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 the spring, a small layer of ice will quickly melt, and the winter water can be pumped out and the reservoir filled 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 reservoir is made manually, its concrete walls are protected by high-quality waterproofing, then pumping out the 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 lower it into such a pond plastic bottles and sand, they will compensate for the ice pressure.

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. 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 cannot 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, but bright light is 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 a 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 must 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)

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 hibernation will depend on this work. 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 autumn – best time to carry out “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 that has accumulated at the bottom begins to decompose, and harmful gases are released that have a poisonous effect on all living things, and the general water biobalance is also disrupted.

You can partially protect a pond from falling leaves with a net stretched over it. You can clean an artificial pond with a net, brush, manually, 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 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 non-winter-hardy plants. Swamp flowers and water lilies need to be moved to a dark, cool room. Coastal plants are transplanted into pots filled with moist soil, and deep-sea plants 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 fish always need useful substances that normalize metabolic processes to maintain weight. Therefore, winter feeding cannot be canceled, but care must be taken to select the necessary winter diet.

IN shopping centers Various devices are offered to make 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 a strong shock wave can kill the inhabitants of the reservoir. You can create wormwood in a shallow artificial reservoir using boiling water or a hand drill. Delicate ornamental fish need to be rehoused for the winter, this could be a large barrel with a recirculating biofilter or an 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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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 with the right approach, it will not take much time, but 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 ponds raised above ground level are drained for the winter from ready-made plastic molds and concrete ponds. If the pond is drained before frost, the equipment (pumps, filters and UV lamps) is dismantled. The main forces in this case will be aimed at the safe relocation of living creatures and vegetation into the premises for winter overexposure. Pond maintenance in this case is 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 main task– do not allow leaves to fall into the water. This is not a difficult, but important measure, because by not allowing organic debris to get into 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, trim, plant or, depending on the type of plant, move to a 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, the protective net must be removed and de-icers installed to prevent freezing. They will help maintain the required level of oxygen in the 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

Properly designed and built film pond can be left completely filled with water over the winter. Sometimes experts advise lowering the water level slightly (by 10-15 cm) in order to melt water in the spring they did not cause the pond to overflow. But this opinion is controversial; a crust of ice can damage an unprotected film.

A finished pond, if it is not raised above ground level but is completely buried, 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. It is necessary to partially fill the bottles with sand, the number of bottles depends on the size of the pond (approximately 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. To do 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, thread 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) of connecting the floating skimmer "CSP-250A" to the filtration system: the pump takes dirty water from the surface of the reservoir through a skimmer, feeds it into a pressure filter, and then the purified water is returned 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. For flushing you will need a weak saline solution. 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 coated 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)



Specifications:

• 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. Harmful gases come out of the air channels (holes)
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.

Watch a video demonstrating sharing float-hole and aerator, prepared by Heissner specialists, you can

For small reservoirs 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 stainless steel FIAP (Germany), 2,000 l/h (4 air hoses + rock nozzles) and 4,000 l/h (6 air hoses + rock nozzles)

A skillfully decorated pond is an excellent decoration for both garden and park landscapes. However, in order for a pond that pleases the eye not to lose its attractiveness over time and not turn into a problem, it requires proper care.

One of the most important stages care remains the annual preparation for winter. The scope of preparatory work primarily depends on the type of reservoir, its depth and total surface area.

A small, artificial reservoir, the depth of which does not exceed 0.8 m and the area of ​​20 sq. meters, in zones of continental and sharply continental climates are classified as non-wintering. During severe frosts, such reservoirs freeze to the very bottom.

What is needed for wintering

In the fall, before the onset of cold weather, it is necessary to dismantle the main equipment that provides pumping and purification of water, decorative lighting, etc., and transplant aquatic plants, fish and other inhabitants of the pond to a safe place. Then the water is pumped out from a small artificial reservoir, and after thorough preliminary purging of the water pipelines, the reservoir is refilled by two-thirds. Moreover, if the water level in the reservoir is usually above ground level, before wintering the water is lowered to the same level as the ground.

In particularly severe winters, freezing of a reservoir can be prevented by cutting a hole on the surface of the ice crust and pumping out a certain amount of water through it. After this simple procedure, a kind of air cushion is formed under the ice crust, which will prevent the water from freezing to its entire depth.

