Aerator and bottom heater?

[waynefrcan]

Nice to see you back on my topics!!! I was told 3' is the frost layer here, so I went 4'.

Since you here have a question. What's the best way to determine if a bottom heater is on? I can't pull it out to check. Can a multimeter at the breaker box detect this? Detect the watt draw on a 120 line circuit?

Thanks

 

[waynefrcan]

Ok here is today -4C with snow, you like? Don't worry I get you -20F pics later!

 

[brandonsdad02]

A amp probe would be the best way to see if its working. You take your volts multiplied by your amps and that will give you your watts. Google ohms law pie chart. That is a electricians bible lol.

Honestly I would have went with a floating deicer to keep a hole open in the ice. I'm using a air stone this winter for mine. I've heard stories about those heater shorting out and frying the fish. Now I realize with a pond that would hard to do but I'll see what happens this winter.

 

[mtpond]

Shut off my waterfall cause the next couple of days the lows are going to be in the teens. Temp outside is 20 and bottom of pond is 47.3.
Wayne, your pond is looking good. Nice opening for gas exchange. What is the temp of your bottom of your pond?

 

[crsublette]

What's the best way to determine if a bottom heater is on? I can't pull it out to check. Can a multimeter at the breaker box detect this? Detect the watt draw on a 120 line circuit?

Yeah, as brandon mentions, you would want to test the ampages on the circuit in the panel.


I can't seem to find a heat that does not have an internal thermometer control. I think these only turn on when the water temp drops to 35*F and turns off when the water drops gets up to 39*F. For this reason, I keep my heater as a floater since the top water will get colder before the water at the bottom; to mak sure it doesn't turn on too often, you can get a timer thta opens and closes the electricity only when you want it to be.

 

[callingcolleen1]

My heater burnt the end of the extention cord last year, even though it is rated for that wattage, seems to happen every year, heater still works, should get a better cord that is thicker and maybe it won't happen. I don't have the heater on a GFI cause I was sick of the breaker being going off and freezing pond, so I have to be extra extra careful!! I am going to try this new heater that is meant for ponds this year.... again, had one many years ago just like it, uses 1200 watt instead of 1500. Got it super cheap at a closing out sale last year. I still got the "trusty" cattle heater" that has never failed me, but I think sometimes it heats the ponds too much for winter, will still use it for below minus 30 c as it is very effective in melting lots of ice. I usually get new cattle trough heater every year, just because they are cheap so why risk running old burnt out one.

 

[waynefrcan]

MT, I just don't see how you get those numbers. Your thermometer must be faulty! Check my posts you will see my temps. I will re-read yours, maybe I missed something. You sure you have it on the outside probe setting? When I switch to indoor setting it gives a wacky number like 47F which is wrong since I'm freezing standing in a foot of snow.

Can you throw in a standard outdoor thermometer to double check temps? String and a rock is needed. Let it sit there for a good while. Pulling it up fast will get a close reading.

 

[mtpond]

Wayne, double checked the temp on the bottom of the pond when I got home tonight with a standard thermometer and the temp was the same as the digital which at the time was 43. Prior to yesterday we have had fairly good weather, middle to high 50's and even a couple of the nights we had warm weather so I think that is why my bottom temp was in the higher 40's. Now that the weather is starting to get colder and not warming up much during the day my bottom temps are dropping. Just took the dogs out and checked it again and temp is now 41.9.

 

[waynefrcan]

OK, so what is surface water temp with bottom temps?

I just checked mine and it says 32.0F at bottom lol. Maybe the thermometer unit has froze. Air temp is about 25F

I give up, I'm going to put the aeration at 1 ft, and a 250 watt heater on top and the main heater at bottom when it starts to ice over.

Whatever happens happens!

 

[mtpond]

Temp outside is 13 degrees. The temp at the top of my pond is 34 and on the bottom it is 36.6. Last winter the bottom of my pond got down to 32, when I had my diffuser on the bottom and when I moved it off the bottom the bottom of the pond warmed up to 36 and thats pretty much where it stayed the rest of the winter.

 

[brandonsdad02]

I learned last year that a good air pump can move more water cheaper than the cost of running a pump. If you put your diffuser at the deepest part of your pond, you might as well put your pump down there. The current of bubbles coming up from you diffuser is creating water flow which takes that pocket of warmer water at the bottom and cools it to temp of the rest of the water towards the top. I've moved my diffuser to about 1' from the top of the water.

 

[callingcolleen1]

Can't tell you what the bottom of my pond is cause the thermometer is stuck in the ice here, minus 22 c this morning!

 

[waynefrcan]

Thanks MT,

WEll I got both air diffusers at the 1 ft level now. Bottom is 32.2F before I moved them. Small surface 250 watt heater at shallow end of pond. The 1500 watt at deep end bottom will stay now for the winter. Air temp outside was 7F overnight.

We see what happens now, If bottom warms up or not. No more changes now and I'm hoping for your 36F.

There is also a chance the digital unit thermometer is too cold to have accurate readings. Now a days they have remote units made for outside. Main part stays indoors and the remote sends it a temp data from 100-300 ft. The ones I saw are new but discontinued models. I will keep looking.

 

[sissy]

good gosh you people in those really cold temps would scare the begeebers out of me .I don't think I would want a pond and all that worry about freeze and what to do if electric went out .BRRRRR

 

[callingcolleen1]

Sissy, it's not too bad, in the twenty years of wintering my pond, the power only went out once in the winter, and then it was only for about six hours, so it was not too bad.

I did find my thermometer the other day, and when it was really cold the temperature with heater read 35 at bottom of pond. Fish are all good.