It was created recently and for the first time it has to spend the winter, it is always worried. Preparing a pond for winter is not difficult and a proven method will help with this.

It is necessary to prepare a decorative pond for winter in the midst of autumn; how the inhabitants of the pond, and the pond itself, will survive will depend on this work hibernation. We will be required to carry out several activities, which include water purification, care of inhabitants and plants, care of equipment and structures. Let's look at four tips to help prepare a decorative pond for winter.

Water purification

Late fall - best time for " spring cleaning" in the pond. By this time, the leaves from the trees will have already fallen, the coastal plants will have died off, the only pity is that they end up in the reservoir. Debris and soil are washed into the pond by heavy rains. The garbage accumulated at the bottom begins to decompose, releasing harmful gases, acting poisonously on all living things, the general water biobalance is also disturbed.

You can partially protect a pond from falling leaves with a net stretched over it. You can clean an artificial pond with a net, a brush, manually, a telescopic rod or, for example, a water skimmer. This unit can float freely or be mounted on the bottom of a reservoir; it collects debris and silt.

Advice: If there are fish in the pond, then the sludge should not be pumped out, since during the winter many inhabitants like to bury themselves in the sludge, and there is no need to deprive them of this opportunity.

Maintenance of equipment and structure

Preparation of a reservoir for winter should be carried out taking into account the material that was used in its manufacture. Fiberglass and plastic ponds should be partially filled with sand, rubber balls or plastic bottles. They will help compensate for ice pressure in cold weather.

Ponds covered with polychlorinated (PVC) or butyl rubber film or geotextile must be freed from water so that the bottom does not deform under ice pressure. A quiet winter awaits only artificial reservoirs with a concrete bottom and walls.

The filtration system works under increased load in the fall; it can become clogged and even fail. To prevent this from happening, the filtration system should be cleaned and, if necessary, the water filters should be replaced. When the outside temperature drops below 3 0 C, you need to turn off the water equipment and place it indoors for the winter.

Pond flora care

In winter, only winter-hardy plants can remain in the reservoir and they must be moved to a deep place. In swampy and shallow areas, plants need to be cut back to the water level. Using foliage or burlap you need to create a shelter for not winter-hardy plants. The marsh flower and water lilies need to be moved to a dark, cool room. Coastal plants are transplanted into pots filled with moist soil, and deep-water ones are placed in a container of water. The reed is not cut; with the help of its hollow stems, fish and plants receive oxygen, and carbon dioxide they take away.

Fish care

Frost-resistant fish can winter in an artificial pond if its depth is more than one and a half meters; if the pond is not deep, then the fish need to be moved to another place for the winter; small reservoirs tend to freeze to the bottom.

When the cold weather begins, you need to gradually reduce the amount of feed, most of which should be protein. There is no need to stop feeding with the onset of frost, although such an opinion exists. The activity of fish in winter actually decreases, their energy is spent little, but useful material, which normalize metabolic processes to maintain weight, are always needed by fish. Therefore, winter feeding cannot be canceled, but care must be taken to select the necessary winter diet.

IN shopping centers are offered different devices, making it easier for the inhabitants of the pond to winter: heaters, aerators, anti-ice devices. But to acquire them you need funds. You can provide oxygen to all aquatic organisms by regularly cutting through the wormwood. It is impossible to cut through wormwood with an ax, because it is strong shock wave can kill the inhabitants of the reservoir. Arrange wormwood in a shallow artificial reservoir You can use boiling water or a hand drill. Delicate ornamental fish need relocation for the winter, this may be large barrel with biofilter with recirculation or aquarium.

Additional tricks

Preparing the pond for winter can be completed by placing rubber balls or several logs in it. This procedure will not allow freezing ice to harm the walls of the reservoir. For a long time There is no need to leave them in the pond; plants and fish need light. In addition to monitoring the condition of the ice holes, caring for a pond in winter also includes regular cleaning of the surface from snow.

