Pond in Winter

What are your over-wintering options? Should you heat your pond? How do you protect you fish from a harsh or prolonged winter?

Choosing the right pond heater

Compared to other pond hardware such as must-have items such as a pump and filter, a pond heater is an optional purchase (depending on your budget and your approach to koi keeping).

Why consider buying a pond heater?

Better for your Koi? Our cold-blooded Koi have no choice . . . → Read More: Choosing the right pond heater

Feeding koi pond fish in winter

How to feed pond fish and koi in winter . . . → Read More: Feeding koi pond fish in winter

Frozen pond in winter covered in ice. What if my garden pond freezes?

In the short term, a frozen pond (or more precisely its surface), will not pose any problems for the health of koi. Koi and other pond fish will naturally descend to the bottom where, if the pond is of sufficiently deep (4 feet is the minimum . . . → Read More: Frozen pond in winter covered in ice. What if my garden pond freezes?

Garden pond from winter into spring

Over the winter I have let my fish hibernate away. My pond froze over in the winter as I decided not to keep my pond heated but did keep it covered through the coldest months. I stopped feeding them but checked them every day and made sure . . . → Read More: Garden pond from winter into spring

Heating a pond in winter

What’s best for your koi in winter? Do I heat my pond or not?

We mustn’t forget that koi are a warm water fish and are tolerant of a wide range of temperatures – making them an ideal pond fish. Don’t presume that koi cannot over winter . . . → Read More: Heating a pond in winter

Heating a pond over winter. Top advice

There are two opinions with respect to heating koi ponds. Many koi keepers believe that koi should be given a typical winter period, while others believe that heating a pond is essential to maintain koi in the best of health throughout the year.

But won’t koi freeze . . . → Read More: Heating a pond over winter. Top advice

Koi pond heaters. How they work.

Despite the apparent efforts of global-warming nibbling away at either end of our winter, our ponds continue to experience several months of near-zero and freezing temperatures in winter. Our cold-blooded koi have no choice but to become inactive, well before our ponds freeze over, stopping feeding around . . . → Read More: Koi pond heaters. How they work.

Koi pond insulation to prevent ice and freezing in winter

Which are the best materials to use for covering a Koi pond, and which ones aren’t? How much gap should I leave above the water surface? And how long should I cover my pond for?

Dear James,

Covering your pond overwinter can prove to be a very cost-effective way . . . → Read More: Koi pond insulation to prevent ice and freezing in winter

Koi pond winter management. Frozen ponds and freezing weather.

The vast majority of us don’t heat out ponds. Whether this is because we can’t afford to, don’t feel our fish require it or we just haven’t got around to it yet – what this means is that our koi will be exposed to what our . . . → Read More: Koi pond winter management. Frozen ponds and freezing weather.

Over-wintering fish and koi ponds. How to winterize your pond successfully

Winter is a period of transformation in the garden, when plants release their foliage in preparation for the ravages of winter and the growth rate of everything else (including weeds!) seems to take a well earned break. It can also be a time of inactivity for . . . → Read More: Over-wintering fish and koi ponds. How to winterize your pond successfully

Pond care from August to Autumn just before Winter

As August turns into September, our pond enters its last scene her before the final curtain of winter approaches. Even at this late stage, the story could still have two endings, either as a tragedy or with the pond’s players living on happily ever after.

Everything in . . . → Read More: Pond care from August to Autumn just before Winter

What if the pond temperature suddenly drops in a cold spell in autumn?

The UK weather is a national obsession and its unpredictability has always made it a very popular conversation piece. Indeed, a well known TV weatherman put it just right when he said, ‘The UK doesn’t have a climate, just different days of unpredictable weather’.

This is particularly . . . → Read More: What if the pond temperature suddenly drops in a cold spell in autumn?

Winter and autumn koi foods. Do I really have to offer my koi different foods in the winter?

I am a little confused with the number of different types of food that I can buy for my koi. This is especially true during late summer and early spring when my pond temperature is cooling down warming up either side of winter.

I recently bought a . . . → Read More: Winter and autumn koi foods. Do I really have to offer my koi different foods in the winter?

Winter garden pond and cold water temperature swings

As spring approaches I am concerned about what to do if the temperature suddenly rises and then drops again back to near arctic conditions as can happen so easily in this country. How will this sudden rise in temperature affect my Koi? Should I start feeding . . . → Read More: Winter garden pond and cold water temperature swings

Winter pond fish maintenance

Winter pond maintenance.

To a certain degree, a laissez-faire approach with our pond may be justifiable in the winter, as there is little that fish require from us over this fallow period. However, there are a few simple measures we can take to ensure that, even after . . . → Read More: Winter pond fish maintenance

Winter Pond Maintenance

To a certain degree, a laissez-faire approach with our pond may be justifiable in the winter, as there is little that fish require from us over this fallow period. However, there are a few simple measures we can take to ensure that, even after the harshest . . . → Read More: Winter Pond Maintenance

Winterizing a Backyard Fish Pond

This will be my first winter since building my koi pond in April 2003. My pond is relatively small, about 1,000 gallons and it has an Aquamax 5,500 pump with a 20 watt UV and small pump-fed filter.

Since it was built, the pond has reached temperatures . . . → Read More: Winterizing a Backyard Fish Pond

Winterizing a Koi pond and pond fish

Putting koi through a typical UK winter experience is regarded by many as a matter of potluck as to whether they will pull through to the spring. That is, we keep our fingers crossed and hope that the koi have eaten sufficiently well and that the . . . → Read More: Winterizing a Koi pond and pond fish



Kill blanketweed and string algae.