Why Winterize?
With Michigan Winters and unpredictible snows, October and November is the perfect time to start thinking about preparing your Outdoor Pond before it gets too cold (getting messy and wet is no fun in 30 degree weather). This part of our website offers suggestions on how to help your fish survive the Winter safely. Some things to consider in preparing for this task is the size of the Pond (how many gallons and how deep is it), the number of fish, and how big they are. If your pond is less than 2 and 1/2 feet deep you will probably want to move them indoors. We sell larger aquariums that will serve as their winter homes and we also often take excess fish off your hands (if your fish bred or you have too many to bring indoors) but please call and make arrangements first.
Foods & Feedings?
Your fish are probably fat and healthy from eating Insects and the foods we recommended to you over the summer. If you have been in our store this fall, we suggested that you switch your fish to a Wheatgerm type food to prepare your fish for the Winter. Tetra Spring & Fall Diet sticks for Koi is the recommended food to help prepare them for Winter. It is easily digestable and doesn't pollute the water as much as other foods.
You should buy a floating thermometer and monitor the water temperature. When the temperature drops below 40-50 degrees you should stop feeding your fish altogether. Also watch the fish and make sure they are actively eating.
DO NOT feed fish if the temperature of the water is below 40 degrees.
Bringing The Fish Indoors?
If you pond is not deep enough you will probably be bringing your fish indoors for the Winter. Smaller fish below 5 inches should be brought indoors (young smaller fish may be too delicate to over-winter). You will need a tank big enough to accommodate the amount of fish you have as well as an adequate filter system to keep them alive and healthy.
Figure a minimum of One inch of Fish per Two gallons of Tank to safely house your fish with heavy filteration and aeration. Long, Wide, Low tanks are better than tall narrow ones. We can suggest size requirements and filteration options that would be best for your fish. Smaller fish below 5 inches should be brought indoors (young smaller fish may be too delicate to over-winter).
You will want to use some of the water from the Pond to establish the tank biologically and te be sure that the temperature is correct for the fish. Usually you want the tank to initially be between 3 and 5 degrees of the Pond Water before moving the fish to avoid stressing them out. We sell recycled thick plastic "shipping bags" (feeder bags) and Styrofoam shipping boxes that are perfect for storing the water and moving the fish or you can just use clean buckets or multiple trash bags.
Care for your fish indoors as you would any other aquarium, except be careful of over feeding and keep up with your water changes.
Preparing The Pond for the Winter
The main thing to do before it gets too cold is clean the pond by doing a Partial Water Change or a complete cleaning. If the leaves are falling from the Trees and getting in the Pond they must be removed before Winter. Also the Pond may have debris from excess food and fish waste that must be removed.
You can use your pump to drain water from the Pond by pumping the water out of the Pond. We also sell a Python Pump that hooks to your Garden Hose that works on water pressure from your faucet to pump
water from the Pond. Try to suck as much of the debris from the bottom of the Pond as you can. If left in, it can cause ammonia poisoning that may kill your fish in the winter. If necessary, remove the fish and save some of the Pond water (use recycled Feeder Bags mentioned above or buckets).
You can use Pond nets and buckets to remove Leaves and sludge from the Pond if your Pump or the Python Pump can't pump it out. When you refill the Pond be sure to treat and de-chlorinate the water with a good water conditioner like Tetra AquaSafe.
Pond Plants should be trimmed back or removed from the Pond depending on the type. Most floating plants (Water Lettuce, Hyacyth) do not do well except under intense light and may die so the should be discarded. Lilies and submerged plants should be trimmed and may be moved to a deeper part of the Pond or brought indoors and stored for next Spring.
After cleaning, you can add some Aquarium Salt to help add electrolytes to the water and give the fish resistance to disease over the Winter.
Finally add some Microbe Lift Autumn Prep or similar product to keep the beneficial bacteria in place and active during the Winter months. Most beneficial bacteria which help keep things in check become inactive in temperatures below 50 degrees. Microbe Lift Autumn Prep is a special blend that becomes active in cooler or cold water to keep your Pond Safe.
Leaving Pond Fish Outdoors in Winter
If you pond is over 36" deep they will probably survive the Winter with some precautions. Michigan Winters can be mild or harsh but there are a few things you can do to be sure your fish are safe.
Some people with heavy duty Pond pumps leave them running all winter to keep the Pond from freezing solid (moving water is less likely to freeze). Be sure to remove the filters or materials inside the filters to help prevent freezing (ice crystals attach to filter material and may freeze it solid while icy water usually passes straight through depending on the hose diameter and temperature.) Also check the hoses periodically to make sure they are not blocked or frozen. 
The most important thing is to make sure that the surface of the Pond does not freeze over. A outdoor Air Pump like the new Pondmaster AP-40 or CoralLife Air Pump (Luft Pump) can be used (WITH PRECAUTIONS) to create bubbles that circulate the water andd usually will keep the surface from freezing over if the winter is not too harsh.
Most people use Pond Deicers to keep the Pond from freezing over. Deicers are devices that float on top of the water and heat a small hole in the surface to keep the top of the Pond from freezing solid. Most Deicers have built in Thermostats so when the temperature reaches 40 degrees or below, they turn on and do their job. Most deicers are in the 1250 -1500 watt range but a few companies (Tetra) and Danner (Pondmaster) are now making Low Wattage Deicers.
The low wattage deicer is a new design that offers the same features as above but does the job at a very low wattage. Although usually more expensive than the traditional brands, if we have a very cold winter where the temperature is below freezing day and night for several weeks it could pay for itself in electricity saved.
We have several varieties of deicers available in our store or if you are not in our area, feel free to use the Google search below to buy one online or search for any other products mentioned above.