Preparing your pond for winter is one of the most important maintenance processes you can do to ensure the health of the biological systems and the life your pond equipment. A well-treated pond will "winter" better and take less time and less treatment to start-up in the Spring, reducing long-term maintenance cost. Follow these 3 simple steps to ensure the health of your pond through the winter and reduce future pond maintenance:
1. Clean - Remove leaves and dead organic matter from pond with a skimmer net, organic matter will decompose causing toxic gases that may harm fish and create additional sludge in pond.
2. Protect - The surface of your pond can be covered with netting to prevent the majority of leaves from entering the pond and decomposing. Keep the pond netting on through the fall and winter and remove in the spring.
3. Prevent - Ice formations in ponds can be deadly to fish because they not only block out sunlight from streaming into the pond, they also prevent gases from escaping through the surface.
