13 replies to this topic

[dga]

while having a reef tank indoors for the last 25 years, it does not help with in information i have of that with overwintering fish in a 75 gallon preformed pond. it is 18" deep and for the challenge i plan on keeping the 2 - 6" goldfish i have in there now. i live in michigan so i expect the entire pond to freeze without a heater and bubbler. my plan is to remove the 800gph pump that runs a waterfall and vertical fountain, remove the cattails and lillies and store/ in garage dry, use a submersible heater and airpump for the cold winter. this question arises from how many watts should i be using for a heater to keep a small area open for the fish to overwinter? i also plan on partially covering the top (about 80-90 percent) to cut down on wind freeze. on that will be a covered adjustable airpump to which the end, i think should be placed approx half way down into the water so as not to disturb any heat at the bottom. wouldnt the larger air bubbles that leave the tubing be better than using a airstone that break up the flow to keep a area open at the surface? thanks, dan.

[addy1]

Welcome, I am sure someone in cold areas can help you

[dga]

addy1 said:

Welcome, I am sure someone in cold areas can help you

ok thanks. i will find a forum more in the northern united states that can answer my question...

[addy1]

dga said:

ok thanks. i will find a forum more in the northern united states that can answer my question...

There are a lot of people in here with ponds in the cold states, give them some time and they will help you out.

[Olee]

Well, I live in Northern VA. We had a doozey of a winter. My pond is a bit bigger and deeper but I left my waterfall running all winter and went to Tractor Supply and purchased a floating Cattle Trough heater. Not sure what wattage it is, but the entire pond froze enough for me (220lbs.) to walk on it except for where the falls were and where the heater was. I think you still need circulation and you definetly need to have an opening to allow gasses to escape. FYI: we had over 120" of snow last winter, all my fish made it through...

The Cattle Trough heater was about 8" in diameter and worked like a champ.

[addy1]

Olee said:

Well, I live in Northern VA. We had a doozey of a winter. My pond is a bit bigger and deeper but I left my waterfall running all winter and went to Tractor Supply and purchased a floating Cattle Trough heater. Not sure what wattage it is, but the entire pond froze enough for me (220lbs.) to walk on it except for where the falls were and where the heater was. I think you still need circulation and you definetly need to have an opening to allow gasses to escape. FYI: we had over 120" of snow last winter, all my fish made it through...

The Cattle Trough heater was about 8" in diameter and worked like a champ.

thanks will keep that in mind if we need to keep it unfrozen. The rate we are going it will prob still just be water by the time winter hits lol

It was one horrendous winter!

[WolfStock]

Olee said:

Well, I live in Northern VA. We had a doozey of a winter. My pond is a bit bigger and deeper but I left my waterfall running all winter and went to Tractor Supply and purchased a floating Cattle Trough heater. Not sure what wattage it is, but the entire pond froze enough for me (220lbs.) to walk on it except for where the falls were and where the heater was. I think you still need circulation and you definetly need to have an opening to allow gasses to escape. FYI: we had over 120" of snow last winter, all my fish made it through...

The Cattle Trough heater was about 8" in diameter and worked like a champ.

Dang - that sounds like a great idea. I have a very small pond - new this year - and have been wondering about the winter freezing problem (I too am NoVA - Loudoun). We have a TSC not far away, I'll have to check it out. How much was it?

[rdk]

My pond goes from 24" to 18". I live in New England. I used a 100 watt floating heater and air pump. The 18" section only had 2" of ice under it. If I have used an air pump only I would have had dead fish. All iced up, here in CT U.S.A. RDK

[digginponds]

these heaters work fine...............

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[rdk]

That is my heater. Works great. RDK

[joshk87]

That's the same on that I use as well. Haven't lost a fish over the winter in 3 seasons now.

[abila]

live in Northern VA. We had a doozey of a winter. My pond is a bit bigger and deeper but I left my waterfall running all winter and went to Tractor Supply and purchased a floating Cattle Trough heater. Not sure what wattage it is, but the entire pond froze enough for me (220lbs.) to walk on it except for where the falls were and where the heater was. I think you still need circulation and you definetly need to have an opening to allow gasses to escape. FYI: we had over 120" of snow last winter, all my fish made it through...


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[mrsclem]

I also have the Thermo-pond heater. Uses much less electric than the stocktank heaters but with the heavy snow we had last year mine got buried. luckily, I had the stock tank heater in the pond as well and just had to plug it in.

[digginponds]

abila said:

live in Northern VA. We had a doozey of a winter. My pond is a bit bigger and deeper but I left my waterfall running all winter and went to Tractor Supply and purchased a floating Cattle Trough heater. Not sure what wattage it is, but the entire pond froze enough for me (220lbs.) to walk on it except for where the falls were and where the heater was. I think you still need circulation and you definetly need to have an opening to allow gasses to escape. FYI: we had over 120" of snow last winter, all my fish made it through...


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JML| Learning Resources

I shut my waterfall off during the winter,have too, zone 4 is cold.But I aalways leave a couple pumps running .