Now that it is officially fall there are many things that need to be done outside. These fall tips are for the folks that have watergardens in particular and for those who are thinking about a water garden for next spring. As the leaves come down during the fall make sure you keep them from building up in your pond.

If the leaves are left in the pond over the winter they will start to decay and as they do they will produce carbon dioxide that can suffocate your fish and frogs hibernating in the pond. That is why you need to keep a small surface area open through the ice for your fish over the winter, it is to let carbon dioxide out of the water not let oxygen in. The oxygen is already in the water and cold water holds more oxygen than warm water, but if carbon dioxide builds up under the ice it will push oxygen out of the water as it is easier for carbon dioxide to dissolve into the water.

There are many ways to keep a hole open in the pond, one way is to put in a small stock tank heater. These heaters have been used for years to keep water troughs ice free down on the farm. Now they have found a new purpose allowing carbon dioxide to escape from your pond. Another way is to use a bubbler like the ones used in fish tanks to pump a small stream of bubbles under the ice so that they will keep a small crack open to let the carbon dioxide escape.

And lastly you could use your pond pump to keep a part of the pond turbulent so that it can't freeze over. The pump would have to be kept deep enough so that it would not freeze, but kept off the bottom so that the warmest water in the pond can settle in the bottom. If the winter is warm enough then all of these options would work well, but if we get a really cold winter, only the tank de-icer will keep the pond open.

Also with the nights getting colder so too is the pond water. As the water temperature gets lower you shouldn't feed your fish even though they keep telling you they are hungry. When water temps dip below forty-five degrees Koi and Pond Comets can't digest their food properly and as a result it can ulcerate their stomachs over the winter. Also in the fall you should feed them a food with more plant proteins and less fish proteins as this will help to clean out their systems just like a good bran muffin does for us.

So as you prepare for winter, don't forget to keep an eye on your pond. Fish are pets too…