pond newbee questions

[vidaliaman]

this is the first year i have had a pond, i have done all the treatments i am suppose to, however i live in michigan and at this time i have my rock waterfall working, i bought a 750 watt pond heater i will place in pond at first ice, my question is this, my koi and goldfish hang out under the waterfall rock all the time now that the water is cold and don't really come out which is no big deal, i just want to make sure they are ok, should i have a supplemental heater to keep the water at a certain temp or will the 750 watt floating heater work ok, it is suppose to keep an opening in the ice all winter

thanks
dave
gowen mi

 

[koiguy1969]

HELLO FELLOW MICHIGANDER just wanted to welcome you to the group...i winter my fish in a basement pond....but you dont want to heat the pond you just want to keep a hole in the ice for gas exchange.

 

[j.w]

dave

 

[sissy]

welcome and is this the first year for your pond or have you been through a winter already and how deep and big is your pond and how many fish.The heater should help if your pond is deep enough .Not sure how good they work this is going to be my first winter for my pond deicer ,but we don't get very cold here and it has been in the 70's here yet and does not get really cold here until January .

 

[vidaliaman]

thanks for the welcome and quick response, so if i am to understand, i just need to put in my deicer that keeps a hole in the pond for gas escape, the goldfish and koi's will be safe all winter, we have tough winters here, we are an hour north of grand rapids mi.

thanks dave
gowen mi

 

[sissy]

how deep is your pond .Fish slow down in the winter and sorta of hibernate in the winter .Most pond 3 feet in my area are fine but I went 4 feet deep and I keep a submersible pump in the pond just to keep water moving ,but after last winter I got a deicer to protect my fish .The pump in the crate with lava rock around it I have used other winters .It just kept the water moving in the pond so it would not freeze but after last winter I decided to get a deicer .

 

[vidaliaman]

my pond is only 2 feet, however the deicer should do ok shouldn't it? 750 watt, this was for larger ponds but i would rather not take any chances, i believe my pond is 200 to 300 gals.

 

[sissy]

Is this your first winter with your pond .I know where you live gets really cold and I know koiguy has an indoor pond because of that .He may know more but 200 to 300 gallons is not much water when you say you get lake effect snow and if your power goes off what then .I am just not to sure and confident about your power going off after last winter being as bad as it was .We had the worst winter ever here last year 2 feet is not very deep and when the ground freezes you may have problems .Most should go as deep as like your footings would be for a deck .I know here footings are 2 feet and I did my pond 4 feet because of the hot summers .

 

[vidaliaman]

thanks for the post, i have a back up generator and will be keeping a close eye on the pond, the deicer is made for a larger pond, just don't want to loose my fish, i have become attached to them, kind of silly

dave
gowen mi

 

[sissy]

not silly I feel the same way and I bought the KH 750 watt pond heater from pet mountain and this is my first year with it .Maybe next summer you can make your pond deeper and that will ease your mind .Mabe you could help keep it warmer by putting up a tent like structure over it to help .I have seen them on here made with pvc pipe and just heavy mil clear plastic clamped over them .Not sure how that would work under a heavy snow load and high winds though .I hope it turns out ok and fish are fine and maybe we will all get a milder winter .

 

[taherrmann4]

I think the 750 watt will keep a hole in the ice but not sure it will keep much of the pond from freezing except for where thkeepe deicer is, I would watch it carefully and if it looks like the pond is freezing over solid then I would run out to tractor supply and get a stock tank heater. Is your pond a liner or a preformed one? If you use a stock tank heater just be careful not to let the heating element come into contact with the liner.

 

[addy1]

glad you joined, like the say above keep a good eye on your pond as it gets colder.

 

[sissy]

If he has the kh brand that has a button so it can sink not just float so now wondering which one he has .Thats why I bought the kh one