It may be a little early to start discussing winter but the weather has now really started to turn and there is a distinct chill in the air that was not noticeable just a few weeks ago. In fact it will not be long until parts of the country start to experience their first frost.

If you live in a town or city then the chances are your pond will rarely freeze iover due to the latent heat from surrounding buildings but if we have a really cold spell ice can cause problems to not just the pond inhabitants but also the pond itself.

Ice can cause damage to pond liners due to the expansion around the surface edges of the pond. If the weather is really harsh it can even crack pre-formed pond liners and hence cause your pond to be permanently damaged. If the entire pond surface is covered with ice dangerous levels of gases and noxious substances can build up. This means whenever possible you should try to stop part of the pond freezing. If you do this your fish should survive the winter months, unless of course the entire depth of the pond freezes.

In the next article we will discuss winter problems with pond pumps and pond fountains.