With the cold season here, it is essential to keep your outdoor pond from freezing if you want it to be healthy until spring. A healthy pond will make for healthy fish and any vegetation that is around the pond area. If there are dead plants in the water, freezing over will most likely cause your fish to get sick, which is something you want to avoid. De-icing is a crucial part of keeping your fish alive, some owners use dock de-icer to protect permanent docks and boathouses from ice damage. Not all ponds freeze over, and most that do in places where the winters are not too harsh stay frozen for just a couple of days.
Tips To Keep Your Pond From Freezing
Get A De-icer
You can purchase a de-icer to ensure that the pond stays warm and won’t freeze during the cold season. You can talk to a professional to help you get the best de-icer. Keep in mind that some salespeople may convenience you a certain de-icer is worth it because they want to make a sale. Talk to someone who understands how the de-icer works and the kind of pond you have.
If you want to keep the pond from freezing without having to use electricity, these tips below will help.
Float Devices On The Water
If you notice that the weather is starting to affect the pond, you can use items from the kitchen like hot pans or balloons filled with water to break the formation of the water and stop it from freezing over. There are also manufactured devices that you can purchase to keep the water from freezing. Additionally, you can also use tennis balls because they will float around the water.
Keep The Pond Clean
Make sure that you remove any dead plants and debris from the surface of the pond because they are a risk for your fish. If the pond starts freezing over, the fish could end up dying because of the toxins the dead plants emit. If there are any dead plants or frozen leaves, remove them from the surface and place hot water balloons in the pond.
Covering The Pond
You can also opt to cover the pond if the other options do not work. You can use materials such as bubble wrap and stretch it over the pond to keep the top of the water from getting too cold and freezing. There are commercial polystyrene covers that prevent the water from becoming frozen so you can invest in one.
Switch Off The Pump
If you have a pump for the pond, switch it off on the days when the temperatures are very low. The warm water will settle at the bottom while cold water stays at the top, so your fish can stay in the warm water below. Keep in mind that the fish do not need to eat when it is too cold, which means you can cut down on their feeding.
Have A Deeper Pond
If you suspect that the pond will get frozen during winter, you can make arrangements to make it deeper before the cold season starts. Have an expert tell you how deep your pond should be, or do some research online. A shallow pond freezes over easily, while a deep pond ensures that the fish stay in the warm water deep below.
Use Solar Aerators
There are submersible solar aerators that you can use to keep the oxygen flowing in the pond. The aerator will keep your fish healthy while also ensuring that the water at the surface does not freeze over. There are also fountain aerators that spray water. They have a nozzle and pump that sprays the water into the pond, ensuring oxygen is getting in at all times.