"Rodney Pont" wrote in
.dfn.de:

On Fri, 08 Aug 2003 15:53:46 GMT, norraandchris wrote:

This might be a silly question for you seasoned pro's out there, but I
just started learning about ponds and pond maintainance, and put one
in my yard this summer. I've had conflicting advise on draining or not
draining in winter. I live in Omaha Nebraska, generally the winters
aren't too cold, but ocassionally can be sub-zero. My pond at the
deepest point is 4 feet. I have no fish yet, no plants yet. Just a
pretty pond and a fountain, with a plastic liner purchased at The Home
Depot........thanks.....

I'm in the UK but your description sounds similar to the weather here.
We don't drain the pond and even leave the waterfall and stream
running. We may get a half an inch of ice on for two or three days and
the cat goes ice skating :-)

I'd suggest putting plants in first and then fish. I don't like using
a planting medium personally since I want the plants to take their
nutrients from the water so I like them either in gravel in a planter
or just tied to a big stone. You shouldn't feed the fish in the winter
when the water temperature is below 10 degrees celcius. With a four
foot deep pond it's going to be impossible for the pond to freeze to
any depth if you only have a few days at a time below zero (assuming
we are talking celcius).

Going back to freezing, if the sides of the pond slant outwards
slightly to allow the ice to rise as it expands the pond could freeze
solid without damage. You should try to have some method of keeping a
hole open so that the fish can get their oxygen and get rid of the
carbon dioxide. If the outlet from the filter is at or above the
surface this will be enough. If it's below the surface you can put a
venturi in and the bubbles will keep it open. Failing that bubbles
from an air pump will do the same job.


Hello norraandchris from a fellow midwesterner.
The weather in Nebraska is extreme, temperatures can range from -20F (-
30C) in winter to over 100F (40C) in summer, and it is much drier.

About the pond, is it 'plastic' like they sell for dropcloths, or did you
get a PVC pond liner from Home depot? If it is a pond liner, they are
designed to last for years in the open. If it's just dropcloth platic the
sun will degrade it in a year or two.

As for the water, since you don't have any plants or fish in it yet, you
can either leave the water in or drain it, but if you remove the water
you run the risk of freezing ground pushing in the sides. Once you have
plants and/or fish, you will definitely need to leave the water in. If
you have hardy fish, you can put a bubbler in to keep an open area of
water to let oxygen and carbon dioxide exchange, or even a livestock
water trough heater if the bubbler isn't enough to overcome the weather.