ThePondSquad
1-886-270-POND
Seasonal Care: Fall & Winter
Clearwater Ponds is a division of Sungreen Landscape Inc.
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All pictures are property of Clearwater Ponds
Here is some helpful information for you to have a great fall season. Just because the weather is colder doesn't mean you can't still enjoy your water feature!
1) There will be an increasing number of yellow leaves this time of year, so prune them off all of your plants.
2) When the water temperature is around 55 F° (10° C), stop feeding your fish. Continuing to feed them could cause health problems or death for them, since their digestive systems are beginning to slow down for the winter.
3) As leaves fall from nearby trees, you’ll probably have to empty the debris net every day to keep up with the influx of leaves. Some of them will undoubtedly sink to the bottom, try to remove as many as you can. If you are in a heavily treed area, covering your pond with a net is highly recommended. If you leave too much organic matter in your pond, the water may turn brown. If this happens, remove the excess debris and add activated carbon to clear the water.
4) As it gets colder, your aquatic plants will have all but died for the season. Now you can cut back the dead plant material and remove the tropicals. Cut back the cattails above the water level, or you can leave them up to see how magnificent they look in the winter.
You have two choices for winter. You can decide whether you want to keep your pond running or shut it down.
WILL MY FISH SURVIVE?
This is the number one concern of our clients as there is so many varying ideas. The answer is there is no guarantee, however if you live in Southern Ontario, your pond is more than 18" deep, you have done a proper winter shutdown, you have a heater and a bubbler running your fish should be fine.
Throughout the fall and into the winter, feeding habits of fish must be changed as well. The cooling of water temps means the slowing of the metabolism in fish to the point where they require no food at all in the middle of winter. Fish should be fed less often throughout the fall in addition to being fed special food formulated for the fall season. There are two reasons for this. First reason is, to prevent un-eaten fish food from settling to the bottom and breaking down causing water quality problems. The other reason is, that with a slow metabolism, too much food or improper food can cause digestive problems in the fish. A good rule of thumb is that once the water temp gets below 50 or 10 degrees, you should stop feeding the fish.(even if you think they still want more!)
Common Questions:
What Shoud I do with my plants?
* Discard inexpensive submerged plants, and any floating plants such as water hyacinths and water lettuce. These multiply quickly and should be just treated as annuals. They compost well.
* Trim bog and marsh plants to about 2"-4" tall, just above water line.
* Tropicals can either be treated as annuals or you can try to over winter them.
* Pull out the hardy water lilies and trim off all the leaves and blooms. This will help to make your lilies look gorgeous next year. Keep them at the deepest part of your pond if they are still potted.Hardy water lilies or perennial lilies can remain in water over winter.
To Keep Your Pond Running:
This will require a little babysitting to make sure an ice dam does not form which could cause water to run out of the Pondless® Waterfall/ Pond basin. You will also still need to replace water loss so the pump can continue to function properly. This extra effort during the winter will reward you with the most beautiful ice formations and patterns around the falls and streambeds.
To Shut Your Pond Down: (this is what most clients do)
-- first unplug your pump and pull it out of the water. The pump should be stored in a frost-free location, submerged in a bucket of water to keep the seals from drying.
---If you have fish, a small re-circulating pump that bubbles at the water surface is necessary to oxygenate the water. You will also want to install a heater (floating deicer) to keep a hole open in the ice to allow for a gas exchange, keeping your fish alive. It is not necessary to oxygenate the water or keep a hole open in the ice if you don’t have fish.
If you choose to shutdown your water feature or leave it running all winter Clearwater Ponds will do the work for you so all you have to think about is enjoying your feature again next spring!
