With no fish friends to worry about, winterizing becomes a much simpler chore. If you live in a part of the country where winter temperatures rarely dip below freezing, you may need to do little more than a thorough cleaning and keep an eye on the weather. Regardless, this is the perfect season to emove any sludge and organic debris that has sunk to the bottom of your pond - you don't want that stuff hanging around all winter and causing problems with water quality.
Next, trim back your aquatic plants and remove any dead leaves. Lilies and other hardy submerged plants can be moved to a deep part of the pond while tropical annuals should be discarded. Floating plants like water hyacinths should be removed and non-hardy plants should be moved indooors. Next, clean out your skimmer thoroughly. If you're concerned about temperatures dropping below freezing, you may choose to turn off pumps during the winter since they can be damaged in a hard freeze if they're exposed to outdoor temperatures. If that's your plan, make sure to give it a good cleaning and inspection so you can take care of any maintenance issues before spring rolls around.
