Pond Heater

David Demarest

Amateur Enthusiast (is that a thing?)
Joined
Mar 15, 2018
Messages
12
Reaction score
4
Location
Northern NJ
Country
United States
I've got a K&H De-Icer and I live in New Jersey. We estimate our pond at about 2,000-3,000 gallons and we've got three good size (18-24") koi, one baby who is going through it's first fall & winter (6"), a catfish (24-28") and a sunny that pretty much never leaves his cave. We just took the net off our pond and it's just starting to freeze on the sides of the waterfall, so I wanted to ask you guys, when should I throw in the de-icer? In the past, we've just plugged it in and dropped it in near the middle of the pond and left it all winter. I kinda want to wait until it's all frozen, then just place it right in the middle of the pond so a circular hole forms right in the middle of the pond, but that would be selfish and neglectful. Thoughts? Let me know if you need pictures of the pond, the de-icer, or the 1972 AMC Gremlin filled with empty bees nests and covered in rust. Please don't ask for pictures of the car though, it scares me.
 
Joined
Oct 28, 2013
Messages
13,070
Reaction score
13,393
Location
Northern IL
Showcase(s):
1
Pictures of all please! Including said Gremlin!

It won't hurt to let the pond ice over completely before you plop in the de-icer. Neither selfish nor neglectful. My question though is can you safely deposit it in the middle without walking on the ice? You don't want to risk your safety.

When we use a de-icer we just put it in the pond and wait to plug it in when things start to get icy. Don't use one much anymore, but we have it just in case plan A, B & C fail.
 
Joined
Sep 14, 2013
Messages
6,203
Reaction score
4,962
Location
Cincinnati, Ohio
Hardiness Zone
6 A
Country
United States
I think ( my opinion only :) ) that koi of that size would benefit from either some moving water close to the surface or aeration. There are various ways to do both of those things :)
 

David Demarest

Amateur Enthusiast (is that a thing?)
Joined
Mar 15, 2018
Messages
12
Reaction score
4
Location
Northern NJ
Country
United States
That poor Gremlin could have its own horror movie. We had a Lancia when we moved in in '76 and it sat in the driveway and became a bee hotel for a few years before we had it towed away and I felt horrible for the tow truck driver. I think they need to nuke that car from space instead of trying to go inside and release the parking brake to tow it out. ANYWAY, here are pictures of the pond and de-icer. There's not much to the de-icer, but here's a picture from the side
e3460511-6644-40e1-a2f9-cc1072f2054f_1.970e79ea82eab6f37eb3cde09bccda27.jpeg


As for the other suggestions, the waterfall should create enough aeration, right? Either way, I'm putting it in now and I'll follow your instructions and plug it in when the pond starts to freeze.
 

David Demarest

Amateur Enthusiast (is that a thing?)
Joined
Mar 15, 2018
Messages
12
Reaction score
4
Location
Northern NJ
Country
United States
Put your deicer in the pond before it freezes. You can then plug it in when the ice forms.

If you have a sec, please take a look at the picture of my pond that I've posted here. You'll see that I've is already forming on the sides of the waterfall, is that the kind of ice you're talking about, or do you mean more like "when the actual body of water starts to freeze"? I feel like I'm way over complicating this, sorry. Due to some unfortunate circumstances, the pond has become my responsibility so much of this is new to me. I live in the northeastern US where the air gets 100°+ in the summer, so I gotta figure that if I throw in the de-icer now and plug it in, it won't hurt the fish, right? I'm most worried about the little guy, he's a baby of two of our other koi, and I really don't want to boil him.
 

Attachments

  • C3DA7359-D983-4C81-8478-81DDADFC274B.jpeg
    C3DA7359-D983-4C81-8478-81DDADFC274B.jpeg
    165.8 KB · Views: 189
  • 98981ED6-DB7F-46FB-9E06-B829D43F8818.jpeg
    98981ED6-DB7F-46FB-9E06-B829D43F8818.jpeg
    227.9 KB · Views: 205
Joined
Sep 14, 2013
Messages
6,203
Reaction score
4,962
Location
Cincinnati, Ohio
Hardiness Zone
6 A
Country
United States
Very nice pond, thanks for sharing your pictures! If you're leaving the falls running, I wouldn't worry about aeration. Have you left it running before over the winter? Sometimes ice dams form and can divert water out of the pond, so keep an eye on that.

Since you plan on running the falls, I'd just put the deicer in the pond and only plug it in, if you have very cold temps for a sustained amount of time.
 

Ask a Question

Want to reply to this thread or ask your own question?

You'll need to choose a username for the site, which only take a couple of moments. After that, you can post your question and our members will help you out.

Ask a Question

Similar Threads

Pond Heater 23
DIY Pond Heater? 4
Pond heater 4
Pond heater 13
Using an aquarium heater to extend time tropicals can be in pond 11
Keeping tropicals in outdoor pond with heater in Florida? 3
Pond heater 14
pond heater 3

Members online

No members online now.

Forum statistics

Threads
30,754
Messages
508,179
Members
13,003
Latest member
Tfny

Latest Threads

Top