i normaly keep my pump going but on thursday night my pipe started to freeze so i turned it off and disconnected the filter box and put it in shed and i just stood there and watched my pond freeze solid in just 15 mins. im going out there in a mo to clear all the ice off it.

Despite what a lot of people say i’d definitely recommend removing the ice everyday. On a garden pond i’d do it with as little disturbance as you can. If you have a pump of some sort i’d definitely get it running.

dont use pumps cos they will break, run a airline from inside (either your house or a shed this keeps the air a little bit warmer than outside) to a small airstone, keep the airstone around 6 inch from the surface and this will keep a small area clear….well it usually does, mine still froze the other night (well it was minus 15!!)
if it does freeze get a pan of hot water and rest it on the ice to melt a hole..

I’ve had no worries leaving my pump going over the winter. For the first time since my pond was re-done I’ve actually got ice on the surface, although the area under the waterfall is clear.

One way or another you need to make sure there is an ice free area of your pond, even if it’s small.

my pond has a water fall and has not frozen up ven in these conditions you need something that breaks the surface of the water like i have the ice will not form then i would reccomened using a water pump and leaving it running from above your water level this will also put oxygen in your water

Kept my pump running & the odd couple of kettles of boiling water keep things ticking over Any many thanks to WATBLADE for keeping an eye on things last week while I was in warmer climates Cheers bro.

you are welcome.~shh ~shh

I broke the ice yesterday and rebroke it today and found mind orange goldfish alive.

I didnt see any of my Carp though, hopefully they are ok!!

I cleared one end of my pond ( a good 3 inches thick) with boiling water and a saw.
virtually every fish ( and a frog which sat there while i was clearing it watching me )has come to the clear bit and stayed there since.

it’s the end where i feed them, it’s almost as if they are waiting for food

taftey, you now know how charlie feels when he gets to his peg

fish waiting for him to fed them lol

Got a cover over my pond and there was still a bit of ice on the water Saturday when i pulled the cover back to clear the ice off it was freezeing over as quick as i could clear it. i leave the water and air pump running all year and put the air pump in a box in the shed to keep it warmer.

Shame about your fish mate

@carpus67 wrote:

taftey, you now know how charlie feels when he gets to his peg

fish waiting for him to fed them lol

no comment!!!!!!~clap ~clap

i used to run a pump all winter, the set up i have has the pump pumping water upto an external filter box via a uv filter, then from the filter box through the medium and back into the pond creating a waterfall effect…
then i was “informed” that as im not feeding them during winter there is no “waste” to filter, anyway they wont be any bacteria in the filter to break it down, the uv is a waste of time in winter and by having the water falling back into my pond i am infact mixing up the warm layers with the cold layers, not to mention all the leccy i was wasting!!

so for the past 3 years ive turned EVERYTHING off and just turn the airstone on when its freezing like this
fingers crossed not had any fish losses….

get yorself a floating pond heater,,they are only about £25.00 on ebay,,they keep a hole on the surface free from ice both letting harmfull gases escape and creating a warmer thermocline for the fish,,had mine in a few days,,well impressed!

The easy way is to put a football in then take it out during the day then put it back in on a night always keeps a freeze free hole

a tyre inner tube is easier,lift it out knock out the centre ice, then replace the tube in the hole.or as leaky says get a proper heater.

i started just by making a hole big enough for the heater,,which is about 10 inch in diameter,,,the ice was 3 inches thick then!
just been to check and put a few pinkies in and the hole around the heater is now about 18 to 20 inches in diameter and the fish are all around the heater,,,so its doing exactly what it promised,,,creating a breathing hole for the gases to escape and its keeping me babby’s toasty warm,,,!
happy days!
best £30 or so quid you’ll ever spend fella’s get one sorted!
just incase you are wondering, the model i bought from my local aquarium for £35 are also on ebay no for £26.95 and £7.95 for delivary!
just type in ,,
AQUAEL KOI FISH POND HEATER into the ebay search box!

just had a read of the bbc news page and theres a topic on ponds on wether or not to break the ice,and if it makes a differance,worth a read if you have a pond?

bartez, do you have a link that you could paste?

it was on news.bbc.co.uk and at the top of the page type in the search box frozen ponds,and theres a topic with big freeze’good for pond life’ hope this helps,as an email is my limit.

Thanks bartez, this is a good article:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/earth/hi/earth_news/newsid_8451000/8451711.stm

http://news.bbc.co.uk/earth/hi/earth_news/newsid_8451000/8451711.stm

thanks gary just took me a bit to work out what to do,never mind only 7seconds late ha ha

btt

Good article, did you see this bit?

“The only time that pond owners should intervene is if they own fish, or the bottom of their ponds are full of silt and dead leaves.”

Good read, did you see this bit?

“The only time that pond owners should intervene is if they own fish, or the bottom of their ponds are full of silt and dead leaves.”

yes i read it all johnny,i just thought it was a intresting read,and it gave a good account of what to do for all types of pond life not just fish,but you are right to highlight that owners should intervene where the welfare of fish are conserned.

It is an interesting read, cheers mate ~clap

My pond has no leaves or silt and i had a lovely 3lb Koi floating today 🙁

my pond is also clear of leaves and silt and i found a dead koi today, Im gutted was my nicest fish

My mates just rang me,he broke the ice today and ALL his koi are dead,including 26″ chagoi,for the last 5 yrs all i do is power everything down barring your air pump,that MUST be kept running,my pond is 5 foot deep,if you keep the filter running all you are doing is pumping the warmer water from the bottom where the fish are sitting,and pushing the colder water down.
KEEP THE AIR PUMP ON!!!!!!!!!!!!

will try this i think all my other fish are fine an look good my pond is about 5 ft deep with a waterfall but this hits the shelf first so breaks on this

I keep my pump/filter running full whack keeps an area of your pond ice free I havent lost any fish, tenkits interesting you reckon pumping the warmer about is wrong ?

Yes its definately wrong,all you are doing is taking the warmer water up and pushing the colder down.The airstone will stop it from freezing over.

My old man normally turns his pump off during the winter, but when the pond froze up for a few days he turned it back on at a low setting. This has kept the pond mostly ice free and he hasnt lost any fish either.

I had thought about the fact your churning up the thermocline but is that detrimental to a fishes health ? Will they not just adjust to the change in tempreature ?

Maybe I’m okay as my pump is not in the deepest water in my pond at the moment! I’ve always left my pump running and have never lost any fish, but a mate of mine did a few years ago who has two pumps, he lost practically everything in the pond just as the weather warmed up three years ago!

When i had a pond i used to keep a plastic football in the pond and it was easy to take out when frozen over. But you have to keep the hole free all the while so it was good to keep putting the ball back.
Best way was i used to put several haystacks around the pond and built a framework covered with polythene sheeting , it acted as a thermal break to the pond freezing.

If you have a good filtration system then you should filter the water continuously so the water moves all the while , so it wont ice .

Filter tanks for sale:

Surley If you run your pump the water will all be of a constant tempreature, I know carp like a thermocline but can any one support not having a thermocline can be bad for the fish ?