11 replies to this topic

[vivaro]

hello im looking for advices regarding my garden pond which is about 8ft long by 5 foot wide
im very concerned as pond has been 95% frozen over for the last 3 weeks, my concern is the 22 small gold fish in pond, my fountain is all but frozen over water is still flowing down water fall but frezzing fast . will fish be ok and is there any thing i can do in the bad time at winter
any help would be appreciated

[koikeepr]

Hi vivaro. Please do read our forums as we have spent many months talking about frozen ponds. As long as you have a small hole open in the surface so that you can get an exchange of the gases beneath the ice, your goldfish will be fine.

What are you doing to keep a small opening? Lots of us just use a small air pump with the hose in the water bubbling so that water doesn't freeze in one corner. That's all you need.

[DrDave]

Turn off the pumps, drain the lines and get an air stone going.

[Matak]

Hey Doc, I got a book for Christmas: All about building Waterfalls, Ponds & Streams by Ortho. In its winter checklist there is a 'Deicer Notes' that state: "Operating a pump or air stone... when using a deicer causes currents, which move the warmed water away from the deicer and make it consume extra power to warm colder water. In addition, deicers emit a small harmless charge int the water that might trip the circuit breaker if it's connected to a sensitive GFCI. In this event consult an electrician to determine if the GFCI outlet can be replaced with a less sensitive one." In another section the author defines the deicer as "an electric deicer is a heating element attached to a float..." Can we use airstones in place of deicers? They sure use a lot less power.

Edited by Matak, 09 January 2010 - 03:26 PM.
Grammatical & syntax correction

[koikeepr]

We don't use de-icers Matak. Just stick the air tubing in with a little air stone on the end and that's it. The bubbles keep a little hole open.

[JoaniePA]

Hmmm.. well I had NO luck with the tubing for the airstone. Unfortunately I put it in the basement and ran it through a little hole outside to the pond. It kept getting clogged up with frozen slush. It's now too cold to bother with placing the pump in a cooler, less moist location.. perhaps later on when I have time and inclination to go outside again I'll move it. So I'm going with the deicer for now. I also put an agricultural tarp over top of the frame I built for the leaf net. I just looked and while it hasn't gotten above 32 in four days, the pond is only half iced over with a very thin layer. I can see the scaley buddies hanging in limbo in the deep parts. All is well (until I get the electric bill, of course.)

[koikeepr]

sounds like you don't have a good seal on your hose on the little air thingee, so moisture gets in. What kinda pump do you have? If you've got one of them regular aquarium air pumps, they just can't handle cold like this. That's why it's better to get a pond grade one. I recommend Dolphin pumps.

Yeah, the last month has been a doozy of weather. Even here where I am in NC has been frosty. I've got what appears to be a good 3" of ice, with a large open area thanks to my air pump.

[koiguy1969]

anytime you pump air from a warm source such as inside your home where theres a moisture content in the air, thru lines that are long and or cold enough..youll get condensation in the lines which freezes.

[JoaniePA]

No.. it's a pond pump not an acquarium pump. Thought about using the old acquarium pump, but decided to shell out the bucks at the pond store.

Well, lesson learned regarding where to locate it. I'll do better next time around. I saw some people were putting them under cans or pots to protect them from wet weather, so will probably do that when the weather warms up a bit.

[nycatt]

Good point Joanie

[j.w]

JoaniePA said:

Hmmm.. well I had NO luck with the tubing for the airstone. Unfortunately I put it in the basement and ran it through a little hole outside to the pond. It kept getting clogged up with frozen slush. It's now too cold to bother with placing the pump in a cooler, less moist location.. perhaps later on when I have time and inclination to go outside again I'll move it. So I'm going with the deicer for now. I also put an agricultural tarp over top of the frame I built for the leaf net. I just looked and while it hasn't gotten above 32 in four days, the pond is only half iced over with a very thin layer. I can see the scaley buddies hanging in limbo in the deep parts. All is well (until I get the electric bill, of course.)

I just use the small aquarium pump but no airstone on it............just tubing straight into the pond. I have the pump sitting on my front porch covered deck inside a plastic box with a hole in the side so the tubing and cord can come out and the pump doesn't get wet. Works great so far.

[koiguy1969]

i run my aeration pumps inside vented tupperware(holes poked in bottom and elevated off the ground)..one small pump to aerate my filters and a bigger for the ponds.theyre both aquarium pumps and work fine