Pond in the foothills

[CountryEscape]

I paid a TON for electric this past winter since we had coldest ever, and would love to know more about the breathers, Mitch. Can you give me a website so I can see what they look like, and know what to search for on ebay or amazon or wherever they would be cheapest? Thanks! Sounds like something I should check out for this winter. Water pumps did fine in the bogs, but those two heaters (two ponds) sure sucked the electricity!

 

[addy1]

Dr fosterandsmith, 53.99 bucks

http://pet-supplies.drsfostersmith....torID=CHRIS&cartcount=0&wishcount=0&division=

 

[callingcolleen1]

If you had both ponds connecting then you could get away with one heater CE. I am able to use the one heater to keep three large connecting ponds open all winter. Plus if you connect the two ponds, then you would have much less ice on top pond as flowing water keeps holes open better and rids pond of ice much faster.

 

[MitchM]

Colleen, both CE's and my pond are also in open spaces which are subject to more wind.
Your ponds are in an enclosed space (your backyard). You don't get as much wind.

 

[callingcolleen1]

Yes but minus 40 is still minus 40 and the only reason my upper ponds do not get as much ice is because the water level there remains the same and thus melts the ice in upper ponds super fast. The bottom pond had well over a foot of ice because the level in bottom pond drops well below the ice level when water is froze and displaced into ice.

Many people in town wonder how my upper ponds de ice so quick too and have a hard time understanding why mine gets so much less ice in same conditioms. You are have tree and snow shelter so your pond is sheltered that way, but when ice freezes up the water level will drop to below the level of the ice in your pond beca use you only have one level... trust me I know how this works and that is why I have three levels to my pond instead of one. I keep the biggest koi in top pond cause it gets the least ice.

 

[callingcolleen1]

When I used to work at Sun Tec greenhouse many years ago, that pond had two levels and was very exposed to elements. The wind NEVER stopped blowing there cause it was on hill outside of town, even the snow cover blew away cause it was so windy. When I worked there I ran that pond all winter just like my ponds in town. The upper level always de iced quick cause the water was constantly running and the water level in top pond remained always at ice level, because the pump kept pumping the water from bottom pond to top pond, keeping top ponds aways full till they spilled away down to bottom pond.

 

[callingcolleen1]

The easiest way to explain how running water melts ice faster is a river and a lake. We have the South Saskatchewan river and many little lakes just outside of town.... the river breaks up way before the lakes, cause the running water on river melts the ice quicker.... well really the constant running water erodes the edges of ice. The river will aways have many breather holes open all winter as well, whereas the lake outside of town you have to drill hole to get open water.

 

[MitchM]

Running ground water will always deice quicker because it is drawing heat from the earth, which has obviously a tremendous capacity for heat.
Don't underestimate the power of evaporative cooling or windchill.
Ponds with open water will lose water. When mine's frozen over, it doesn't lose any.

 

[CountryEscape]

Colleen, I found keeping my goldfish pond bog running all last winter had moving water all year. In that pond I had a small water pump pushing water to the surface, pretty much keeping the opening in the ice. The water coming from the bog drained into the pond under the ice, but was always running when it got really cold. The bubbler, however, did not keep the opening open all year, so I used heater for that one month of really cold weather. I do understand your situation, and that it would help one pond, but I need to keep opening in two ponds, and they are not connected on purpose. #1, I don't want koi mixed with goldfish, although neither produced any (living) babies the last 2 years, so not really and issue. #2, if I have a problem with one pond or the other (like a leak and lose all the water), I have an emergency pond to move the fish into. I would like to try no heater this winter, and use the breathers. However, I assume that means the pond will freeze thicker, wouldn't it? I agree, with frozen shell, water is not going to evaporate, but the freeze will be thicker, and not sure I want that either .... I may just turn the heaters on once every week or two, open the hole, but if there is an opening with the breathers all the time, maybe just let them freeze and see how things go. Moving water from the bogs should keep that part open anyhow.

 

[callingcolleen1]

Well I would not recommend using the pond breather for the koi cause that won't keep a big enough hole open and then without the heater, the ice will grow much deeper, which means less space below the ice for the big koi. You might get away with it in the little goldfish pond, if it is a mild winter, but I sure would not risk it with koi.

 

[MitchM]

Pond breathers are not designed to keep a hole open in the ice.
Pond breathers are designed to expose pond water to the open air.

Just like if you go snorkelling, you use the snorkel to breathe through while you are under water.

 

[MitchM]

I did one last check of the skimmer box yesterday before freeze-up this week and found about 120 minnows and fry in there.
I got them all out and into the big pond then closed the flapper door to the skimmer.
Pond water temperature is 5 c/41 f but these minnows are almost as active as ever.

 

[addy1]

I stuff my skimmer with bubble wrap, after saving all the fry, tads, frogs, snails that might be in the skimmer. The bubble wrap displaces the water to keep the skimmer from cracking from freezing. Mine is a wide weir external pool skimmer.

Nice of you to save all your little fry and rosey reds.

 

[MitchM]

I have a Little Giant skimmer and I don't do anything to it re freezing.
If it's going to freeze inside the skimmer, it's going to freeze outside the skimmer.
I'm thinking it should equal out. Mind you, I'm still new at this.
I remember Wayne in Edmonton having his skimmer crack from freezing, but I'm not familiar with what shape his skimmer is. That could have contributed to the cracking.

Our pond priority is first for firefighting backup, second for wildlife habitat.
Third is for appearance, but you can probably guess that already....

 

[addy1]

Mine might just be fine, but it is easy to stuff it and displace the water, so I have been doing that since we put it in.

Similar to this but with a 18 inch weir