Ice on pond

[Gingersherwood]

Hi everybody just asking what everybody else uses to stop pond freezing over I do have a 4 outlet oxygen pump running that helps a little I have moved them up closer to the surface for more impact but I need a little more help I was thinking of floating the big inflatable gym ball's 2 of them. Or the little ball's you find in a children's play pit. Any ideas most welcome. Thanks

 

[GBBUDD]

you have the right idea, though im not sure what your thinking with the balls. IT'S FINE FOR A POND TO FREEZE ON THE SURFACE. you said you moved the air stones to a shallow area which is good you only want to agitate the waters surface to keep an escape for co2 and other gasses to escape

 

[poconojoe]

Yes, it's fine for the pond to freeze over, but you want to keep a hole open for gas exchange.
Your air stones up near the surface will accomplish this up to a point, but when it gets real cold for a long spell even those may freeze over. A pond deicer is your best bet for long, really cold spells. You don't need a super powerful one, just something to keep a hole in the ice.

 

[Lisak1]

Just make sure you aren't banging on the ice - the shock can kill your fish.

I read an article once (wish I could find it again!) that said that having plants and rocks in the pond that protrude from the ice create enough space for gases to escape, that there are always tiny gaps around the base of each that allows the gases to seep out. It was an interesting idea, but mostly was reassuring to know that you don't need a giant hole - a small hole is good enough.

 

[addy1]

I can usually see small areas open. If the sun comes out, like you said, there is water around plants, at the edges of the pond, around rocks. We don't freeze as hard as some of you do.

 

[Koi4JT]

Hi everybody just asking what everybody else uses to stop pond freezing over I do have a 4 outlet oxygen pump running that helps a little I have moved them up closer to the surface for more impact but I need a little more help I was thinking of floating the big inflatable gym ball's 2 of them. Or the little ball's you find in a children's play pit. Any ideas most welcome. Thanks

Go to your closest tractor supply store (or perhaps Southern States) and ask for a floating temperature controlled heater used on farm animal water troughs. Mine has a blue plastic dome that makes it float. It turns on when the water temperature reaches 36+\- degrees. It works great.

 

[poconojoe]

Go to your closest tractor supply store (or perhaps Southern States) and ask for a floating temperature controlled heater used on farm animal water troughs. Mine has a blue plastic dome that makes it float. It turns on when the water temperature reaches 36+\- degrees. It works great.

What is the wattage on that device?

Just realize that a "heater" is not neccessary for a pond. What a pond needs is a low wattage deicer.

Just 250 watts or less which will just keep a small hole in the ice for gas exchange.
There's a device called a pond breather which only uses 40 watts. Unfortunately it's no longer available, but the point is that you don't need much to keep a hole open.

Complete open water with no ice is not needed and will be a waste of electricity.

But of course, you can do anything you want.
For what ever reason you may want to "heat" your pond.

Again, that's my opinion. Everyone is entitled to do as they please.

 

[islandboy]

We're keeping the pump running so the stream from the bog is still flowing in spite of -6C and 12 inches of fresh snow overnight. Also 2 aerators running at the shallow entry to the Skimmer that is covered by an inverted wheelbarrow with a 40 watt trouble light inside for heat.

Last night ^^^^

This morning ^^^^^

 

[GBBUDD]

Just make sure you aren't banging on the ice - the shock can kill your fish.

I read an article once (wish I could find it again!) that said that having plants and rocks in the pond that protrude from the ice create enough space for gases to escape, that there are always tiny gaps around the base of each that allows the gases to seep out. It was an interesting idea, but mostly was reassuring to know that you don't need a giant hole - a small hole is good enough

Even while using a Nito 80 air pump in the coldest weather the pond can freeze over the opening temporarily. Like mentioned above though it make look sealed its obviously not. The air is getting out somewhere and it's my estimate n many places probably behind boulders, up hollow stemmed plants that have died off or even at the base of grass clumps. a simple air gap and spacing can keep an area open though we may not see it.

 

[GBBUDD]

it's cool that the flow from the stream is keeping a narrow opening in the snow that alone is all you need. while the pump is running there should be no need for anything else.

 

[Lisak1]

behind boulders, up hollow stemmed plants that have died off or even at the base of grass clumps.

That was exactly the theory I read about in this article. Especially when the sun shines on the pond, the rocks warm just enough to melt a small border, the plant remains create gaps... all kinds of place for gas to escape.

Having said that... if your pond is overstocked (which to be honest, any garden pond with koi probably is, technically) the rate at which the gases can escape the pond can still be too slow and the oxygen levels can get too low for the big fish. The ratio of fish to water volume on a garden pond comes no where close to what a natural pond would represent. We learned that very hard lesson the winter our pump plumbing failed in January...

Goldfish, on the other hand, could care less.

 

[poconojoe]

Even while using a Nito 80 air pump in the coldest weather the pond can freeze over the opening temporarily. Like mentioned above though it make look sealed its obviously not. The air is getting out somewhere and it's my estimate n many places probably behind boulders, up hollow stemmed plants that have died off or even at the base of grass clumps. a simple air gap and spacing can keep an area open though we may not see it.

Thats a really good point.
I never thought of it that way. That air getting pumped in has to escape somewhere, somehow.

 

[poconojoe]

It's been in the 20's F during the day and teens at night here in PA (zone 6A) for a couple of weeks now. I still have my deicer unplugged. The two air stones are keeping large openings in the ice as well as my fountain in a bucket.

The ice seems pretty thick.
Our Australian Shepherd freaked me out yesterday when she walked on the pond. I yelled at her, she turned and looked at me and calmly walked off the ice.
I guess with all the snow cover she couldn't distinguish between the ground and pond. You would think out of habit she would know where the pond is.

I don't know if that ice would have supported the other dog, she's 90-100 pounds. The Australian Shepherd is maybe 45 pounds. I'm going to have to put some of those short wire garden fences around the pond.

I usually have my leaf net up all Fall and Winter, but this year I opted not to do that. Maybe it was a bad idea since it kept the dogs away from the ice.

 

[GBBUDD]

Being four legged helps tremendously so if she's 45 pounds divided by 4 legs each being say 8 square inches that just at 1 pound per square inch not a whole heck of a lot of pressure

 

[poconojoe]

Being four legged helps tremendously so if she's 45 pounds divided by 4 legs each being say 8 square inches that just at 1 pound per square inch not a whole heck of a lot of pressure

Yes, her weight was spread out as you said, but it was still a bit scary when I saw her on the ice.
I pictured myself running out there, jumping into that cold water/ice and pulling her out or maybe she would have climbed out by herself and tore up the liner in the process.

It hasn't really been that cold for very long and I feared the ice wasn't tick enough.