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Reservoirs at the dacha in winter: preservation, conservation

Ponds in dachas are no longer uncommon. Almost every gardener uses various devices for receiving and storing water. These include wells, tanks, barrels, and wells. Often on suburban areas you can meet decorative ponds: artificial ponds, fountains, pools, waterfalls. With the onset of the first cold weather, all these objects must be preserved for the winter.

Well

Today, a well in a country house is one of the main methods of water supply. country house. Before you start insulating it, you need to properly carry out the preparatory work. First of all, you should sheathe the riser using metal mesh, then cover with a special casing (they are sold in stores). The space created between the structures will retain heat inside more efficiently than all heat insulators. The most vulnerable section of the pipe is located near the house, where it rises up and runs along the freezing ground. It is recommended to place it in a separate casing made from a larger diameter pipe.

You also need to think about how to close the well itself. If winters are harsh and the soil freezes deep enough, glass wool, penoizol, and polystyrene are used as thermal insulation materials. In this case, insulation is carried out immediately at the time of installation of xenon. Thermal insulation material laid around the entire perimeter, its thickness must be at least 30 cm, the gap between the masonry and the well is 4 cm.

The hatch that closes the well must also be covered with a double shutter with insulation. If winters are not too cold, it can be covered with a wooden box. It will not release heat from the xenon.

The water supply pipe was also reliably hidden from frost. The most important thing is to take the work responsibly, since any oversight or mistake can lead to freezing. For wells that are operated in winter period constantly, this problem does not pose a danger - the pipe is constantly washed with fresh water, wells of variable use can be taken out of operation.

Tanks and barrels

Gardeners know that water left for the winter expands when it freezes and can rupture the tank, and in the spring the need for watering arises before the summer water supply starts working.

An empty tank left at the dacha in winter becomes easy (literally) prey for metal thieves.

There is a simple way to protect the tank from defrosting and theft. Several plastic bottles should be placed at the bottom of the tank. In order for them to sink, they must be filled one third with dry sand or crushed stone. For one hundred liters of tank volume you need approximately three five-liter plastic bottles.

The law of physics applies here. When water freezes, the volume of water increases by 10 percent. Freezing comes from the sides and top. When expanding in ordinary barrels, the bottom becomes elliptical or breaks out completely. If there are bottles, then they are compressed, compensating for the expansion - after all, they contain air. And it, unlike water or other liquid, is compressed. The ice around the bottles will be the last to appear. Thus, the plastic and air in the bottle compensate for the increase in volume when freezing.

Plastic does not deteriorate in water, so once submerged bottles will save the tank for many winters.

Barrels for watering the garden should be overturned and placed on their sides. If you have a summer basin with a sink in your garden, you need to wrap it plastic film and tie it up.

Well

There are several reasons why having a well on your property is still very profitable. Firstly, you can dig a well manually. The main thing is to take all precautions. Secondly, the well can be repaired and cleaned periodically. Third, well pumps more economical than borehole ones. Accordingly, it is much cheaper to supply water to a house if you have a well. In addition, there is always water in the well.

Yes, a well is still extremely profitable and necessary today. But as winter approaches, many people have a question: how to conserve water? Is it necessary to insulate a well for the winter?

Firstly, whether it freezes or not depends on the depth of soil freezing. Secondly, it depends on the type of well construction. Were they used during construction? reinforced concrete rings or. the well was built from wooden beam- all this plays significant role in winter. Thirdly, even identical wells built in different soils behave differently in winter. After all, for example, the freezing depth of clay is one, and that of peat is completely different. The average soil freezing rate is 1-2 meters.

Concrete - good guide temperatures When the soil freezes, the concrete will freeze to the same depth as the soil. Therefore, if the water in the well is below the freezing level, then everything is in order, the well can be used all winter. If the water is above this level, it will freeze.

The insulation of such a well must be taken care of in advance. The rings are insulated from the outside - basalt wool, foam plastic and others. This is done at the level where the soil freezes. In winter, various heating elements, cover the well with a lid.

Wooden wells are often simply decorated with lids. But this is not so much for insulation, but for safety and to prevent debris from getting into the well - leaves, branches, dust.

