I think Horton may live close to your area and if I recall correctly he runs his pond through the bd...not sure though. Curious--if you've been running your waterfall all year long without freeze up why did you switch to bubbler and deicer/heater??? I'm not sure what zone you are in but if it is zone 6 and get lotsa snow cover should work. As for shut down time--I'll be shutting down Thanksgiving weekend maybe the next week--depends on the weather. I've pulled my bd already (retrofit) and am running the pond on the skimmer only. I like to wait until it gets colder as the fish are easier to catch. In my climate I bring my fish indoors as our winters are long, long long and 18" to 2 ft of ice is alotof cold. When I had a submersible pump I stored it in a bucket of water so it was submerged. If you are going to use the stock tank heater be aware that they suck alot of electricity. I used a 1500Watt heater last year on my indoor pond in the garage and my electrical bills were so high the fish are coming back in the basement this year. When the water temp goes below 55F stop feeding your fish--you should be feeding them some kind of food that has wheat germ as when the water temps drop they can't digest regular food and it rots in their stomachs. Can't answer your questions on adding water to the pond as mine is shut down for the winter. Startup when the ice is gone--again use wheat germ food and don't feed till water temp reaches 55F. Biofilter won't kick in until water temps are up anyways. The pro's I find with bringing my fish indoors is that I get to enjoy them all winter long. I jump start my pond with their indoor pond water in the spring--move fish and tank water at the same time as indoor pond is 300 gals and established system. Con's water changes indoors and waiting for the long winter to be over. Good luck! Patti

Thanks Patti.

Doing it mainly because of what I think was super cooling that my waterfall caused during a quite cold snap we felt here in Brantford last year. I had some fish lying on their sides on the pond bottom. That along with all the babysitting, watching for ice, periodically adding water, etc. Now that I have my pump running in the skimmer and plenty of oak trees around also didn't want to fight to keep the skimmer and pump clear. So in a nut shell aside from the fish comfort outcome call me lazy, I guess.

You referenced "bd" a couple of times and I assume you are meaning bottom drain of which I do not have one. Just one pump running my 4 tier waterfall through a small upper pond, thatÂs it.

Also only ever used the 1500w deicer as backup and just ran for a few hours at a time.

Again thanks for the reply and hopefully Horton or another poster in my neck of the woods will chime in too.

Have a great day folks and back at'ya with the good luck Patti!
Dave

Toofast, I'm over to the other side of London,Ontario, so not so far from you and our winters are much the same. I don't run the main pumps over winter, I'm wary of ice dams being created and water being diverted away from the pond.

I shut the waterfall and statuary pumps off for the winter, but, because of where my bottom drain sump is located,I run a small 500 GPH pump all winter to circulate the pond water and create a vent opening in the ice.

The 500 GPH pump is located in the 50 gallon bottom drain sump, and pumps water through a 1/2" hose to the pond, where it keeps the surface water moving and allows for gas exchange. I have a 1200 watt deicer as a stand by in case of pump failure. I also totally cover my ponds over, first with a leaf net for a month or so, then with a translucent tarpaulin supported on a frame, for the winter months.
That keeps the cold winds from blowing across the water surface.

Your plan to use an aerator and a small deicer, with your large wattage deicer as a stand-by sounds great to me.
As far as keeping your pump in a bucket of water, there is no need to do that, as mag pumps,unlike oil filled pumps do not have seals that will crack, if they are allowed to dry up over winter. But that is up to you.

March would be a tad too early for start up,I should think.
I push the envelope a bit by getting going at the beginning of April. And that is dependent on weather conditions.

The main clean out the pond, I do in the Fall, rather than in the Spring.
That way I'm not stirring up the "nasties" from the bottom of the pond, when the fish are still very susceptible to disease after going through a hard winter.

You mention a check valve "sticking out of the water".
As long as it is not filled with water, that could freeze and cause the valve to split open, it should be okay.
If you could remove it and take it apart for cleaning and then store it, that would be a safer solution.
Check valves should be cleaned out at least once a year, as the are a real collector of gunk and that can cause them to stick open or closed.
The same goes for your pump. Take the impeller cover off and clean it out before storing for winter, whether it is kept in water or not.
The gunk inside the pump can [and will] set up like cement over winter and cause the pump to overheat and possibly burn out when you try to use it next Spring.
Hope this helps.
"Horton"

Toofast, sorry I should have said that I normally shut down the main pumps in mid October.
I like to do it while the weather is still nice enough to be outside working around a pond.
"Horton"

Thanks Horton... Much appreciated!

