When your garden pond freezes....what do YOU do?

[ColinJ]

The pond today
View attachment 397694

Any submariners nipping out for a crafty ciggie break there could get a nasty shock!

 

[Levo-Lon]

I have a wildlife pond No fish.
I tend to make an air hole in the ice every few days when we have a good cold snap.
Let the gasses out ,and any newts or frogs can gulp some fresh air or get to the rockery..
I've lost everything a couple of time through leaving it for weeks frozen.
Poison pond ..

 

[pawl]

but be honest you cant exactly call yours a pond.. View attachment 397684

Wow.I wasn’t aware Mrs p could skate.

 

[Jody]

Switch the pump off and it will be fine.

 

[twentysix by twentyfive]

No. Once they have spawned that's it until next year.

 

[Mr Celine]

A couple of tennis balls on the pond, should stop it freezing over.

I've tried that. Didn't work.

 

[Heltor Chasca]

The spawn is all frozen in mine. Will the frogs return to replace it?

Depends on the warranty they supplied.

 

[MontyVeda]

I've tried that. Didn't work.

i always thought the tennis balls weren't to stop it from freezing over, but to be removed when it does to give a little patch of surface.

 

[classic33]

Depends on the warranty they supplied.

Lifetime!

 

[Mr Celine]

i always thought the tennis balls weren't to stop it from freezing over, but to be removed when it does to give a little patch of surface.

You can't remove them, they get frozen into the ice as well.

 

[MontyVeda]

You can't remove them, they get frozen into the ice as well.

that has always crossed my mind... i've never had a pond but have seen the tennis balls and been told that they're to make a hole. I always figured an axe would be better.

 

[Fab Foodie]

Our pond hasn’t frozen yet...,

We allow @Salty seadog to play with his boat out there sometimes....

 

[Fab Foodie]

Antifreeze.

We put that in the motorhome water tank to stop it freezing. Interestingly, @Hill Wimp drinks a lot of tap water and tonic when we’re away....

 

[Cuchilo]

Chuck some polystyrene packaging into the pond , it'll blow around and should stop the water from freezing . I use stuff that is raised a bit rather than flat so the fish have a protected area to swim up too . Turning the pump off , depends what fish you have in there , you could end up killing them .

 

[slowmotion]

We put that in the motorhome water tank to stop it freezing. Interestingly, @Hill Wimp drinks a lot of tap water and tonic when we’re away....

Russian troops in Afghanistan were rumoured to drink ethylene glycol when their vodka rations were exhausted....