25 below in WI - do I attempt a rescue

sissy

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I just ordered from them and they said nothing except for they were closing a store .I ordered over the phone
 

mrsclem

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From the article I read it's one large store in Wisconsin as well as their pharmacy department. All other stores remain open.
 
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Hi @Big Red Comet.

I also live in Wisconsin, and my pond has the exact same depth as yours. I only use a pond breather, and it's worked well since I started using it. To be honest, I'm pretty nervous about this week, though. I'm hoping it can keep up in weather that cold. My pond has not seen anything as cold as expected on Wednesday, and I don't think I have, either.


If you got the snow last night that we did, I think the ponds will be fine! Lots of insulation... and it's still coming down here. We got another 8 inches overnight on top of the 12 or 14 we already had. It's winter for sure!
 
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Well ... I guess I'm as ready as Ill ever be . I turned off aerator yesterday,and put in pond breather, but the 1500 watt heater is still on too... that I put in Saturday night. Its melted the ice off half my pond (which is 7' diameter circle) and the water is all 38 degrees! I dont know if thats a good thing, or not.....

Apparently, that is what this particular heater does, switches on if water temp goes below 38. This morning the water is still 38 - bottom temp as well as surface. Weird! These are not supposed to be pond "heaters" per se, but it sure as heck has heated my pond. And it was minus 7 last night, not as if was warm.

I also turned off the aerator and added the pond breather .... but now Im fretting about whether it might be agitating the lower layer too much? The fish started swimming around and I dont think thats a good thing? At least I know theyre alive.

Oh and I rigged up a plastic tent that is mainly to keep wind off

I gotta thank yall for your words of encouragement and its esp nice to hear from other Wisconsinites struggling through the same thing... I dont know if I would have gone ahead and moved my fish or not, but I do know that either way I would have been stressing out and second guessing myself. Now Im still worried..... but not freaking out.

Only question now is when or if to turn off the heater, let the surface ice up a bit and lock in the warmth.... or maybe take out the pond breather if its stirring things up too much?

At some point in my googling frenzy the past few days I read that fish don't need oxygenation added to the pond, they just need the open hole? Is this true?

They keep revising Wed night low downward - now its 30 below Wednesday night. And thats not including windchill.... Ive been around for a lot of years and have NEVER experience that before.
 

mrsclem

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You sound like you are totally prepared! Leave the pond breather in. It's not going to move enough water to stir things up. I have 1500W heaters in both my ponds but won't plug them in unless the breathers quit. They will keep a pond open from ice even in extreme cold but they are also going to raise your electric bill drastically! Think of it as leaving a burner on your stove on, about the same wattage. You have your pond covered so that along with the breather may be enough. Just keep those 1500s in the pond as a back up. I really feel for all the pond owners who are getting this arctic blast. Keep us updated.
 

addy1

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Keep us updated! I would just leave the breather running turn off the heater, like said above. Let it get ice covered.
I have over 100 fish in my pond, goldfish, one year we did freeze down around 15 inches. I just had the breather running, did not loose a single fish.
 

sissy

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Be very carefull with turning off the pond heater as the cord can get cut or broken from the ice .I talked to my brother in Flatrock last night and he lost all his fish because the cord broke and I warned him as it happened to me last year .The breaker was a new one but by the time it shut down after the power came back on it was to late .His power was out for 2 hours .I guess with the surge of power coming back on did it
 
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By covering your pond and protecting it from wind chill, you'll minimize evaporation and cooling...it makes a very big difference in keeping the water open.

I agree with others, keep the cover secure, keep the pond breather going and leave heaters in the pond to be plugged in if needed.
 
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It is 30 below zero at 3:45 am at our home 45 miles NW of Chicago. Our pond is a 300 gal live stock trough buried in the ground. It was still open at -15 yesterday evening. Moisture froze in air lines but surface was open because of heater and bottom filter still functioning. Water temp was 42 yesterday, will check at sunrise to see where we’re at with probably more than 30 below. Always leave several 6 in gold fish and a few minnows in over winter, pull large koi and winter them in several 100 + gallon troughs in garage. This is the coldest it’s been since pond went in 9 years ago.
 

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Whoa – you guys in N. Illinois have it worse than us – we were only minus 27.

Incredibly… my pond water is now measuring 44 degrees and all the ice is gone. All I can think is that the thermostat on the 1500 watt monster (that's been on for the last 3 days) may be malfunctioning?? Or is the breather adding more heat than I thought it would? Or would the temporary greenhouse I constructed over my pond account for a 7 degree temperature rise? It was 42 yesterday, up from 38 the day before so something has been steadily increasing the temp. I turned the heater off but may put it back on overnight.

40s is too hot – not the problem I thought Id be having! Doesn’t ammonia start to get toxic then? These dang fish are swimming around like it’s a summer day!
 
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