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Pond advice and tips
Preparing your pond for winter
Here are a few tips to keep your pond ticking over during the winter months:

Obviously one of the significant events at this time of the year is that leaves begin to fall. Decaying leaves in the pond will throw out the ecological balance of the water. I would therefore suggest fitting a net and/or a pond skimmer. Pond skimmers although good will clog rapidly during the heavier leaf falls. All the marginal pond plants will benefit from a good pruning back prior to fitting a net. Netting the pond will keep leaves out and also keep out predators such as herons and cats. The fish's metabolism is slower in cold water and they find it much more difficult to escape predators.

As the air temperature drops so does the water temperature in the pond (believe me, I stand in them most days!). Feeding your fish should be steadily reduced and a lower protein content used. When the water temperature is below 50° Fahrenheit (10° Celsius) you should stop feeding the fish altogether, until spring when the water temperature rises to above 50° Fahrenheit.

Sludge on the bottom of the pond should be removed as best you can. The sludge is a combination of decaying plants, leaves and fish waste. As organic material decomposes in the pond, toxic gases are produced. Normally they escape harmlessly into the atmosphere, unless there is a coating of ice over the pond, in which case they can become very harmful to fish.

I do hope that these tips are helpful, if you require more advice (or want an easy life!), please contact me.

Thank you for reading,
Ashley Watson
 
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Vaughan-Watson, Somerset House Farm, Ingleby Arncliffe, Northallerton, North Yorkshire DL6 3JP
Tel: 01609 882555  Fax: 01609 882192  Mobile: 07989 067565  Email: ash@vaughan-watson.com

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