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winterize backyard waterfall

25 9:52:09

Question

water feature
I have a fake rock waterfall (Austrialian made;foam) with natural rocks below, water runs into riverrock bed over a six/seven foot longX20 to 25 inch wide, 15inch decending to 29 inch lined hole under grate. 15hundred gallon an hour pump submerged only about 15/16inches.  We live at 4900ft elevation in North Reno, NV., don't know the zone.  Can I run pump through winter, as we will have a few days in a row (a couple times during winter) where temps will not get above freezing and will drop into the low twenties overnight.  I see alot of ice buildup on business/commercial water features around town in winter.

Answer
Nice waterfall!

You probably need to choose whether or not you want to continue running the waterfall during the freezing months.

You might be able to run the waterfall for the whole winter, depending on how cold it gets.

If you see signs of freezing, you may want to drain the reservoir, move the rocks in the center aside, and remove the pump.  If the pump is submerged in water, even if it is not running, it can sometimes crack.

If you do choose to try running the waterfall, you can monitor it for ice buildup.  As long as the flow isn't visibly affected, you can continue running it.  However, if the ice builds up too much and you are forced to discontinue operation, remember to remove the pump from standing water.