Drain and clean the fountain. Blow out the pipes to remove water and prevent the pipes from freezing and bursting. Maintain a regular schedule of clearing debris that collects in the fountain. The pump should also be cleaned according to manufacturer's directions and stored.
Use a strong shop vac, I think it's better then a compressor due to volume. Close the grey valve and remove the waterfall pump if you have unions. Hook up vac to blow and blow out the waterfall. Shut off main pump if in, Hook up the vac on blow to the grey valve and turn on vac and valve.
Now is the best time to winterize your landscape water features, before the frost and cold weather really sets in. Winterizing water features in your yard now will prevent complications later this year and will help ensure your babbling brook, waterfall, or koi pond will run for years to come.
You can turn off your fountain completely until the threat of consistent below-freezing temperatures has passed. The fountain will be safe floating amongst the ice and should return to normal operation once the ice has melted and it is restarted.
Drain the fountain.
Unplug the pump and drain all the water from the fountain. Some fountains have a plug on the bottom for easy draining. If yours doesn't, scoop the water out with a small bucket or use a piece of tubing to siphon it out. If you have a tiered fountain, disassemble it after draining the water.
Running a fountain in winter is not recommended when the temperature is below freezing. For fountain freeze protection, Nick's Garden Center recommends that you first unplug the pump and remove it.
During the cold winter months, the water inside a fountain can freeze and expand as temperatures fluctuate, weakening and cracking the material of your fountain and damaging the pump.
Use food-grade propylene glycol to fill the pump body to mix with any remaining water left inside the pump to prevent the system from freezing.
Bubbling rocks (with a plastic basin):
You will need to remove the pump for the winter. These basins are not deep enough to keep from freezing all the way around the pump which puts it at risk of cracking and breaking. Remove the pump and take it inside where it cannot freeze.
What is this? Probably the easiest way to drain a pond is to use your pond pump, with submersible models being the preferred choice to due to easier drainage. To start emptying a pond using a submersible pump you just need to position the out-take hose into your garden or the area you want water drained.
As fish slow down in fall, it is time to shut off any waterfalls, fountains or bubblers and remove the pond's pump to store it for winter. The warmest water will be at the bottom of the pond where fish are hibernating, and continuing to move the water in winter would cool the pond and endanger its fish and plants.