Las Vegas 1000 gallon pond and heater???

[Killemall]

Thank you. That sounds some enough. A sinking therometer

 

[Killemall]

Surface temp was 64F at 9am

Guppies goldfish black mollies and Iridesant shark seem fine as of now.

 

[Killemall]

I bought a sinking thermostat.

Bottom of pond was 64-65F today

Within a 10 inch radius of 300 watt heater was 66-66.7 F

Underwhelming to say the least lol

I'm gonna test a few more weeks as I'm curious to see when the bottom temp is 57F for example....

Will the area by the 300 watt heater only be 58-58.5F

Or will it be greater at 61F ect.

If it is still only a 1 degree difference I will shelf the 300 watt and upgrade to a minimum 500 watt. Possibly titanium 800 watt.

But for now I'll continue testing with the 300 watt since day time water temperatures are 70s and night time is 60s

 

[mrsclem]

Are you using an aquarium heater or a pond deicer? I have 1500w heaters and they just keep the ice from forming around them in my ponds, they also cost $$$$ to run! I really think that no matter what you try to do, mother nature may overrule. If you get a bad weather situation and whatever you are using isn't enough, you will lose your fish. That's why I have my 1500w heaters, don't use them but if we get a bad winter, they are there.
Truly, your best option is to bring in your tropical fish.

 

[Killemall]

The plan is that I will bring in my tropical fish.

At this point I'm just having fun testing the water.

I'm in zone 9 where the coldest night of the year on an average year is 30 degrees. Most winter nights will be in the 38-44 degree range.

So I dont have quite the battle that most do.

I just purchased a 500 watt aquarium heater.

I'll be testing that one in a week or 2.

My biggest concern is my gold fish and my pride and joy of the pond Iridesant shark.

My internet surfing has concluded that the shark and gold fish have very good cold weather tolerances with goldfish being slightly more tolerant

With that said I dont want the shark in 30 degree weather...rather he can survive or not. That's just wrong.

I want the water to be 55 F minimum for him all year long.

My guppies and black mollies will be brought in.

Looking forward to testing the 500 watt heater!!!

 

[mrsclem]

Just be aware what running that will cost. Glad to hear you are not planning on testing your pond temps with fish.

 

[Killemall]

Waters 76 degrees right now. Still 6 plus weeks away from cold water.

I want them all happy. Not just the indoor ones lol.

As far as cost.

I calculated it to the following based on my areas 11 cents per kilowatt hour..

300 watt 24/7 aprox $20 monthly

600 watt 24/7 aprox $40 monthly

1000 watt 24/7 aprox $67 monthly

These horror stories we read of are likely a 1500 watt heater on 24/7 at $100 a month

Or a 3000 watt pool heater at $200 a month accidentally left on all month

I totally get it...to many people their total electricity bill is $70-130 a month..

So $67 extra from a 1000 watt heater is insane...

For me my house is 5300 sq ft and I'm fighting 115 degree vegas heat...so my electricity is routinely in the $300 to $400 monthly range.

With that said. I'm all ears for any horror stories and how many watts you were using

 

[brokensword]

my little bit of research is indicating you need temps 70 and above, CONSISTENTLY. In searching, nowhere did I find any mention of keeping an iridescent shark in 55 degree water. Also, many said that anything streamlined that will fit down their throat, will go down. I'd not be keeping any goldfish, guppies or anything smaller than the shark's girth, in the same 'pond'. Also, someone mentioned to truly keep this fish, you need something 39' in length and 4' deep minimum. I have to wonder how this 'experiment' in all forms, is going to turn out.

Iridescent shark - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

link for the water temps where this fish originates;

Mekong River - Monsoon, Delta, Basin

Mekong River - Monsoon, Delta, Basin: The Mekong’s flow comes chiefly from rainfall in its lower basin, which fluctuates seasonally with the monsoon winds. In April the flow is ordinarily at its lowest. In May or June—as the rain-bearing southerly monsoon winds arrive—the flow begins to...

www.britannica.com

 

[Killemall]

I go to forums where people actually keep them in ponds. It's been done by many

Likewise the internet would tell you that a guppy needs 70 F and above...

But in reality many have been kept successfully in temps in the 50s no problem.

