Why does the garden pond have to be winterized?
The main problem in the winter months is fermentation gases, which arise from the decomposition of organic material. If the pond freezes over, the oxygen under water quickly becomes scarce due to the excess of methane gas and hydrogen sulfide. Bacteria that decompose the plant parts compete for the remaining oxygen and in the worst case the water can even tip over. Frogs, fish, snails and other aquatic life would die.
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Which jobs are important?
- Remove dead plant parts.
- Thread algae should also be fished out on this occasion.
- Read leaves and branches that have fallen into the pond before they sink to the bottom.
- You can stretch a net over the pond to protect it from leaves.
Mud deposits have already formed in older ponds. Remove about a third of this with a special vacuum cleaner for garden ponds. Examine the mud carefully and put living things in it back into the pond. Mulm is an excellent fertilizer and can be added to the beds.
Can the fish overwinter in the pond?
In order for the pond inhabitants to feel comfortable in winter too, the water should be at least 80, even better 120 centimeters deep. This allows the aquatic animals to retreat to the deeper areas, where the average temperature is four degrees.
If your fish are to remain in the garden pond, you must ensure that the water surface never completely freezes over. So put one Ice preventer a.
Give the fish special winter food in autumn so that they can build up energy reserves for the cold season. As soon as the temperature drops below ten degrees, you should stop feeding, because the animals begin to hibernate.
Which fish have to be in the aquarium?
You can easily overwinter goldfish and robust species in the garden pond. Sensitive species such as cardinals or veiltail fish, on the other hand, should move to an aquarium at the beginning of winter.
The location of the pool should be frost-free but not too warm. You should also offer the fish enough space and equip the aquarium with a powerful pump and some plants.
Tips
If, despite all precautionary measures, an ice sheet forms, you must never hack it up. The fish would be massively disturbed in their winter rest. It is better to slowly create an opening for the ice preventer with warm water.