You can install decorative insulation above the well wooden frame. A gable roof is installed on the log house wooden house. On one slope the house has a door; inside there is a shaft made of rounded logs, reinforced along the edges with a metal strip; a handle for raising water comes out. The walls of the log house protect the upper ring of the well from the effects of negative temperatures and wind, and reduce the likelihood of ice formation on the upper rings.

Pond

You need to prepare your pond for winter long before the cold weather. When the leaves begin to fall, the pond must be covered with a net. Of course, a golden or crimson leaf on blue water looks much more picturesque than fine mesh. But fallen leaves, accumulating at the bottom, begin to rot in the spring and lead to an increase in the concentration of swamp gas and ammonia. This causes the water to become cloudy, and plants and fish, if any, die. With the onset of night frosts, the mesh is removed so that it does not freeze or tear.

Preparing a pond for winter begins with cleaning its bottom. Whatever the body of water on the site, this procedure is mandatory for everyone. Bottom silt and rotting debris, decomposing, form pathogenic gases. You can clean the bottom with a water vacuum cleaner or manually. Using regular and double-sided rakes, the bottom is thoroughly combed in all directions. Garbage is removed to shore. Places where plants overwinter in the pond should be planted should be avoided when cleaning.

During the equipment conservation stage, it is important to closely monitor the night air temperature. As soon as it reaches plus 5 degrees, the injection pumps are turned off and disconnected from the filters. Filter fillers (absorbents, brushes, sponge fillers) are washed with a weak saline solution. Filters and UV blocks are dried and packaged to avoid any ingress of water. The pump is cleaned and stored in a frost-free room, lowered into a bucket of water. Pumps with special system protection against freezing can be left in the reservoir for the winter.

Hoses, fountain nozzles, underwater lights and other equipment are cleaned (including using special drugs cleaned from lime deposits), dry and put away. Any body of water spends the winter without summer equipment.

Preparing a pond for winter will cause some trouble for owners of molded ponds. The rigid form (plastic or fiberglass) at its base is quite sensitive to increased pressure. To prevent the pond from bursting in winter, you need to partially fill several plastic bottles with sand and throw them into the pond. In winter they will take on the pressure of the ice. One bottle is immersed per 1 square meter of reservoir area. If the pond is located level with the ground, water is not drained from it. If raised, then bring the water level to ground level. Several logs or rubber balls are thrown into the wintering pond. They will not allow freezing ice to damage the walls of the pond.

Additional cover of the pond for the winter on top of the ice is required only during severe frosts.

To do this you will need boards and burlap or straw. But it is impossible to leave a wintering pond in this state for a long time, because plants cannot remain without light for a long time. Therefore, caring for a pond in winter means not only monitoring the condition of the ice holes, but also regularly clearing the surface of snow.

Pool on concrete base need to be covered after draining the water from it. If there is still some water left at the bottom, place a wood log so that it “takes” the frost. After this, you must first cover the pool with boards with a small distance between them, then put sheets of metal, plastic, old linoleum (any material you have) on the boards. From above, everything needs to be covered with either strips of leatherette or thick polyethylene and secured with bricks. Reservoirs on a film base do not need to be drained during the winter.

Fountain

Preparing the fountain for wintering (preservation) is very important, since the impact low temperatures and snow can negatively affect the condition of the fountain and shorten its service life.

Initially, you should drain the water and clean the fountain well and that’s it Technical equipment(pumps, filters). Using a compressor, it is necessary to remove any remaining water from the pipeline. Next, all removable parts of the fountain that may be damaged by frozen water are dismantled. The ends of the pipes must be insulated with plugs. Then you need to install objects made of elastic materials in the bowl that can shrink when increased external pressure(Styrofoam, plastic bottles, car tires).

The most the last stage The bowl is closing - for this purpose you can use film or special designs. It is very important that the coating does not allow moisture to enter the fountain bowl and is securely fastened.

Anton Prikhodov

Autumn is an important time to prepare your pond for winter. The number of “surprises” awaiting you in the spring after the ice melts depends on how competently and carefully the preparatory work is carried out. Preparing the reservoir for winter - important work and at the right approach it won’t take much time, but it will give tangible results that you can enjoy from the first warm days of spring.

