Winterization Do's and Don'ts

Winterization Do's and Don'ts

It is already that time of year, where did the summer go? Now it is time to get the pond ready for winter and to do a few simple fish to help make sure your fish survive until spring:

Hopefully you will already have moved your tropical plants inside, so they do not freeze! Examples (but not a complete list of plants that must be moved inside in colder climates: Water Canna, Taro, Umbrella Palm, Papyrus and tropical Water Lilies.... Water Hyacinth and Water Lettuce should be fished out and discarded. If allowed to die in the pond they will sink and make a terrible mess to clean up in the spring (they will also foul the water and take up valuable oxygen while decomposing.

Stop feeding the fish when the water temperature dips below 50 degrees Fahrenheit, they will no longer be able to digest food. Koi in particular should be fed a cool weather food once water temps go below 65 degrees to make sure they can digest it properly.

Put netting over the pond if there are a lot of trees around, to prevent them from ending up in your pond! Netting also helps to protect your fish from predators once the plants die down and no longer provide cover.

Ensure that your fish have adequate oxygen during the winter by either letting a pump run or putting a de-icer in the pond. T I P: Pumps tend to clog and it is very unpleasant to have to clean them when the water is cold. Using a de-icer instead eliminates that chore - crowded ponds may need an air pump in addition to a de-icer to provide adequate oxygen.

The PondMarket provides a completely free ebook that is short and to the point and takes you through winterization step by step (taking a few moments for winterization makes spring start-up much, much easier). Just go to http://www.pondmarket.com and click on any of the "free ebooks" links and download your copy.

The PondMarket also provides not only all winterization products but many kits that we have put together which will make winterization much simpler: Winterization Kits

Fun (Pond) Fact

Fun (Pond) Fact (TM)

One of the major areas of cooling for fish are the gills. Pond Fish will breathe more slowly during the winter to help preserve body heat!

Fall Tips for Winterizing the Pond

Fall Tips for Winterizing the Pond

Time to make some preparation for winterizing the Pond, even if most of the country is not yet quite ready for complete winterization.

September is a good month to do a few preparatory things that will help make winterizaton easier later and will aid in cleaning the pond to give fish a better chance at winter survival and even make spring start-up easier.

The things to do now include:

* put netting over the pond to prevent leaves from falling in

* add special Autumn formulation (works in colder water) of beneficial bacteria to break down pieces of leaves and twigs that do manage to get in the pond. This will also help to eliminate organic waster in the water from this summers plants.

* Switch to cool weather fish food to ensure food gets properly digested and does not foul the water or hurt your fish.

* Add a pond thermometer to monitor water temperature.

Many more tips and detailed instructions for winterization can be found in our free e-book "Garden Pond Winterization"

Just go to PondMarket.com and click on any of the "Free eBooks" links to this ebooks and many others.

Pond De-Icer or Pond Air Pump? Which should be used?

Pond De-Icer or Pond Air Pump? Which should be used?

Winter Survival for the fish in the pond depends in large part on the availability of oxygen.

A Pond De-Icer will keep a hole open in the ice which may form on top of the pond and let harmful gases like carbon monoxide escape and oxygen enter. A De-Icer (or two for large ponds) is usually enough keep Goldfish alive and well.

Pond Air Pumps infuse large amounts of additional oxygen and should be used in ponds with larger Koi and Golden Orfe, because the need for oxygen is much greater for these pets.

In some very cold areas where long periods of ice and snow are expected both should be used if large Koi or Golden Orfe are present in the pond: Pond Winterization

When the Leaves fall....

When the Leaves fall, it is time to cover the Pond with netting! Leaves that blow into the pond will sink to the bottom and create all kinds of problems:

~ they will decompose using up valuable oxygen in the process

~ they will increase the amount of "muck" in the pond bottom

~ spring start-up will be harder because the bottom will have to be cleaned out!

Prevent all these problems
easily by covering the pond with pond netting. Adding cool weather bacteria will help eliminate any small particles that fall through and will also clean up anything already decomposing from summer time plants.The PondMarket carries a wide variety of winterization items, both individually and in kit form: Click Here for Pond Winterization