The situation is more complicated with small shaped reservoirs. Freezing water in winter can tear or deform their plastic walls. One way to solve the problem could be plastic bottles half filled with dry sand and left at the bottom of the pond. Bottles are placed at the rate of 1 bottle for every square meter of the bottom of the reservoir. For the same purposes, logs or balls filled with air are placed in the water.

Ponds of natural origin are wintering. But even such a pond needs cleaning of the bottom. In addition, you should take care of the inhabitants of the pond and those types of plants that are not adapted to our cold weather. Some categories of film and concrete ponds are also classified as wintering ponds.

When to start preparing for winter

Basic preparation work for winter period begin already during the leaf fall season. With the beginning of leaf fall and before the first frost, a net is stretched over the surface of the water, which will protect the pond from falling leaves, which, having sunk to the bottom, in the spring can cause unwanted metamorphoses: cloudiness of the water and the appearance of an unpleasant odor.

To clean the surface of a pond, you can quite successfully use modern gardening equipment. For these purposes, many people prefer to use a skimmer or water vacuum cleaner.

The main stage of preparation for cold weather is cleaning the bottom from bottom debris and silt. Manual cleaning of a not very deep pond can be done using a conventional double-sided hand rake. The bottom is carefully cleared in all directions. Cleaning small reservoirs is easier to do after preliminary pumping of water.

What and where to store

Only after the bottom has been cleaned can conservation of the equipment supporting the life of the reservoir be started. The injection pumps are switched off after night temperatures have dropped to +5 °C. Then it is mandatory to dismantle pumps that do not have special protection from winter temperatures and wash the filter media. Also, hoses, nozzles and other removable elements must be thoroughly cleaned with special solutions. After thoroughly drying, they, UV blocks and filtration systems are hermetically packaged and stored until spring in a dry, frost-free room. You can store the pumps by lowering them into any container with water.

In parallel with carrying out technical preparatory measures, one should also be concerned about the fate of the inhabitants of the pond, as well as plants that will find it difficult to withstand wintering in natural conditions. For example, water lilies, which grow in abundance along the shores of lakes and rivers, in small bodies of water are not able to withstand the tests of frost. Therefore, they are “transplanted” into barrels filled with water and stored until spring in minimally lit rooms at a temperature of no more than +5 °C. Under the same conditions, transplanted into moist soil, irises and some types of sedges overwinter.

Winter-hardy plants of wintering ponds are prepared for cold weather by clearing them of old leaves and old, outdated stems. Important rule: Absolutely all plants cannot be removed from a wintering pond, since they are the ones who maintain the natural biological balance and ensure an active flow of oxygen.

Preservation of reservoirs for the winter usually occurs in mid-late October, when the first snow has already fallen. It is during this period that low temperatures become stable, and the water, which has held the summer heat for so long, begins to part with it.

General initial recommendation for all types of water bodies ( waterfalls, fountains, ponds) - this is to take everything out decorative elements, lighting, components of the fountains, wash everything and put it in storage for the winter. However, today all devices are sold together with instructions for use, which will certainly describe all the features of operation and storage, so in some cases it is worth reading it carefully and following the instructions.

Plastic pond

Most vulnerable to low temperatures pond - small, with a surface area of ​​two to three square meters and up to one and a half deep. Since there is very little water in the pond, such a home pond runs the risk of freezing through in winter. There is no need to explain that water, expanding, can damage the material from which the bottom and walls are made. On the other hand, if from small pond If you drain all the water, then if the surrounding soil freezes, it may be squeezed from the outside. The risk of distortions and deformations is especially high if the pond is not laid correctly. That's why small pond for the winter it is necessary to partially drain it so that the internal pressure compensates for the external one. A small plastic pond, as well as one made with film, must be drained and washed. Then fill 30-40% with fresh water.

Film Lake

If your site is decorated with a film lake, then there will be a little more hassle, since it is not enough to drain some of the water from the reservoir - the bottom and walls still need to be thoroughly rinsed and fresh water added. And, as a rule, film reservoirs are much larger than plastic ones. By the way, when creating such a lake it is better not to use plastic film, it is not as durable, but polyvinyl chloride, or even better, butyl rubber. You can fill the water two-thirds or full. Experts do not recommend leaving this lake empty, otherwise in the spring groundwater deform the laid material.

