Pond Winterizing: A quick guide for protecting waterfalls, koi, & water garden plants

A winterizing checklist for backyard ponds in Wichita, Kansas & Midwest Great Plains

Should I leave my pond pump on in the winter?

If ice on your waterfall will cause water runoff or freeze-thaw damage to rocks, you must shut off your pump. If you shut off your pond, you must add a heater or de icer to create a breathing hole in the ice.

How do I prepare my pond for Winter?

We recommend completing the following pond winterizing tasks:

• Keep Skimmer Box strainers free of leaves and algae
• Clean Filter Pads in Waterfall Box
• Remove and shock hair algae from Water Features
• Remove settled hair algae and scum from water garden
• Add winterizing bacteria and enzymes
• shut off your pump if ice on your water feature will cause water runoff or freeze-thaw damage to rocks

Keeping Koi and Plants Alive in a Frozen Pond

Healthy koi fish and goldfish will rest on the bottom of the winterized pond. They will stay alive and survive, becoming active again in the spring.

• Health tip #1: Give your pond a spring (or autumn) cleaning 
• Health tip #2: Feed wheat germ pellets when water is between 55 and 70 degrees
• Never feed your fish in winter, when water temperatures are below 55 degrees (In Kansas and the Wichita area, stop feeding after the first frost.)
• Spend time inspecting your fishes shapes, skin and behavior
• Inspect Perennial Pond Plants health and root zones, re-pot in autumn if necessary
• Sink your pots of water lilies to a depth of 24-30 inches

Pond Winterizing Heaters & De Icers

• If you shut off your pond, you must add aeration or a heater or de icer to create a hole.

  

• Consider plugging the heater into a thermostatic outlet to be efficient.
• In ponds 4 feet and deeper, you may run a bubbler aerator at the bottom to create the hole in the ice.

Pond Netting And Covers

• Add a net to reduce leaves in water feature
• Add Water Clarifying Products
• In rare cases, some people pull a greenhouse canopy over the pond

If you need assistance with pond winterizing, or gathering the necessary supplies to protect your pond, consider our winterizing packages!