Winter is coming, and this will be the first time your koi pool will go through such a cold temperature. Winter is the down period for your koi pool, because less events happen in this season. In making sure that your koi and koi pool survive through the weather, here are some steps that you need to take in your koi garden before winter comes.
First, clean up - Take your time in completely going over your koi pool (this can take about a weekend). Remove those unwanted bulk material inside and around it as well. Inside the koi pool, remove all those leaves, slits, and other materials from the bottom of it. If you have any plants or flowers that will not be able to survive the cold, remove them as well.
Around your koi pool, clean up those things that can be blown into it, because you will not be able to notice the debris until the winter’s end (this will then prevent those potentially harmful parasites and bacteria in the future).
Second, stop feeding - Keep in mind that your koi needs to stop feeding during the winter period. Feed your koi only once per day when the fall begins and temperatures reach around 55 degrees to 60 degrees. Completely stop the feeding once the temperature hits below the 50-degree mark (even though the temperature goes above this mark, refrain from feeding your koi). Most of them take at least 4 days for them to digest food completely when they’re healthy and temperature is above the 50-degree mark.
If you forget this vital step, you’d end up killing your koi! Don’t mistake it for hunger when your koi open their mouths to you, as it is only a learned reflex rather than a sign of hunger. Don’t worry about not feeding, because your koi will feed on something else besides the food that you provide them (especially if your koi pool has a great amount of natural plants). If you’re not feeding them and if ever they get hungry, they will feed on this.
Third, check up - Do a seasonal check up on the equipments that you have, from your filtration system to your array of preventable medications. Keep in mind that the majority of the koi pools all throughout the world lie dormant during the winter time, you’d be able to less likely find the stuff that you’re going to need. Ensure that your emergency kit (including the nets, medications, bags, and water testing kits) is always ready and up to date.
Fourth, prepare for the cold - Make a preparation for the cold weather by investing in the items that you’d be needing during the summer time. It is known that the koi can withstand constant temperatures as low as 39 degrees for short periods of time (including those slightly lower than 39 degrees).
If you buy a heater, research first on what size you’d be needing in order to heat your koi pool during the winter rightly. Otherwise, ice will still form, causing danger imposed by the amounts of gas in the water, as it is trapped under the ice. In extreme cases, you can put an emergency tank inside of the koi pool.
Finally, turn off all water sources - Your heater will work harder to maintain the temperature to keep your koi alive in the cold. If your koi pool has those additional koi bed add-on features like waterfalls, streams or fountains that continuously move, turn them off during the winter,as these features will circulate water, which constantly bring new and cold water to your koi pool. If you switching these features off, it will make the standing water in your koi pool the only water that your heater will be focusing on.