I don't have either of the plants you mentioned so I can't help you there, but I do have a large bio filter box similar to the one you described with the spongy bio media. Mine is in a large mesh bag.

I typically rinse my bags out with pond water two or three times year to get the crud out. This can be done by turning off the pump, aggitating the bags inside the filter box to losen the muck, and then opening the backflush to drain out the dirty water. Turn the pump back on to add more water. If necessary, rinse a second time. It should not be stressful for the fish to do this. Replace the water that you remove for the cleaning with fresh, but if it's coler than your pond water, then turn the hose down low and let it flow slowly into the pond.

I have numerous plants in mine,I only remove floating,I use to be so picky lowering them ,fishing them out in spring,no more mine do fine,just dont forget to cover pond so mr heron doesnt come,Im fighting one now,he cant get in but he scares me as I have big fish,beautiful

Funny enough there are 6 nice sized lakes, many streams and a good sized river all within 5 miles. Never had a Heron so much as fly over that I know of. Still not clear on the plants but I will clean the filter (just rinse and squeeze the sponge) this weekend, hope to have at leat 1 more month of it running, we usually have to shut it down near Thanksgiving. In MI you never know may have to next week :~

Same here, Lisa... the water was 53 degrees a few days ago. Back up to a balmy 57 yesterday. I ordered Fall fish food in a hurry!
Last year DH was away on business in November, well before Thanksgiving, but we had an awful cold spell - and the pump still running outside! I turned it off and packed it 2x daily with hot water bottles until DH got home - thank goodness it didn't crack or anything. We don't want that to happen this year! That pump is coming out mid November. But I'll leave the skimmer and its spitters running for another two weeks.

Ah, all the work to winterize... but then we have our mini-indoor preform pond to get our pond hobby through the winter!

:) Mary

Wish I could have one of those but grumpy DH wouldn't go for it and with 4 indoor only cats....may not be such a good idea anyway.

Lisa, both the Horsetail and the Water Clover can be left in your pond over winter, they are hardy to our area.
"Horton"

Thank you Horton, I was wating for an answer on that. So I just throw them in the deeper tented part of the pond. I can do that! Did I ever tell ya I used to live on "Horton" Street? LOL

Lisa, you shouldn't need to sink them as they are both hardy to the area. But if you do it will not harm them.
Keep a tight rein on that water clover[Marsileaceae], as it can take over a pond very quickly if not kept in check.
I have added a link to an excellent site about the care and selection of pond plants for you and anyone else that is interested.
"Horton"

Here is a link that might be useful: Wintering pond plants

Thanks, Horton. That answered many of the questions I had, which means I need to pull out one more plant soon.

Hi, I can't believe how cold it has gotten in New Jersey. I usually leave my waterfalls running until November but wonder if I should turn it off now. I don't like how it cools down the water. My husband is in the process of putting together housing for a bubbler we'll use this winter and in the interium I'll continue to run a small shallow pump. Have the rest of NJ ponders already turned off their pumps and this is it for this season??? Can you put the pump back on if it warms up or is it all or nothing??

What about black elephant ear plants? I have a huge one in my bog filter. I thought i should take it out and pot it. It sent out runners into the nearby garden and bog which have small corms? can i cut those off and pot them too? they have little roots forming already. This is my first year btw. I set up a little aquarium for all the little baby goldfish that i found when i cleared the mass of floating water lettuce. There were even some fry that looked to be only a day or so old. Seems my Comets have been getting busy even into the fall.

Greg, yes you can and the sooner the better.
I have provided a link to another recent thread about winterizing plants.
Check it out, there is information included in the thread about storing Taro plants over winter.

As to catching and keeping the goldfish fry over winter, you may regret it. Winter is a time to let nature help keep the fish stock levels down.
"Horton"

Here is a link that might be useful: Winterizing plants thread