Winterize your Pond!

• Clean all leaves and other debris from the pond bottom.  Decaying vegetation will consume precious oxygen. 
• Replace from 1/2 to 2/3 of the water.  Fill a 2 gallon bucket (new) with water from the pond, and use this as a holding tank for your fish, snails, tadpoles, and other aquatic life.   Pump out the old water using your pond pump, and replace with fresh water.  Don't forget to use a dechlorinator to remove chlorine.  Replace the fish, etc.  It is alright to leave your potted plants (Hardy) in place during this process.  It is not necessary to remove the pots.  If you have tropical plants, including lilies, and you expect below freezing (32°F) remove them entirely from your pond.
• Place pots of hardy plants in the deepest part of your pond.  Prune back foliage blackened by frost. 
• Remove your pond pump if the air temperature will go below freezing (32°F)
• Consider investing in a small heater just big enough to keep the ice from freezing solid. 
• If you don't have a heater, and your pond freezes solid on the surface,  Don't Break the Ice!  Place a saucepan containing boiling water on top of the ice until it melts through.  Don't let go of the pan.  Repeat as necessary until you have an opening in the ice.