Measures to prepare the pond for winter in the autumn

List preparatory work depending on whether the reservoir will be drained or remain filled with water over the winter. As a rule, decorative reservoirs raised above ground level from ready-made plastic molds and concrete ponds. If the pond is drained before frost, the equipment (pumps, filters and UV lamps) is dismantled. In this case, the main efforts will be aimed at the safe relocation of living creatures and vegetation into the premises for winter overexposure. Pond care in in this case minimal. The main attention should be paid to preparing the wintering site for fish and plants.

It’s a completely different matter - large reservoirs with an area of ​​20 m2 and a depth of 80 cm, which are not drained for winter time. We list the main activities that need to be carried out to prepare reservoirs for wintering in the open air.

1. Avoid polluting the surface of the pond.

With the beginning of leaf fall, special nets need to be installed over the pond. They are fastened along the banks with pegs. Their the main task– do not allow leaves to fall into the water. This is not a complicated, but important measure, because by not allowing organic debris to enter the pond, we will prevent its further decomposition in the water under the ice crust and disruption of the biological balance of the pond.

2. Clear the bottom of the pond of dirt and sediment.

To do this, you can use a pond rake or a regular garden rake. But better - a pond vacuum cleaner - a special unit that has long become a favorite of pond owners.

3. Perform a partial water change.

After you clean the bottom and walls of the pond, dirt particles will be raised in the water column. A partial water change will not be superfluous; you can increase the amount of fresh water to 30% of the total volume of the pond.

4. Monitor water quality.

Before the pond is covered with a layer of ice, the water quality in it must be brought to ideal. Particular attention should be paid to the oxygen content, since when low temperatures The biological system of the reservoir goes into eco mode, as a result of which insufficient oxygen is released. Today there are special tests to determine the main parameters of water quality. They will help not only to identify problems in time, but also to minimize adaptation difficulties for fish transplanted from a pond to a warm tank for wintering.

5. Tidy up your pond plants.

Autumn is the time to tidy up pond plants - remove excess, prune, plant or, depending on the type of plant, move to warm room. It is important to remove dead leaves, which, when decomposed, can cause oxygen deficiency in the water. All this must be done before frost sets in.

6. Remove and prepare all pond equipment for wintering.

When the temperature drops to 5 degrees, all equipment must be removed from the reservoir - pumps, filters, UV lamps. This is necessary so that they are not damaged by frost. Pumps must be stored in a damp environment in a frost-free room. Other equipment is washed and dried. In winter, it is placed in a warm, dry room.

7. Install seasonal equipment.

When the pond begins to become covered with ice, to prevent freezing, the protective net must be removed and de-icers installed. They will allow you to support required level oxygen in water in winter. This is especially important if fish remain in the pond for the winter.

If you do not plan to install anti-ice equipment, but there are fears that the reservoir bowl may be damaged in frost, you can trust traditional methods– immerse rubber balls, plastic bottles with sand or logs in the water, which will take the destructive pressure of the ice upon themselves.

Caring for the structural integrity of the structure

A properly designed and constructed liner pond can be left completely filled with water during the winter. Sometimes experts advise lowering the water level slightly (by 10-15 cm) so that melt water in the spring does not cause the pond to overflow. But this opinion is controversial; a crust of ice can damage an unprotected film.

Pond from ready-made form, if it is not raised above ground level, but completely buried, it is left completely filled with water for the winter. To reduce the ice pressure on the walls and bottom of the container, several plastic bottles with air are placed under the water so that they do not float up. You need to partially fill the bottles with sand, the number of bottles depends on the size of the pond (about 1 piece per 1 m2). If the pond is raised, the water must be drained to ground level.

To avoid damaging the pond coating, we do not recommend breaking the ice on its surface!

Pond cleaning, special equipment

The purity of the water in the pond is the key to a good winter for its inhabitants. Elementary, but effective cleaning pond you can do it yourself. For this:

1. Use water vacuum cleaners

Water vacuum cleaners are used to remove accumulated bottom silt and other debris on the walls and ledges of a reservoir.

