LocostBuilders - powered by XMB

Fish pond

jacko - 21/12/10 at 06:21 PM

Hi all what is the best way to break / remove ice off my pond
and do ppl leave the pump's running
Jacko

blakep82 - 21/12/10 at 06:24 PM

don't
breaking it will damage the fish best just to leave them.

lots of my fish died this year though, when the ice started melting, found loads of them floating under the ice they were big too. i guess the air didn't have enough oxygen in it, so keep pumps running

[Edited on 21/12/10 by blakep82]

marcjagman - 21/12/10 at 06:25 PM

FISH POND? Put a broom handle in it and make a giant ice lolly.

hearbear - 21/12/10 at 06:27 PM

I heard years ago place a hot water bottle on until through and leave a hole in the ice, don't know how true it is.

BigLee - 21/12/10 at 06:34 PM

Melt a hole using a kettle full of boiling water. It's critical that gases can escape from the water, otherwise they can become toxic and kill your fish. Place a football in the melted hole as it won't freeze solid around it then the gases can still escape. I have always left my pump running to stop the filter and associated pipe work from freezing. Turn the UV lamp off though as they are useless in this weather.
If your pond is deep enough, your fish should survive.

thunderace - 21/12/10 at 06:36 PM

how deep is it ?
anything under 3ft deep and you may have a problem as the ice at my local canal is just over 2ft thick ,guys were drilling holes in it today (not got a clue why?)

[Edited on 21/12/10 by thunderace]

Daddylonglegs - 21/12/10 at 06:42 PM

You definitely need to give the fish a 'breathing hole' because, as already said, the gases can build to toxic levels. I always left the pump running right through winter. The best thing I found to keep the water from being completely frozen over is by making a box out of polystyrene tiles with a hole about 2" in diameter in the top. (think of a box about 8-10" square and no lid with the 2" hole made in the bottom but put it upside down - if that makes sense?). The box keeps the water liquid underneath it and the gases can exchange through the hole. You may still lose a fish or two because there is a minimum surface area per inch of fish but it will be better than nothing, and they don't need so much oxygen this time of year anyhow.

HTH

JB

AndyW - 21/12/10 at 06:43 PM

quote:
Originally posted by thunderace
how deep is it ?
anything under 3ft deep and you may have a problem as the ice at my local canal is just over 2ft thick ,guys were drilling holes in it today (not got a clue why?)

[Edited on 21/12/10 by thunderace]

how else would you dump car tyres and shopping trolleys if the canal was frozen?

stevegough - 21/12/10 at 06:55 PM

quote:
Originally posted by jacko
Hi all what is the best way to break / remove ice off my pond
and do ppl leave the pump's running
Jacko

Have you got a waterfall? If not, install one next year - the ice on my pond is a full 2 - 3 inches thick at the moment, but the running water from the fall is keeping quite a big hole in the centre - the waterfall aerates the water all year.

As thunderace has already pointed out, the temperature gradient also depends on the depth - the deeper the better (mine is nearly 4ft) - the water is relatively warm at the bottom.

What purpose does your pump serve? - is there any way of introducing air into the circuit?

blakep82 - 21/12/10 at 06:59 PM

going to drill some holes into the ice in mine tomorrow then. also stick the hose in and pump some new water in to try and get some oxygen in. hopefully i'll save the rest of the fish there was loads of baby fish this year too. tiny like 7mm long, think they've died too. hopefully there'll be some left

Peteff - 21/12/10 at 08:52 PM

We used to stand a pan of hot water on the ice to melt it. I floated a decoy duck on the pond to keep a bit clear and it gave the dicky birds something to sit on as well.

Dangle_kt - 21/12/10 at 09:27 PM

My dad kept Koi for years, I can still remember the massive pond over half the garden, and the HUGE roof he built over it every autumn (think roofing a frame x 4 covered in double thickness super bubble wrap stuff).

Dam fish were warmer than us!

snippy - 21/12/10 at 10:02 PM

I`ve been told that keeping your pump running in cold weather just sucks the warmer water from the bottom of the pond and therefore lowers the temperature in the bottom of the pond which is where the fish will hide to keep warmer. I have previously had my pump running all previous winters but due to these extreme temperatures we are having I`ve turned it off. I switch it on again if it`s gets near freezing to airate the water.
You just really don`t know what to do for the best. I like the polystyrene cube idea though!

Ninehigh - 21/12/10 at 10:04 PM

Yeah I remember the kettle thing too, don't break the ice as it'll deafen then.. (so I've been told)

Canada EH! - 21/12/10 at 10:20 PM

If you can keep the water moving it won't freeze, a little cheap compressor with a hose running into the pond will keep the fish oxygenated and the surface of the pond from freezing. ( little 12 volt toy and tire inflater).

skodaman - 21/12/10 at 10:37 PM

Don't break the ice because the shock waves can stun and kill the fishl. You need a small hole in the ice to allow poisonous gases to escape. If you can melt a hole through the ice with a pan or kettle placed on top of it. Then lower the
water level an inch or two. The layer of ice then actually helps insulate the pond from further freezing. The real answer is to leave a floating pond heater in and just turn it on when the pond first freezes.

McLannahan - 21/12/10 at 10:39 PM

Steve - If you re-postioned your bridge the dragon could use it as a water slide!

stevegough - 21/12/10 at 10:42 PM

quote:
Originally posted by snippy
I`ve been told that keeping your pump running in cold weather just sucks the warmer water from the bottom of the pond and therefore lowers the temperature in the bottom of the pond which is where the fish will hide to keep warmer. I have previously had my pump running all previous winters but due to these extreme temperatures we are having I`ve turned it off. I switch it on again if it`s gets near freezing to airate the water.
You just really don`t know what to do for the best. I like the polystyrene cube idea though!

Yes, quite right - forgotten about that! - on advice, I built two outlets to the pump system - one from the bottom centre and one from halfway up the side for exactly that reason. - See pic

prawnabie - 21/12/10 at 10:42 PM

Small block of polystyrene in the water before it freezes will allow them to break whilst the pond is froze, Don't worry about the ice, the fish will lie dormant in sub zero temps anyway.

stevegough - 21/12/10 at 10:46 PM

quting McLannahan: "Steve - If you re-postioned your bridge the dragon could use it as a water slide!"

Don't be daft - you know Dippy just hates water!!

McLannahan - 21/12/10 at 10:58 PM

quote:
Originally posted by stevegough
quting McLannahan: "Steve - If you re-postioned your bridge the dragon could use it as a water slide!"

Don't be daft - you know Dippy just hates water!!

Damn it...Forgot about Dippy's fears!

JoelP - 22/12/10 at 01:33 PM

good idea from skodaman about lowering the water level under the ice, because you then have full surface area to exchange gasses.

Suprised you cant buy an electric heater to prevent deep freezing.

serieslandy - 22/12/10 at 01:57 PM

quote:
Originally posted by JoelP
good idea from skodaman about lowering the water level under the ice, because you then have full surface area to exchange gasses.

Suprised you cant buy an electric heater to prevent deep freezing.

You can, Bermuda make one. It looks like a thermometer with a foam float. It prevents the area around it from freezing.
However we sold out weeks ago and never managed to get them back in again

ken555 - 23/12/10 at 09:25 PM

There's over 6000 Litres of water under there somewhere.

Never had a problem, just kept the pumps going, but lifted them so that they are about 9" - 12" below the surface.
The water temp at the bottom is sitting at a constant 4° C.