winterizing.h…
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we have smaller one 4 koi but we take pump out ,waterfall out so it won’t freeze. We were told to place small ball in pond so it moves around pound for air for the fish it seems to work. it keeps water from completely freezing. or place them in aquarium in house. It’s simpler to leave in pond. Take out bottom feeders if u have them they will freeze and die.
I turn off the filter and pumps when the water gets about 40 degrees constantly. I LEave a bubbler running to keep the water from freezing the tops shut so that stink gasses will release.
My pond is usually frozen over for a solid month in the winter.
It’s also 3 foot deep, which is 18 inches below frost line, so safe for the fishes
I’m in NW OH, and all I do is leave the pumps running. Moving water doesn’t freeze. If the weather is warm, 15-30, I don’t worry. I just break the surface ice. Any colder than that and I turn the pumps back on until the weather “warms” up again.
I have 2, and they are both 22″ deep. My fish have lived for 3 years with only one death.
My fish were $.11 at PSP, so a heater isn’t economical.
You will have to protect every thing from freezing. If the pump, hoses or filter were to freeze it would likely ruin them. There are many excellent websites that provide this kind of information. Here in Washington state we don’t have a freezing problem for long periods but we remove our pumps and filters once the temp get below 50 degrees, that is when the bacteria in the bio filters no longer are effective and die off.
Unplug the pump & drain the filter as soon as the pond develops ice on top. You will also need to use a small floating heater to keep the waste gasses vented.