In our assortment:

• Professional for removing large debris, stones, string algae, silt deposits.
• - famous brand OASE.
• , which is characterized by its low price and simple operation.



You can watch a video demonstrating the operation of the "Profi" vacuum cleaner

2. Install skimmers - surface cleaners

A skimmer is exactly the device that will effectively clean the surface of a reservoir throughout the year and, of course, during the autumn leaf fall! It is better to prevent leaves from getting into the pond than to clean them up later!

Skimmers can be autonomous floating - with their own built-in pump, floating on the surface



shore and side, which work in conjunction with the pump.


Stationary - installed on the bottom and require connection to a pump



Floating, requiring connection to a pump


Watch a video demonstrating the operation of a floating autonomous skimmer with a built-in pump trademark Heissner is possible

Pay attention to the diagram (below) for connecting the floating skimmer "CSP-250A" to the filtration system: the pump takes dirty water from the surface of the reservoir through the skimmer, supplies it to the pressure filter, and then the purified water returns to the pond through a stream or waterfall.




Preservation of pond equipment for the winter

Before the onset of winter cold, you need to take care of the conservation of the equipment that is located in your pond.

As soon as the air temperature drops below 5 C, it is necessary to turn off and disconnect the injection pumps from the filters. Filters and UV blocks must be completely freed from water and protected from water (melt snow, rain, etc.) during the upcoming winter period.

Filter fillers - adsorbents (filter granules and zeolite), brushes and sponge fillers - must be thoroughly washed. A weak saline solution is required for rinsing. A dirty filtration system loses its effectiveness: power consumption increases and performance drops significantly. Needs to be completely cleaned filtration system.

Before sending equipment for the winter, we recommend treating pumps, hoses, underwater lamps, fountain nozzles, and fittings with the “Special Cleaner” preparation from the Biobird brand.



It will reliably clean the internal and external parts of equipment and connecting parts that become dirty and covered limescale due to continuous exposure to water, it will remove calcium deposits and formed silt from their surfaces.

For other types of ornamental fish - universal

You can also purchase these feeds together with four sections



At a depth of 1.5–1.8 m, the temperature of the bottom water, even during severe frosts, usually does not fall below +4 C. This is quite enough to prevent the fish from dying. But if there is solid ice on the pond, oxygen cannot enter the water, and swamp gas cannot evaporate. Lack of oxygen can cause fish to suffocate. On the other hand, the lack of oxygen forces fish to move, that is, to increase energy consumption, and therefore the need for oxygen. This exhausts the fish and they may not survive until spring. That is why it is necessary to ensure that there is enough oxygen in the water.

Necessary equipment for creating holes (timely removal of harmful gases)



Characteristics:

• Constant addition of water at a temperature of +2 - 4°C prevents the formation of ice around the float with a diameter of about 20 cm;
• Only a small amount of power is required for circulation, so the power consumption is surprisingly low (5 W);
• Important pond temperature zones are maintained;
• IceFree 20 guarantees full performance at temperatures down to -20°C.

How does this device work, how to connect the compressor to work

• Anti-ice device complete with a compressor for a hole in the ice cover or complete with biological products to prepare the pond for winter





We offer floats that form holes with a diameter of 24.5 and 38 cm (buy)

Instructions for using the float-hole

1. From air channels(holes) harmful gases escape
2. The draft of the anti-ice device is adjusted by filling the chambers with sand.
3. Rising water levels are prevented by bailing out pond water
4. By using an aerator (optional), the water is saturated with oxygen (buy a kit with an aerator 2000 l/h or 4000 l/h):

Important! The floats that form the holes are installed before the pond freezes! In this case with minimal costs labor and time, you will get wells with a removable lid. Timely scooping of water and an air cavity prevent the water from freezing in the hole. It is convenient to add biological products through the hole (psychrophilic bacteria - "Autumn/Winter Prep"), and also use it for fishing.