As far as the iridesant shark possibly eating the goldfish...

Many ID sharks are trained to only eat sinking pellets.

I've already started him on pellets

As hes only 4 inches now. Perhaps he will be 12 inches a year from now. The gold fish are growing remarkably fast as well.

Some of them have grown an inch in the past month and are now 5 inches.

They were purchased at 15 cents each as feeder fish. So if he does eat them that's fine.

I have no problem buying more feeder fish for him to consume if that's what he wants

 

[Killemall]

My ponds 14x10 feet and 27 inches deep.

The 26 incher I saw at pet store was around 20 pounds and could easily be in my pond.

While the internet would suggest 4 feet and 100 pounds is possible....

It's much like how a 8 foot tall human is possible.

18-28 inches and 15-30 pounds is far more the norm

 

[Killemall]

Update

Took the tropicals out of pond October 15th. They are in a tank in the house at 74f average temp now


Pond is 1000 gallons

550 watt heater did nothing to stop mother nature in 1000 gallons.

Freak cold day rolled in mid October with wind and 50 degree temps after all other days being 75-85 degrees that week here in Vegas

Pond was 51 degrees. Iridesant sharks mollies and guppies survived but in very bad shape. One shark appeared expired but came back to life after an hour in 78 degree water.

300 watt heater raised pond temperature aprox 1/2 a degree over air temp

550 watts raised raised pond temp aprox 1.5 degrees over air temp.

Purchased a 1000 watt heater.

Combined wattage is now 1550 watts in 1000 gallon pond.

Today's temperature was 44f

Pond temperature remained at 60f with 1550 watts

I will do a few more days of testing as we will be getting nights in the mid 30 degree range this week.

Only goldfish in the pond for now till this spring. This is only for testing purposes

 

[mrsclem]

It will be interesting to see how much those heaters raise your electric bill! I only use my 1500w heater in extreme cases.

 

[JamieB]

Goldfish will be fine as long as it doesn’t freeze solid. As for the shark eating goldfish, one or two might be no problem, but they contain a compound which will inhibit the sharks b vitamin absorption if it eats too many of them on a regular basis. You might set up a different tote or large aquarium to quarantine feeder fish such as minnows, shad, and when the sharks are bigger, other edible fish that don’t have the spines on their fins, like sunfish do. Menewhile, blood worms, mosquitoe larva, brine shrimp are good protein sources that are commonly fed to small carnivorous fish, and can be purchased in frozen cubes.
If you find that the water temps do drop too much despite heaters, to keep the sharks out in winter, consider creating an indoor pond if you have a suitable room for it. Concrete floor. The indoor pond can be created by making a strong frame, with a liner in it, and it could make a very pretty water feature with plants, perhaps a bog filter, if you add a grow light you can grow your own herbs and fresh vegetables year round. YouTube has plenty of videos, for how to and ideas.

 

[Killemall]

I indeed think adding another 1000 watt heater and just running the 2000 watts from the pair would be enough to keep the pond above 66 degrees. And in the 66-76 range.

When the pond water would be 63f before I had the heaters the tropicals were all surviving and still mating.

So 66-76 would be sufficiant for year long survival.


But what happens if power outage at 11.30 PM on a 34f December night ect.

So I'm setting up a 60 gallon for the small tropicals and a 220 gallon for the iridesant sharks. Both kept inside home

The plan will be to have the heaters always set to 64f all year long. That way in the rare case that las vegas does go below 64f 1 Mar-15 October...the heaters will be a safe gard to keep the tropicals warm.

Then every 15 Oct - 1 March they will go onto the inside tanks.

As far as electricity I have yet to notice a change. I've been using the heaters since aprox October 1st.

My house is 5000 sq ft and during the summer due to vegas heat and ac my electricity bill is in the $270-400 range depending on month.

I now use no AC and being that Vegas winter is 55-70 degrees in the day time I use very little heat to keep my house at 70f..

So my electricity bill for October was sub $200 running 300-800 watts in heating daily for testing.

I will look now to see what the past 2 weeks of testing 1550 watts looks like electricity wise

 

[Killemall]

It states my November 17th bill is projected to be $185

Still far from the 270-400 I see on my expensive months.

So for me so far I see no difference in bill with heater usage.