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| Pond care in Winter |
In cold weather, garden ponds may freeze over allowing dangerous toxic gasses to build up beneath the ice.
The decomposition of decaying plant matter can cause a build up of methane and / or hydrogen sulphide gases.
This can prove fatal to fish and other animal life, ensure that an area of the pond surface is kept ice free.
This can be done in various ways;
If you have expensive fish, you can install a special electric pond immersion heater to keep a small area of the pond surface free from ice and provide an escape vent for toxic gasses.
A couple of cheaper methods to open up a breathing space is to make an ice-free patch by pouring warm water into a bowl and sitting the bowl on on the ice, or by floating a ball on the water prior to it freezing.
If ice builds up in ponds with masonry or concrete sides, the pressure created may damage the walls.
A few rubber balls floated on the water usually helps to reduce this pressure.
Never crack the ice the shock waves may kill the fish.
Erect a temporary barrier round the pond to stop pets and young children from walking on thin ice.
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