You can watch a video demonstrating the combined use of a float-hole and an aerator, prepared by Heissner specialists

For small bodies of water We offer Heissner aerators (Germany)

"Aqua Air" series 240 l/h (up to 5 m3) or 720 l/h (up to 12 m3)

For medium-sized ponds (8 - 40 m3) we offer aerators made of of stainless steel FIAP (Germany), 2,000 l/h (4 air hose+ rock nozzles) and 4,000 l/h (6 air hoses + rock nozzles)

For many owners of private estates, the process of preparing for cold weather is important. Committing correct actions, the owner will be able to purify the water and protect fish and plants from the winter cold.

Pumping out water or protecting a reservoir

• Before the onset of cold weather, fish and plants are removed from the pool.
• The walls and bottom of the pond are thoroughly cleaned of accumulated dirt and sediment. Regular brushes are often used.
• The pipelines must be purged and securely sealed with foam. It is not recommended to use wooden plugs, as they swell in water. As they increase in volume, they can damage the pipe structure.

Before the appearance subzero temperature a deep pond is filled with water about 2/3. Water is necessary so that snow that falls into an artificial reservoir in winter and turns into ice in spring does not delay the spring filling of the pond. If the liquid is pre-filled, ice will form only in the upper part. In spring, a small layer of ice will melt quickly, winter water you can pump out and fill the reservoir again.

If during wintering the temperature becomes too low, then a hole is made in the ice, from which the remaining water is pumped out.

The air cushion will protect the reservoir from further freezing, which will also ensure rapid melting of the ice in the spring.

If the pond is made by hand, its concrete walls are protected high-quality waterproofing, then pumping out water is not necessary. If, when constructing a film pond, the building codes, then it can also be left completely filled for the winter.

Owners of molded ponds are forced to carry out a number of operations in order to prepare plastic pond for the winter. Its walls can collapse from the action of frozen water, which increases in volume, turning into ice. You need to put plastic bottles and sand into such a pond, they will compensate for the pressure of the ice.

Protecting water from pollution

• In autumn, before the leaves begin to fall, it is necessary to cover the entire area of ​​the reservoir with a net. Many people prefer to admire the fallen leaves located on top of the bluish surface of the backyard pond, but for the safety of plants and fish, care must be taken not to get into the water. organic matter. In the spring, fallen leaves will begin to rot, releasing ammonia and swamp gas. The water will immediately become cloudy and lose its freshness. blue tint, and the fish and plants in the reservoirs will die.
• Before you do, you need to remove the mesh, because when an ice crust forms, it will freeze and tear.
• To remove dirt, you can use a floating or stationary skimmer, which will quickly, without harming fish and plants, remove dirt that gets into the pond.

Preparing a pond for winter with your own hands (video)

It should be understood that the above measures, if carried out efficiently, will subsequently be reduced to a minimum.

Cleaning walls and bottom

Both wintering and non-wintering reservoirs must have their walls and bottom cleaned. The debris that gradually accumulates on surfaces begins to decompose.

As a result, harmful gases are released that negatively affect flora and fauna.

The fastest and convenient way cleaning is the use of a water vacuum cleaner.

Equipment preservation

• When the temperature reaches +5 °C, you need to turn it off, disconnect them from the filters and remove them from the water.
• The filter system must be disassembled into its component parts; before wintering, they are thoroughly cleaned with saline solution.
• UV lamps and filters are completely dried and carefully placed in boxes. The equipment is stored in a dry, preferably heated room.
• The pump is cleaned and then lowered into a container filled with water. If the pond is equipped with a pump that is equipped with a system that protects it from deformation due to water freezing, the device can be left in the pond for the winter.
• Various devices for underwater lighting, attachments, etc. are cleaned of dirt and, if necessary, checked for malfunctions.
• Be sure to be treated with compounds that help completely eliminate lime. All devices are dried and left in a specially designated room until spring.

