Winter ?

[beanyboy1982]

do you stop feeding the fish in a pond as the winter comes an do you turn thre pump / filter off ?

 

[black angel]

Are you in the uk and if so which part?
Winter in scotland is a lot harder than the south of england.
How many gallons is the pond, depth and is it filtered?
What type of fish and how long have they been in?

This will be my first year with my pond so im not an expert.

If the pond is more than 3 1/2 ft deep then the fish can over winter in it.
You should try to keep the filter running all winter if possible but because the water fall pushes water under the surface the coldest part of any pond is here and to stop the cold getting to the fish tie a large piece of polystyrene to the bottom of the fall on the pond so the water runs over it rather than under it. As ive said i havent had a pond through a winter and was given this as a tip from a canadian pond keeper so will try it myself to see if it works.
The fish will be slowing down so get a thermometer and check it each day. Feed wheatgerm food if still above 10c every couple of days and while still active. Once the temp gets to 5 dont feed and at this temp the fish arent moving around much anyway.
Ive also been told not to feed at all once the temp gets below 10c as they can easily eat algae and insects until they need to hibernate.

If the weather is going to be really cold and theres a chance the pipes will freeze then switch it off but make sure its thawed out before turning it on again. Im sure hibernating fish will be ok without a filter through a month or so but i'm at least going to try and get the filter to keep going.
Mine is in a shed so should be ok for most of the winter. If yours is outside then maybe get some fleece or something to wrap it and the pipes in.

 

[Breedon]

This would be my second winter for the pond' last year i kept my filter going all year round but ive decided to swith it off this year to see if the temp of the pond stops any higher so i'll see how it goes, some keep them on others switch them off it's up to you

As for feeding i have been feeding my fish wheatgrem for the last 2 weeks, and will do untill the temp drops below 10c then i'll stop, till spring when it gets above 10c, must stay above 10c and be stable before i feed again.

My pond is 4 1/2 feet deep

 

[xJake]

If you're worried about freezing, my uncle uses something like this to keep the pipes on the filter of his koi pond warm enough to prevent freezing.

 

[beanyboy1982]

i wasnt worried about them freezing i was just woundering if i shoud turn it off or keep it on ?

 

[what a load of pollocks]

if u turn it off the pipe will freeze inside as tiny amount of water can expand and crack the pipe i dont know but i am also going throught my first winter period as i tend leave the filter on and let nature take course...and am gonna wait and see what happen

i wasnt worried about them freezing i was just woundering if i shoud turn it off or keep it on ?