pond deicer?

Looking into getting one of these this year. Does anyone of any good brands that they recommend?

tater03

Here is the one I bought.
http://www.graystonecreations.com/im...ing_heater.jpg
I didn't buy it there though. I brought it from amazon.com

Thank you. I had never heard of these until i found this forum. You would think i would have run across them having a pond and everything.

I tried using a floating deicer last year but it didn't really work too well. It would freeze solid around the deicer many times. I ended up having to take a propane torch out and just melted ice every few days.. I kept the pump on to keep the water flowing though too, hmm. I'd like to get a better deicer but I'm not sure if the cost is worth it. I noticed a jump in the electric bill also, a good $20-30 with it running for a few days on and off.

The reason that ice holes are so important is that decaying plant and fish waste breakdown into methane gas. Make sure to use a leaf net and sludge remover or beneficial bacteria to prevent muck from taking over your pond. Deicers are different from heaters and are lower watts and therefore cost less to run. You can compare heaters and deicers on the site. Thermo pond costs only about $50 a season. Using stock tank heaters are very, very costly and can melt your liner. Another good solution is to use a strong air pump. If you have any other questions feel free to call or email me. Enjoy the last few days of summer, Gail

yeah, it was a stock heater that i used. i'm thinking it was 2500 watts or something pretty large. i made sure i mounted it so it wouldnt hit the liner, so no worries there. just the cost of running it, and having it do barely anything. this winter i'm probably going to run a high poewred air pump, as that worked better last year for me.

-dave