Wintering plants

• Plants that do not tolerate winter frosts, must be covered with burlap or fallen leaves. In the second case, you will need to remove the leaves in the spring to prevent them from rotting.
• Plants that are prohibited from being stored in water during frosts must be carefully taken care of without damaging them. components and roots, remove from the reservoir.
• All plants must be kept indoors, where the temperature is quite low, but not sub-zero. Lighting must be present, however bright light contraindicated. In containers, you need to constantly moisten the soil at intervals that are indicated for a particular plant.
• It is recommended to leave the reed in the water without cutting it, as its tubular stems supply the water with oxygen, which is necessary for wintering fish.

Preparing a reservoir for winter (video)

Wintering of fish

• When preparing the pond for the winter, the fish are provided with complete protein nutrition. There is no need to feed them in winter.
• Fish that cannot live in a pond in winter are placed in large aquarium. In the spring they are released into the pond again.
• In winter, the access of oxygen from the atmosphere through the ice to the inhabitants of the reservoir is difficult, so a person must independently establish gas exchange using an ice hole.
• To maintain the polynya all winter, you can purchase devices that heat the pond. Sometimes they are built into special pressure filters that can operate all year round.
• An aerator is used to leave room for air access. The water is artificially saturated with oxygen, and the rising bubbles prevent the ice crust from closing. This device need to be selected and used carefully. The hole should not be too wide, and the diffuser should not be installed in the deepest part of the reservoir.
• To prevent the fish from freezing, you can use a floating one, but it is only available at a slight minus, which is not suitable for all regions.
• With a problem additional insulation The water heating system will handle it.

Before the winter cold, the decorative pond needs special care. If all the rules and regulations are followed, the owners will be able to properly clean it of contaminants, prevent deformation of the walls, keep representatives of the flora and fauna healthy during frosts, and in the spring again admire the beautiful view of the pond.

(markov_content)

Every new owner before the first wintering, he is worried about how to prepare it so that it will successfully survive the winter and not require much trouble at the beginning summer season. In fact, autumn “pond” work is not difficult, it is only important to carry it out carefully and carefully. We will analyze the main nuances of measures to prepare a pond for winter, using the experience of FORUMHOUSE users.

With the onset of autumn, it is important to ensure that debris and fallen leaves do not accumulate on the surface of the reservoir, which quickly pollute the water and form a layer of silt at the bottom of the reservoir, which contributes to the formation of toxic gases. This causes the water to become cloudy, and plants and fish die. Therefore, during the leaf fall period, it is better to cover the pond mirror with a special fine-mesh net, which must be regularly cleaned to remove the layer of leaves. The mesh is removed with the onset of night frosts so that it does not freeze and become damaged.

There are special nets for ponds with pegs on sale, but you can use other suitable ones.

Hyperborej User FORUMHOUSE

During leaf fall, try stretching a net for strawberries over the surface of the water (they sell a green one, you can use two layers) or sink it 5-10 centimeters into the water so that it doesn’t spoil the view. And when the leaves have fallen, you lift the net, and the leaves are all in it, and not in the water.

The inconvenience of the net is that if there are a lot of leaves, then under their weight it sags, and the garbage still ends up in the water, where it begins to rot. On the pond small size You can get out of this situation by placing transverse bars under the net, but on a larger body of water, “catching” leaves in the net is difficult and inconvenient.

The best option is to use technical devices– such as water vacuum cleaners or skimmers (surface suction pumps). A skimmer of suitable power, floating on the surface or installed permanently on the bottom or wall of a reservoir, rids it of leaves and large debris.

Member of FORUMHOUSE CorsaC939 advises to facilitate the collection of debris and leaves from the surface and, at the same time, prevent waterlogging, to provide in the pond constant movement water using a pump.

CorsaC939 User FORUMHOUSE

Retrofit the water drainage stream at its end with a bowl and a pump - a regular one, for dirty water, five to seven cubes per hour, so that there is constant movement of water and its aeration - and you will collect the leaves in one place.

Cleaning a reservoir is the most important event on which its external attractiveness and the safety of its inhabitants - plants and fish - directly depend. Even when using filter pumps, debris from the bottom will still have to be removed manually from time to time. There are many pond owners who prefer annual spring cleaning. However, if a pond accumulates a lot of debris over the summer, autumn cleaning is simply necessary, otherwise the rotting biomass will cause trouble over the winter, for example, leading to death in the pond.

