Any heater recommendations for Florida?

[ZEROPILOT]

I live in south Florida.
It seldom gets cold. But it does creep down to about 50° a few nights a year.
Last year I had about 250 Midas Cichlid fry survive by huddling around the pond pump motor. A lot of the others died.
So. I know I don't need much heat for my fish to survive. But I've never heated any of my outdoor ponds and I'm concerned about the ponds all having vinyl liners.
Can you reccomend a heater that can be placed and removed quickly, is waterfroof and is safe for vinyl lined ponds?
I see some inexpensive ones on Amazon. Drop-in units. But I don't know what I need.
My ponds are:
One 1,450 gallons
Two separate 1,700 gallons

 

[Lisak1]

Personally I think it's a big gamble - and kind of cruel, to be honest - keeping fish in a pond where the temps can potentially get too low for them to survive. What if the heater fails? What if it's not big enough? What if the temps go even lower?

But that's just me.

Practically speaking I'd consider covering the pond as a first line of defense. You'll retain the heat you already have in the pond that way.

And when you say "vinyl" do you mean plastic? Or are you using EPDM liners?

 

[GBBUDD]

I'd second covering the pond . Those nights were you do drop will be nothing to keep up 10 degrees with simple plastic if anything in the day time you'll probably warm up to the 70s and stay in that temp range but that's a yankkee talking.
The only other heater I'd recommend is like a pool heater but then again I don't know how karge your pond is

 

[ZEROPILOT]

Personally I think it's a big gamble - and kind of cruel, to be honest - keeping fish in a pond where the temps can potentially get too low for them to survive. What if the heater fails? What if it's not big enough? What if the temps go even lower?

But that's just me.

Practically speaking I'd consider covering the pond as a first line of defense. You'll retain the heat you already have in the pond that way.

And when you say "vinyl" do you mean plastic? Or are you using EPDM liners?

FIRESTONE rubber liner.
And to clarify, I only have fish in one of my ponds and they've only been in there a week. 11 Swordtails. I want to get a heater set up before (if) it gets cold because I want them comfortable.
The Midas were a surprise. I caught some adults in Miami and I was holding them in one of my above ground ponds to rehome them.
I had no idea that there were eggs in there until I saw the dead babies floating.
The adults had been gone since about November and I had thought that that pond was empty except for a few tadpoles.

 

[Lisak1]

because I want them comfortable.

Would you be comfortable if you had to huddle around a heater to stay alive? I think, unless you plan to heat the entire pond (which will likely be expensive) you are destined to fail. These are tropical fish. Pond fish are pond fish for a reason.

Just my opinion.

 

[GBBUDD]

iF YOU CAUGHT FISH IN YOUR AREA unless they were recently dumped in the water they haver apparently survived the temps in your area without any help . now the difference being they may have found a nice discharge from a factory or a deep area that insulated them from the cold, So i would venture to say if you just through a pond breather in your pond in an area where there is little to no moment of the waters they should be fine.

 

[GBBUDD]

Would you be comfortable if you had to huddle around a heater to stay alive? I think, unless you plan to heat the entire pond (which will likely be expensive) you are destined to fail. These are tropical fish. Pond fish are pond fish for a reason.

Just my opinion.

They are in south florida @Lisak1

 

[Lisak1]

They are in south florida @Lisak1

Dur.... hard not to think like a northerner!

 

[CometKeith]

I live in south Florida.
It seldom gets cold. But it does creep down to about 50° a few nights a year.
Last year I had about 250 Midas Cichlid fry survive by huddling around the pond pump motor. A lot of the others died.
So. I know I don't need much heat for my fish to survive. But I've never heated any of my outdoor ponds and I'm concerned about the ponds all having vinyl liners.
Can you reccomend a heater that can be placed and removed quickly, is waterfroof and is safe for vinyl lined ponds?
I see some inexpensive ones on Amazon. Drop-in units. But I don't know what I need.
My ponds are:
One 1,450 gallons
Two separate 1,700 gallons

Hi. I don’t see why any of the heaters would cause a problem with a Firestone epdm liner. The heaters float in the water and don’t sit on the liner so it wouldn’t bother anything.

 

[ZEROPILOT]

iF YOU CAUGHT FISH IN YOUR AREA unless they were recently dumped in the water they haver apparently survived the temps in your area without any help . now the difference being they may have found a nice discharge from a factory or a deep area that insulated them from the cold, So i would venture to say if you just through a pond breather in your pond in an area where there is little to no moment of the waters they should be fine.

That's what I've done. And it seems to have worked very well.
Ive corralled bout 1/3rd of the pond and placed the heater in the center.
It looks like all of the fish are in that area. Active and eating.

 

[ZEROPILOT]

Hi. I don’t see why any of the heaters would cause a problem with a Firestone epdm liner. The heaters float in the water and don’t sit on the liner so it wouldn’t bother anything.

This is not a de icer. It's a submersible heater.
I made a bag for it out if fine stainless mesh and I've suspended it about 4" down from the surface in an area of the pond that I've isolated.
It seems to have worked as well.as I'd hoped. And hopefully I'll only need it for a few days.
Last winter it only got this cold twice.

 

[GBBUDD]

This is not a de icer. It's a submersible heater.
I made a bag for it out if fine stainless mesh and I've suspended it about 4" down from the surface in an area of the pond that I've isolated.
It seems to have worked as well.as I'd hoped. And hopefully I'll only need it for a few days.
Last winter it only got this cold twice.

Instead of in 5the center of the pond i would place it to one side so the heat has a better chance to sit in a corner then it does trying to heat on all sides.

 

[GBBUDD]

Instead of in the center of the pond i would place it to one side so the heat has a better chance to sit in a corner then it does trying to heat on all sides.