I had to rush to get the net on around 5pm yesterday as I noticed a winged visitor in front of my pond eyeing up the kids.... Shhhessh always something to worry about. As if I don't have enough grey hair already...

Still have a dozen or so Lily leaves that are still green, water hircine and hornwort for a little cover. Maybe we the rest of the Lily's turn I will shut it down. (Man it is going to seem quiet and strange when I do that.

I can just leave my hornwort anchored to the bottom without affecting oxygen for the fish, can't I? Also can I leave my net on through out the winter? I have oak trees in the yard that drop all winter, especially during strong east winds and I guess it would just save me from going in and out of the sliding door so much cleaning and scooping leaves out..

Have a great Weekend neighbour!
Dave

Glad it was of help Dave.
That was probably the winged creature I chased out of my yard! LOL
You asked, "I can just leave my hornwort anchored to the bottom without affecting oxygen for the fish, can't I? Also can I leave my net on through out the winter?........"
Sure in both cases. Cold water holds a lot more oxygen than warm water.
I leave hornwort and pond weed in there, along with watercress. It gives them a good start for the next season.
The watercress is beautiful and green in April, with it being under the tarpaulin cover all winter.
Take care,
"Horton"

Hi guys, I live in zone 5B, Southern Ontario, not too far from you Toofast. I don't have a waterfall however that is in the plans for next spring. I usually keep my pump running 24/7, I remove the spitters and just have the pump sitting on a rock at the bottom and the water pumping up, it keeps the water moving and I have never had it freeze. My pond is only 18 inches deep so I use a teepee style tent over the pond. I cover it with thick plastic so the snow doesn't get in and I have a flap at a small door so I can look in occasionaly and check things out. In the spring I remove the tent and everything is well. My only problem then is getting rid of all the string algea which has grown. My pond contains three gold fish, three koi and I think four babies and then there are about five frogs which are permanent residents. Any thoughts?

Wayne, unfortunately with covering your pond and the really low temperatures, string algae will flourish in that environment. The water is cool and clear, full of oxygen and there is some solar heat inside the covering, just like a greenhouse.

I too have quite a clump of it in the Spring, when I uncover the pond. I just pull most of it out and then pour Hydrogen Peroxide 3%, directly over what is left in the pond.
Usually that one dose, does the trick and the string algae is gone!
"Horton"

Horton, thank you for the info on the string algae, I wasn't aware that Hydrogen peroxide was a good fix. This past spring when I uncovered my pond was really the first time I had such a problem. It seemed to take forever to get it out. I did pull out what I could by hand and then used a stick with twist ties attached and ran it around the sides and got quite a lot out that way as well. But it was a battle for about four or five weeks as it tended to grow by the minute. Once I got the surface covered with water hyacinths and water lettuce it wasn't so bad. I didn't want to use any chemicals in fear of hurting the fish. Now that I am in the process of getting the pond ready for winter I noticed when I pulled most of the plants out that there is still algae along the sides but probably not enough to worry about at the point.

Yesterday I put the teepee over the pond and covered the sides with the heavy plastic and the back and front I covered with netting, more to keep the falling leaves out for now. Once it turns colder I will replace the netting with the plastic. Wayne

You are welcome Wayne, the Hydrogen Peroxide treatment dosage, is one pint per one hundred gallons of pond water.
Some folks say one pint per thousand gallons.
I go by the first one.
It will not harm the fish in your pond, it in fact adds oxygen to the water.
I keep a couple of bottles handy all year round.
For the string algae in the Spring, as already mentioned, and for adding oxygen to the water after a heavy summer thunder storm, if it is necessary.
Watch your fish after a heavy thunder storm, if you see them gasping at the surface, that could be because of an oxygen depletion in the water.
Just add a pint or two of H.Peroxide and stir up the water.
Take care,
"Horton"

Re zones.

I am in Guelph, which is zone 5 US, and 6b Canada (using old system) and 5a Canada using the new system.

Brantford is a 5b in the new system.

Problem is most books printed in Canada use the old system.

On this site, I use the US value since most readers are American.

I take my pump out as late as possible, before a real frost - probably late Nov. I enjoy watching the falls from the house. It goes back in once things are liquid.