29 November Prevent Your Pond From Freezing November 29, 2021 By sma Cleaning Tips, Home Maintenance garden, home exterior, lawn care, winter 0 PREVENT YOUR POND FROM FREEZING November 29, 2021 | Home Maintenance, Cleaning Tips | winter, home exterior, lawn care, garden A man-made pond can transform your yard into your own personal oasis. They offer a place for you to relax after a long day and make the perfect spot to entertain guests. As the temperature starts to drop, you might not use your pond as often. To ensure it’s ready come springtime, here’s what you should do. Should You Turn Your Pond Off? A frozen pond can look just as beautiful as one in full effect. Especially if you have a large waterfall feature, icicles and snow make the perfect wintery backdrop. However, they can also take a toll on your pond. Ice build-ups make it harder for water to flow through the system and can crack the piping. A pond de-icer or pond heater can help break up these ice dams, but generally it’s better for your pond overall to shut it off for the season if you live where the temperature can hit zero. If you experience more mild winters (50 degrees or above), you’ll likely be fine leaving your pond running. Clean and Keep Leaves Out Leaves can turn your beautiful pond into a puddle of muck. In addition, they can also ruin your pond’s pump system and harm any plants or animals that live in the water. Before you cover your pond, remove any stray leaves and debris from the water. Then, set up a pond net to keep the water clean. If you live somewhere that gets heavy snowfalls, a perforated net is better than a solid cover. It’ll keep snow and freezing rain from collecting on the tarp and potentially collapsing it. Tend to Your Plants To keep your garden getaway looking pristine, you need to give your plants the right cold-weather care. Hardier plants can typically remain outside all year so long as the pond doesn’t freeze over, but more delicate ones such as lilies should be removed. You can either trim down the foliage or keep them as is and take them inside. In a temperate part of your home, fill up a large tub and place the potted plants in it. This simulated pond will keep them healthy throughout the winter months. Take Care of Your Fish Like with your plants, caring for your fish or other animals depends on their breed and the depth of your pond. Larger koi, goldfish, archerfish, and sterlets are just a few of the tougher fish that can withstand lower temperatures in deep water that won’t freeze solid. Other types or even younger fish of these same groups should be removed and cared for inside. For the fish you leave outside, slowly begin acclimating them to the weather. This includes feeding them less often since they won’t be as active. Soon, the fish will naturally enter a kind of hibernation and wake up in the spring. Clean and Remove Your Filters To prevent your pond’s filtration system from being damaged by the cold, it’s best to remove it if you aren’t going to run it. Drain the excess water out of the plumbing and clean it out. To keep your fish healthy, use a small recirculating pump. The pump will keep the water oxygenated and help remove harmful gases. If you still want to add some flair to your pond without having it run fully, a bubbler will do the trick. A professional home inspection with NPI will help keep your home in its best condition, inside and out. Find your local inspector today! Comments are closed.