air pump for Canadian winter

[gohabsgo]

I am a new pond owner of a small 500gal pond in Kitchener, in SW Ontario which can get some very cold stretches. I have 6 Koi (two I just discovered the other day that are about 1.5 inches long) and 6 goldfish.

I have seen some pumps that say they need to be kept above freezing.

Are there any small pumps that can be used outdoors in freezing temps as long as they are kept
dry, like in a coffee can or something similar?

I am hoping that I can get away with a small aquarium pump since this is only for winter
aeration. My waterfall/circulation pump will be turned off since I am worried it might form
ice dams which could divert the water out of the pond. Does the pump need to be removed or
is it safe if it is 1.5 feet below the surface?

I just bought a 500w surface deicer, so I am hoping that a simple air pump will do the trick for
air/gas exchange. I'm not even sure that I need an air pump, so any advice is welcome.

Regards,
Larry

 

[HARO]

Welcome, Larry. It seems that small air pumps kept outside over winter in this climate are prone to condensation in the lines, which can freeze and plug or damage the pump. I've seen pumps kept in unheated garages, with only the air line outside, and they never had this problem. It probably didn't hurt that both these installations were on a sunny south wall. As for the water pump, why take a chance? It's turned off anyway; bring it inside! John

 

[herzausstahl]

Hi Larry,
I live in Wisconsin and am on the border of Zone 4 and Zone 5, so we get fairly cold here in the winter also. This will be my first winter with my pond, and I do plan on leaving my pumps in over winter (turned off of course), but the difference between our ponds being I believe depth. My pond is 3' deep so I should be able to avoid it freezing solid. If your pond is only 1 1/2 ft deep I would go with John and say it would probably be best to bring it in. My plan as I said is to leave the pumps in, remove my filter (but leave the lines in place), use a compressor to blow air into the lines and cap the ends (loosely) so that no small critters can get inside them. I am using flex PVC for my main stream line, and simple corrugated tubing for my filter line. I did talk to a guy who does landscaping south of here towards Madison (probably Zone 5) and he said that their pond guy does leave the pumps in over winter and winterizes the lines as I described above, so it should work (provided the pond doesn't freeze over). As for keeping a hole in the ice I will be using a cheaper smaller pump, that will be placed on a ledge about 12-14" below the water line with a bubbling fountain head attachment on it with a riser that should put it at or around the water level. Picked up the pump on clearance so if it doesn't make it, I'm not out too much $. I was wondering the same as you said about air pumps and I might try that on the side to see if the pump could last through a winter. Although I like John's idea of housing the pump in the garage and just running the air line out to the pond. At a local garden walk there was a guy I ran into who maintained a hole in the ice with an air stone, but forgot to ask him what kind of pump he used, but I do believe he did not use a heater. Also I would check the manual with your surface heater and see if it creates a hole in the ice even if ice forms around the edges of it.
Nathan

 

[timelessr1]

Usually it is a good idea to leave the pumps in the water over winter as long as the pond is deep enough as to not allow the pump to freeze over. this is due to the seals in the pump...if you take them out and the seals dry up, you will issues with the pups down the road. If you do take them out for the winter it is advised to clean them, and thenn put them in a bucket of water and left in an area that wont freeze.

 

[Catfishnut]

Gohabsgo,

A GAST vane air pump (1/4 HP) will be something you may want to invest in for winter use. These vane pumps generate a great deal of HEAT when they run. I have one and you can feel the outlet tubing and it is HOT to the touch. These pumps create a large volume of air at a low pressure. Using certain brands and sizes of garden soaker hoses, these aerators really work great!

They are not inexpensive. I looked on Ebay and saw a new one for about $250, but if you bought off the shelf new, I think they are about $600. You can buy repair kits for them if the vanes break and new filters too. They can be set up for 120V ac or 220/240 volts with some simple jumper changes.

Look for one on E-Bay and get it cheap. Then experiment with it. If you get a used one, don't plug it in to power right away to test it. Take the head assembly off (where the inlet and outlet ports are) and check the condition of the vanes and grab the rotating hub and ensure that it spins freely. The motors have thermal protection and overload protection built-in, but it doesn't always work with used devices (just Murphy's law).

The vanes in these pumps are extremely brittle and so they are prone to break. When they do, they lock up the motor.

DO NOT OIL any part of these pumps or the motor that drives them. They are designed to run totally dry and devoid of lubrication. If you oil them in any way, you will destroy them. Same for keeping moisture and liquid water out of the pump assembly.

These GAST pumps are designed to operate 24/7, so they work good for our purposes. They do eat up some power, so expect that. They are not like running a small acquarium pump.

These pumps will BOIL your pond with aeration (hot heat though). They do run very warm, but not so hot that it would cook your fish. You need to find a cheap used one (for about $50-$150) to test for your pond.

If you pipe the output of one of these GAST pumps through some 1/2" PVC and some garden soaker hose segments, you will be amazed at what they do!

They are not meant to have too much restriction (back pressure) on their outlets, so be cautious. Design the aerator so that there is very little restriction and then reduce it as you are able to. Listen to the LOAD on the pump motor. You will be able to hear when it starts being taxed excessively. Listen to how the motor and pump sound when it is running into a wide open pipe. If you can hear that the pump RPM is reduced and the tone is changing, then you are putting too much of a load on the pump. You will have to simply experiment and determine what is too much of a load and what is acceptable, but I recommend that you try to keep it as free-flowing as possible and just enough to get the job done.

If you lived closer, I would loan you my pump just so that you could experiment. I will someday try to post a video somewhere of it in action for all to inspect.

Gordy