The 2 P's of Pond Fall Preparation; Protect and Prevent

Pond Protect and Prevent... Facebook Expert Answers ...Fun (Pond) Fact

• Protect your Pond Fish!
  0. Clean Rocks and Waterfalls of any organic growth. *While plants (like string algae) add oxygen when light is present, they actually TAKE OUT oxygen when the pond is dark (like under ice and snow).
  0. Insure that there will always be a hole to let oxygen enter and carbon monoxide escape by adding a Pond Heater (they actually only heat a small amount of water around them) or De-Icer. Choose a Pond Heater or De-Icer suitable for your climate conditions. The further north you are the stronger it needs to be.
  0. Protect your Pond Fish from malnutrition and compacted colon. Pond Fish do not have a stomach, they digest all their food in their colon. Being cold water creatures, there digestion slows as the water cools. Once Pond Water goes below 64 degrees they need wheat germ based food because it is easier to digest and still lets them store up fat and energy before they stop eating for the long winter fast at about 48 degrees water temperature
  0. Insure good Pond Water Quality by changing about 1/3 of the Pond Water (be sure to de-chlorinate). Evaporation and top-offs contributed to a concentration of minerals during the summer and dilution is needed.
• Protect you Pond Plants
  0. Trim off dead growth (besure to leave a couple of inches of stem to prevent injuring the growing tips) and move HARDY Pond Plants to deeper water
  0. Remove Tropical Pond Plants from the Pond in areas where the water temperature will fall below 60 degrees (either move them inside or discard). Leaving tropical pond plants in the Pond just adds to the organic waste load that uses valuable oxygen when decomposing and adds to spring clean up.
  0. Prevent your Pond Fish being stolen by predatory birds, as well as dead leaves and other debris being blown into the Pond by covering it with a Pond Net.
• Prevent all sorts of problems including the need to drain the Pond for cleaning in the Spring by using a Beneficial Bacteria product made to work in colder water as well as in less light
• Prevent disease and parasites of Pond Fish by adding Pond Salt in recommended quantities. 

Get more help and advice with our downloadable and printable
"Fall Pond Checklist"

Facebook Expert Question and Answer Session:

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