K&H Pet Products Thermo 3.0 Pond Heater, 100-Watt

A pond can enhance your outdoor spaces, creating a peaceful retreat in your own back yard. You can even add some small fish and plants to keep it healthy. But unless you live in an area where the temperature is warm year-round, chances are you’ll need to do a few things to protect your pond from cold temperatures.

You have two choices for winterizing your pond: shut it down for the winter or keep it running year-round. The latter requires routinely topping off your pond and monitoring ice buildup. The former means you’ll need to drain the water from the plumbing, remove the pump and oxygenating the water using a recirculating pump.

If you have fish and plant life, though, you’ll need to do what it takes to keep that life healthy even in the coldest temperatures. In colder weather, a sheet of ice will likely form on your pond. The problem with that is that it traps gases in the water, potentially harming the plant and fish life beneath that ice.

A pond heater is the easiest solution. Your pond heater will create a small hole in the ice that allows dangerous gases to escape. Pond heaters typically run on a small electrical current, so you won’t have to worry about excessive electricity usage, even with a larger pond.

• Fish go into hibernation when the water temperature dips below 50 degrees, so make sure you stop feeding them at that point.
• A de-icer will create a hole in a small section of the pond, which means it will have a maximum capacity. Make sure the pond de-icer you choose can handle your pond size. There’s also the option of using multiple de-icers, spacing them apart to cover the full length of your pond.
• Since a de-icer floats on top of the water, it could disrupt your outdoor aesthetics. You can buy de-icers that are made to look like a stone, as well as others that have a low profile to keep things looking good.
• If you have trees near your pond, the autumn months can be rough on it. A net can help keep leaves from getting in the pond, where they’ll fall to the bottom, decay and release gases. When combined with your de-icer, this can help keep your fish and plant life healthy.
• Safety is important with any electrical appliance. Some de-icers have a built-in thermostat to keep them from overheating.
• It can be tempting to set your de-icer up and forget about it until spring. But it’s important to check on it when temperatures drop and make sure it’s still doing its job.