Pond upkeep now for happy fish in spring
If you have a pond in your backyard, now's the time to get it cleaned out and ready for winter.
Get the leaves out and put out a net to make sure more aren't falling in. Get rid of tropical plants and trim back hardy plants. And autumn is a good time to do plenty of other pond maintenance as well, said Jackie Sturdyvin, a co-owner of Chris' Lawn Service & Water Gardens, which is located north of Homer.
Her husband, Chris Sturdyvin, will put on a free seminar at 10 a.m. this morning about winterizing your pond at Illini FS in Urbana. The address is 1509 E. University Ave., U.
While fall pond cleanout isn't as extensive as spring, Jackie Sturdyvin said, it's important to get everything ready for the winter ahead and especially clean out the things, like leaves and plants, that could decay.
"They let off gasses," Sturdyvin said. "It's bad for the fish, and the water quality gets off balance."
University of Illinois Extension horticulture educator Jeff Rugg said decaying matter can release toxic substances.
"If you wait to do a clean out in the spring, your fish may be dead," Rugg said in a press release. "Leaves in a pond can harbor parasites that can weaken fish when their immune system is at its lowest over the winter time. Leaves can continue to decay in the cold water as sunlight warms the dead brown leaf, allowing bacteria to take oxygen from the water and release toxic substances into the water."
It's a good idea to clean the pond now, Rugg said, "because (fish) are at their healthiest. If you wait until spring, the fish are at their weakest."
You'll probably want to cover your pond with a net to keep falling leaves out.
You can buy a disposable net, Rugg said, or get a longer-lasting cloth net with holes small enough to keep out pine needles. Better-quality nets will come with stakes, poles, and grommets for secure installation.
Leave nets in until leaves near your pond stop falling, Sturdyvin said.
"We usually leave the nets up for a couple of months," she said.
And trim back your hardy plants – irises, lillies and grasses – and pull out the tropical annuals, which won't survive the winter.
Fish can be left in the pond during the winter, Sturdyvin said, as long as it's at least 2-feet deep. If it's not, they need to be brought indoors or taken to a pet shop for the winter.
If they're going to winter in your pond, stop feeding them when the water temperature reaches 55 degrees or lower, Sturdyvin said, because the fish are less active at that temperature and won't digest the food.
You might want to put in a pond heater, she suggested, to keep a hole in the ice to allow gasses in and out. Other people will put in a bubbler to keep the water moving.
"When you put your heater in, you put it over the deepest part of your pond, where your fish are going to be," Sturdyvin said.
You can also take this chance to check the pumps and clean out the filters, she said, and you can get cold-water bacteria to break down decaying matter.
And some with waterfalls (not ponds) will keep their pumps in over the winter, allowing the water to keep running. They just need to watch the water levels because of cold winter winds, she said.
And with these suggestions, your pond will soon be ready for spring, Rugg said.
"With a little bit of care and cleaning up in the fall, the backyard pond, fish and flowers will breeze through the winter and be ready for a warm spring," he said.
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