If the pond has been cleaned at least a couple of times during the warm season, for example, with a vacuum cleaner, there is no need to drain the water - it will be enough to clean the bottom and banks of debris. This is best done with a water vacuum cleaner, but you can also manually comb the bottom in all directions with a regular or double-sided rake.

At heavy pollution It’s better to approach the issue on a large scale - drain the water, pressure wash the bottom and banks, remove debris and silt sediment, and then fill the pond clean water. CorsaC939 shared the intricacies of cleaning measures. This process is simple, but quite “fragrant” and dirty, so you will have to stock up on rubber gloves and waterproof fishing overalls.

CorsaC939 User FORUMHOUSE

I lower a pump for dirty water with a capacity of 15 m3/hour with a hose with a diameter of 32 mm to pump out water into the pond. The more powerful the pump and the thicker the hose, the faster the water is pumped out.

While the water is draining, it’s time to connect the sink high pressure(preferably with pressure control) and a pond vacuum cleaner. If the reservoir is populated with fish, you should prepare a 200 liter barrel of water and an aquarium compressor (approximately 300 l/min) for them in advance.

During the pumping process, sludge can be poured into the area, for example, under trees or into a ditch for drying: dried sludge is a valuable fertilizer - sapropel.

After almost all the water has been drained, the fish are caught and transplanted into a barrel, and the silt is pumped out of the pond with a vacuum cleaner, the silt deposits, algae and other dirt are “beaten off” by washing, and if necessary, water lilies and other plants are thinned out and planted.

pavlovich64 User FORUMHOUSE

If you leave fish for the winter, try to trim aquatic plants. This winter, a dozen and a half crucian carp did not survive: I was too lazy to cut off the leaves in the fall. aquatic plants(water lilies, irises). The result is rotting, mustiness and death. Last winter I cut off all the leaves, and the result was different.

The final stage is filling the pond with clean water and returning the fish to it. Depending on the composition and hardness of the water (checked by tests from aquarium stores), the forum member advises using products for preparing tap or rain water. You don’t have to worry too much about biobalance: if there are water lilies or other potted plants in the pond, then a huge number of microorganisms and algae are hidden in their roots, and the balance will be restored within two to four weeks after changing the water.

Another important event is the conservation for the winter of equipment installed in the pond, which is not intended for wintering and does not have protection from freezing. It is important to monitor the air temperature so that at the first established cold weather (up to +5 C), turn off the pumps and disconnect them from the filters. After dismantling, the filter fillers must be washed with a weak saline solution. Filters and UV blocks should be stored carefully packaged to prevent moisture from getting into them. After cleaning, the pump is stored in a heated room, immersed in a container of water. All hoses, nozzles, lamps, etc. need to be washed and dried properly.

Preparing a pond for winter depends on its size and type. Small (depth up to 0.8 m and area up to 20 square meters) the reservoir is considered non-wintering. In cold weather it can freeze to the bottom, so in the fall all plants and fish need to be removed from it. Experienced members of the forum, by the way, not by chance advise planting pond plants in pots, covering them with gravel, and then periodically replanting or adding more soil. This method will not only keep the pond clean and reduce the formation of a breeding ground for algae, but will also make cleaning and maintenance much easier.

The cleaned pond needs to be filled halfway or two-thirds with water: snow and ice will still accumulate at the bottom of the drained pond over the winter, which will take a long time to melt in the spring. A pond filled with water in winter will only freeze at the top. In frosty winters, you can pump out some of the water from under the ice through a drilled hole so that the resulting air bag prevented the pond from freezing to the bottom.

Owners of so-called “molded” plastic reservoirs should definitely think about using ice expansion compensators. As you know, water expands when it freezes, and the walls of plastic ponds are sensitive to increased pressure, so ice can not only damage the waterproofing, but also “break” the banks, which will result in costly repairs in the spring. To avoid this, compensators are installed in the pond bowl - they can be specialized purchased ones, but more often forum users use improvised items, for example, PET bottles with sand.