With winter approaching, it's high time to think about how you want to keep your garden pond free of ice. Here are 5 effective methods presented.
A garden pond is a real feast for the eyes if it is well cared for and laid out sensibly. It is not for nothing that many lovers of small and large garden ponds say that the pond is the "heart of the garden". And indeed, such a garden pond can create a lot of flair. When the evening slowly descends on the garden in summer and night is imminent. When it gradually gets darker and finally the pleasant splashing of water from the garden pond resounds through the evening garden, as a gentle accompaniment for evening conversations. These are the moments when a garden pond can contribute wonderfully to inner peace and relaxation.
Yes, caring for the small resting place is just as important as a well-planned garden pond layout. Especially when winter is approaching and finally sweeping across the country, you should know how to winterize your garden pond and what ultimately matters when it comes to garden pond care in winter.
Do you keep fish in the pond?
The first question is whether your garden pond is home to fish or whether it is purely ornamental water. In general, you should switch off normal pond pumps that are not ice-free pumps in winter, because even if the movement of the water can ensure that the pond does not freeze over, the water in the pump will freeze and so on if the temperatures are sufficiently frosty permanently damage your pump. There are other ways to keep a garden pond ice-free - and especially if you keep fish in your pond, you should also make sure that at least parts of your pond remain ice-free.
Why does it make sense to keep the garden pond ice-free?
Fish can't breathe:
As already mentioned, it is especially important if you accommodate residents in your garden pond that you keep the pond free of ice. Because if there is still enough oxygen for the fish on a frozen surface in the lower water areas, this will also be the case forthe fish quickly find it impossible to breathe, which is essential for survival, during prolonged periods of frost and thickening layers of ice. Especially in garden ponds that are no more than 80 centimeters deep, it is essential to keep them free of ice. There is a risk of the pond freezing completely, which would not only have bad consequences for the animals in the pond.
Pond tub/pond tarpaulin could be damaged:
In a completely frozen garden pond, all the fish in it die - but the pond itself can also be damaged. If you are using a pond pan, freezing your pond completely will result in cracks in the pan. This in turn will greatly reduce your enjoyment of your pond in the coming summer, because depending on the size of the cracks, the pond will lose more or less water as soon as the ice has melted again. In the case of a pond with a tarpaulin, there is also a risk of permanent damage to the pond, but it is much smaller.
Children could go on the ice:
And there's another reason to keep your pond ice-free - especially if you have children in the household. Ice rinks exert an almost magical attraction on many children. When a pond is frozen, there is a great temptation to walk on the ice. But ice is deceptive - the child quickly threatens to collapse in the pond. Depending on the depth and size of the pond, this can quickly become dangerous, especially if the parents are not right next to it. You can easily avoid this danger by making sure that the pond stays free of ice from the start.
There are different ways to keep the garden pond ice-free
Before you decide how you want to keep your garden pond ice-free, you should consider whether you want to keep your garden pond ice-free gently and with simple tools or with technical tools.
❶ evergreen pond plants:
The gentlest way to keep the garden pond free of ice is with the help of evergreen pond plants. These ensure that there is always enough oxygen in the water and that the water does not freeze completely. Only during extremely long and very cold periods of frost can the pond freeze over despite wintergreen plants.
❷ Piece of wood/rubber ball:
Another gentle method of keeping the garden pond free of ice is to place a piece of wood or a rubber ball on the water surface. You then have to take this tool with you regularly, depending on the outside temperatures several times a dayPour warm to hot water over it. This is a simple and effective way to ensure that the area in which the object is currently swimming does not freeze over.
❸ Ice preventer with lowering chamber:
There are also various technical aids to keep a garden pond free of ice. For example, ice preventers with lowering chambers in different depths and sizes (e.g. available from Amazon.de). These sink chambers lie in the water and are heated by an internal heater, so that the heat is released into the surrounding water. An often associated pump helps to distribute the heated water in the pond. The integrated heating also ensures that the pump does not freeze over and is therefore not damaged.
Often the lowering chambers are simply made of styrofoam and have ventilation slots. These help to allow gases that can form in the water to escape. In order for this process to work optimally, it is important to regularly check whether the slots are free. So that the fish can hibernate in the pond, it is particularly suitable to anchor such an ice preventer firmly over the deepest point of the pond, so that the water is continuously warmed to a certain extent.
❹ Pond heater:
An alternative is a pond heater (e.g. available from Amazon.de). In principle, such a pond heater works like an immersion heater and ensures that the water does not cool below the freezing point. Thanks to a frost monitor, the pond heater switches on automatically as soon as the water gets too cold and switches off again when the water is sufficiently warm. Such a pond heater is particularly suitable for longer periods of frost and cold.
These devices are also quite simple in structure. A heating rod encased in styrofoam lies on the water surface and provides warm water without endangering the fish in the pond due to excessive heat.
❺ frost-proof pond pump:
If you don't want to do without the pleasant splashing of water in your garden even in winter, you should look around for a frost-proof pond pump in a specialist shop. On the one hand, these models ensure that the water is constantly moving, which in turn ensures that there is sufficient oxygen in the water. And on the other hand, they heat the water as it goes through the pump. In this way, your garden pond will remain ice-free with certainty - provided you choose an ice-free pond pump that is sufficiently powerful. However, since such a pump does not usually run day and night, it is only suitable forless harsh winters.
What if the pond freezes over?
Of course, despite the best precautions, it can always happen that the garden pond freezes over. Be it because a technical device fails or because you have decided against the use of technical aids and the frost period is so long and hard that simple tools are no longer sufficient to keep the garden pond free of ice. In such moments, you should definitely not try to break the ice layer by force.
For example, if you hit the ice with an axe, hammer, or other sturdy tool to try to break it, fish in the lower part of the pond may be injured. Hitting ice with a hammer not only damages the surface of the ice - it also creates a sound wave that escapes down into the water. In the worst case, this can lead to the fish's swim bladder bursting, which often has fatal consequences for the fish.
The easiest way to get rid of the ice is to boil water in a plain saucepan and either place the hot saucepan on the surface of the ice, or if the ice isn't that thick yet, that running hot water over the ice. In both cases, the ice melts quickly and effectively, restoring the necessary oxygen supply.
Conclusion:
If you want to keep your pond completely free of ice, you can hardly avoid using technical aids. Anyone who is satisfied with ice-free areas and tolerates one or two ice floes in their garden pond will usually be successful in the normal German winter with a gentler way of keeping the pond ice-free.