All-concrete pond

Siberian landscapers do not advise in our climatic conditions to create an all-concrete reservoir on your site - the process of its construction is very labor-intensive, and in winter, despite all the tricks, it still runs the risk of cracking. And yet there are landowners who object - Siberia is different from Siberia, winters in the north and south are completely different, and the labor intensity of the process is, they say, not a problem at all.

We recommend that conservation of such a reservoir be carried out with the participation of a specialist, because there are options here - with or without drainage. The first method is simpler - you need to drain the water from it, thoroughly washing and cleaning the bottom and walls; plants and other inhabitants naturally move “to winter quarters", then the lake closes. The second is more difficult - first drain the old water, also rinsing the surfaces, then fresh “preservation” water is poured in, volumetric expansion compensators are installed, which can be empty plastic bottles with weights, boards, or foam plastic. In short, everything that can compress under the pressure of freezing water. Next comes the closing of the water mirror. For this purpose they serve special coatings. Not recommended for use wooden boards And metal structures resting on the sides of the pool.

Winter quarters

The most difficulties will arise if fish and other living creatures live in your decorative pond. In any case, if the size of the reservoir allows, it is better to leave the fish in it for the winter, since this is a familiar environment, and in nature, fish spend the winter in the reservoir. At a depth of 1.8-2 m, the temperature of the densest, bottom water column, even during severe frosts, usually does not fall below +4C o. This is quite enough to prevent the fish from dying. The biggest enemy of fish is not cold, but ice. If the pond is under ice for more than one day, then the inhabitants, especially those who do not fall into suspended animation, risk dying. You will have to make sure that at least part of the reservoir is free of ice. Of course, the most modern way- installation of a small pond heater or compressor. To saturate the lower layers of water with oxygen, it is mixed once or twice a week using a pump. If possible, a small pump can be left constantly running. A small piece of hose, preferably a rigid one, is put on the outlet pipe of the pump. The length of the hose should be approximately one meter. This will allow the pump to be buried to a guaranteed frost-free depth. We pass the free end of the hose through a small piece of foam plastic (expanded polystyrene). This will give the pump some freedom to move. We adjust the height of the hose so that the output stream falls from as high a height as possible, but without compromising the performance of the pump. These pumps have very low power(3-10 W), so the height of their water rise, as a rule, does not exceed 50-70 cm. For our purposes, it will be enough if the water falls from a height of 15-30 cm.

If, nevertheless, the option with a pump is not for you, then the main thing is to make holes more often, because the lack of oxygen forces the fish to move, increasing energy consumption, and therefore the need for oxygen, and exhausted fish do not survive until spring.

Aquatic flora

Should I get aquatic plants for winter storage or not, again depends on the type, size, depth of the reservoir and directly on the plant species.

One of the options for storing representatives of aquatic flora - in the case of a deep pond - is to move them to the deepest part of the bottom, where there is the least chance of freezing.

You can also play it safe - most aquatic plants in an artificial reservoir form overwintering buds by winter. And in order for the plant to winter safely, these buds, as a rule, sink to the bottom. Several of these buds are cut from each plant from a decorative pond and put indoors for the winter; by spring they will germinate and be returned to the pond. By the way, new plants form faster from them. Such rapid germination of aquatic plants in an artificial reservoir in the spring is very effective against the appearance of protozoan algae.

And yet, most Siberian experts advise removing plants from the pond for the winter. It is very convenient if they are planted in containers - this makes them easier to immerse and remove.

Aquatic plants such as iris, susak, hornwort, and calliper will be able to survive the winter in a hole at least a meter deep. Water lilies are more delicate, so they are dug up for the winter, wrapped in damp moss and stored in the basement until spring; it is desirable that the humidity in the basement is higher.

Exists general advice for all owners artificial reservoirs- invite a specialist from a company that professionally works with to clarify the details, fortunately we have quite a lot of them in our city. And you will definitely receive professional advice or even maintaining your corner of nature.

Text: Yulia Pelenkova