Plants are not the only victims of cold and frost.
Bodies of water such as basins or ponds are also affected.
Our advice for preserving them during the winter.
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Why is freezing dangerous for the pond?
A layer of ice on your pond can prevent the proper oxygenation of the water, which is essential for the survival of fish.
During the cold period, the latter often take refuge in the deepest area of the basin, which is warmer.
The air they need must therefore be renewed.
For aquatic plants too, keeping water in contact with air is important.
Some, too fragile, will even have to be removed from the pool.
It is therefore recommended to keep part of the water surface frost-free, using several tips.
Thus, the necessary gas exchanges between air and water can take place.
What should I do if the surface of my pond freezes?
If your small pond has frozen, gently pour hot water or place a saucepan filled with boiling water on the ice so that the crust formed slowly melts.
The ice must not be broken: in fact, the shock wave caused could kill the fish living there and also damage the pool.
Some plants will resist but not all.
The lotus, the white thalia or the pontederie can survive if they are planted deep enough (at least 80 cm).
But some aquatic plants do not tolerate the cold at all, and they will need to be wintered under shelter:
water hyacinths
water lettuce
certain water lilies, notably those with blue flowers or the giant water lily
To do this, remove them from the pool before the cold weather and place them in a frost-free and bright room, such as a winter garden, for example.
Remove your plants from the pond, paying attention to the rhizomes and roots.
Place your plants in large buckets or an aquarium filled with room temperature water.
Remove dead parts (leaves, stems).
You can put them back in your pool after the ice saints.
How to prevent your pool from freezing?
Certain precautions should be considered before the arrival of the first frosts.
In a small pond, place “floats,” such as empty bottles or driftwood, on the water.
You can also buy anti-freeze bells or air stones commercially.
Thus gas exchanges between water and air can take place.
Depending on the surface area and the budget that you intend to allocate, it is also possible to install a submerged aeration pump whose flow rate can be slowed down during the frost period but on the sole condition that it is not completely submerged, or a heating resistance system or even invest in a floating polystyrene pond heater, equipped with an aeration pipe.
The flow rate may be slowed or slowed because the cold effect of the water leaving the filter tends to cool the temperature of the pool.
If frost is forecast, you can heat the surface in question to reach an equilibrium of around 10°C before the expected episode.