Running a fountain in the winter can create amazing and continuously-evolving ice sculptures on your pond! As you probably know, winters here in NJ can get pretty cold. While you're inside feeling warm and cozy by the fire, you may glance out the window and wonder how your fish are doing out there in that frosty pond. Will they freeze? Do they have food? Are they bored?
This article should answer your questions and ease your mind. Fish are pretty easy to care for in the winter. Being cold-blooded, their activity level drops along with their metabolisms. During the cold season, they'll spend most of their time resting safely at the bottom of the pond where the water is warmest. The only things they're counting on you to do is ensure their pond stays oxygenated and doesn't completely freeze over. Some ice is fine, it adds a new dimension to the pond that will evolve throughout the season. You just have to keep a small hole open in the ice so unwanted gasses can escape the water.
The problem with the entire pond freezing over is that the gasses released by decomposing organic matter at the bottom of the pond then have no way to escape the pond, which leads to toxic levels of these gasses building up in the pond. Fortunately, preventing that from happening is as simple as maintaining a hole in the ice. This can easily be accomplished with the proper application of heat and aeration.
Click 'Read more' down at the right to see the rest of the article...
This article should answer your questions and ease your mind. Fish are pretty easy to care for in the winter. Being cold-blooded, their activity level drops along with their metabolisms. During the cold season, they'll spend most of their time resting safely at the bottom of the pond where the water is warmest. The only things they're counting on you to do is ensure their pond stays oxygenated and doesn't completely freeze over. Some ice is fine, it adds a new dimension to the pond that will evolve throughout the season. You just have to keep a small hole open in the ice so unwanted gasses can escape the water.
The problem with the entire pond freezing over is that the gasses released by decomposing organic matter at the bottom of the pond then have no way to escape the pond, which leads to toxic levels of these gasses building up in the pond. Fortunately, preventing that from happening is as simple as maintaining a hole in the ice. This can easily be accomplished with the proper application of heat and aeration.
Click 'Read more' down at the right to see the rest of the article...
RSS Feed
