In Need of a Heater for our Turtle Pond (NOT A DE-ICER!!!)

[addy1]

No idea what your problem is, but please feel free to stop responding to this thread since you obviously aren't here for anything more than to troll and act like a total a**hole. I can assure you, ALL of my pets are very well taken care of. So please, go lash out at someone else.

@brokensword is always giving good advice to other ponders, his opinion. It is your right to ignore and or listen, but no more lashing out when you are given a opinion that may not correspond to what you are thinking.
Not a troll at all.

 

[Stephen Noble]

Hello, everyone!

Welcome Jessica and husband!

I have a 125-gal pond in my backyard that my husband and I built for our two turtles over the summer.

That is a very nice turtle pond. They are lucky to be outdoors to enjoy natural UVB and an exercise/exploration area.

I've had my turtles for 8 years

Good deal. I too keep sliders. One for 34 years and the other for 21 years. I serve as their 'concierge' and housekeeping staff!

We have been unsuccessful in our search for a water heater so far, so any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Let's put this aside for a moment.

All we can find are the de-icers, which do not work since we are in the Savannah, GA area where temperatures don't usually reach freezing.

Yep, they are designed to 'kick on' at about 35 degrees Fahrenheit which as you know, will not solve your problem.

We have seen plenty of aquarium heaters, but our pond is made of hard plastic pond liner, so we are concerned that if we try to put an aquarium heater in there, it will melt the plastic.

You are right. So a 'caged' heater has to be used. A caged heater is one that isolates the heating element from making contact with the pond's surface. Another option is to use an in-line heating system. The challenge is finding a heating system that is outdoor safe and capable of maintaining a temperature differential of about 35 degrees. I base this number on historical low averages of January being 41 degrees in your area.

I am looking for recommendations for heaters or other ways that we can keep the water at a comfortable temperature for them. Any and all advice would be greatly appreciated!

We are just exploring all options at this point.

I see you are bringing your turtles indoors. That is a good call given we are in the fall season. I find your project fascinating and wonder if you are amenable to discuss options for next year? Again, welcome!

 

[GBBUDD]

Don't know if anyone already chimed in on this but i would just give them a 3 foot high pile of leaves in the corner and i would imagine they would be just fine leaves are a great insulator. i don't know what species you have but we have several turtle folks here @Jhn has a very impressive set up

 

[Mmathis]

@GBBUDD A red-eared and a yellow-bellied slider.

 

[Relic]

I think some people come to sites like this to confirm their own previously developed ideas (good or bad), then get their panties in a wad when the feedback is not what they expected. The smart folks come here to tap into the vast well of experience, and then gratefully apply the acquired knowledge where applicable in their own situation. However, if you have been gathering most of your information from Facebook - which often varies from poor to downright ignorant - you will not appreciate what you can get on this forum. From my own experience, this site has been a goldmine...

 

[Mmathis]

I think some people come to sites like this to confirm their own previously developed ideas (good or bad), then get their panties in a wad when the feedback is not what they expected. The smart folks come here to tap into the vast well of experience, and then gratefully apply the acquired knowledge where applicable in their own situation. However, if you have been gathering most of your information from Facebook - which often varies from poor to downright ignorant - you will not appreciate what you can get on this forum. From my own experience, this site has been a goldmine...

Very well said!

 

[brokensword]

Very well said!

Relic might be old but well, all I see is shiny and eternally new!!!!

 

[GBBUDD]

The other problem I always see if people expecting that their pets need what we consider comfort and sustainability.
Muck for instance is hardly that to microbes and bacteria its building blocks for both as a home and a crop of food for them .
In the winter many want to bring the fish in to keep them warm . TRILLIONS UPON TRILLIONS of fish stay in the waters as temps drop and they go into a pokey state. The wife and I love to watch the fish at this time of year. There so dopey it's like watching a drunk try to eat. Some finds the cheeks and ears before it makes it to there mouths. It's what fish inverts and microbes do they don't have thermostats . The grin and bare it.

 

[brokensword]

The other problem I always see if people expecting that their pets need what we consider comfort and sustainability.
Muck for instance is hardly that to microbes and bacteria its building blocks for both as a home and a crop of food for them .
In the winter many want to bring the fish in to keep them warm . TRILLIONS UPON TRILLIONS of fish stay in the waters as temps drop and they go into a pokey state. The wife and I love to watch the fish at this time of year. There so dopey it's like watching a drunk try to eat. Some finds the cheeks and ears before it makes it to there mouths. It's what fish inverts and microbes do they don't have thermostats . The grin and bare it.

it's now official; no 'dormancy' for our pond fish, that torpor is now gonna be called the 'pokey state'!!!

Be sure and like GB's post if you agree!!!

 

[GBBUDD]

Nope ,dormancy to our guests, they'll think they have to share a space with so.eone.

 

[Dimelius]

Long life to the pokey state!!!!

 

[GBBUDD]

The best time to catch and re home babies

 

[brokensword]

The best time to catch and re home babies

I think it's catching on, GB; lookie what I found while googling...

 

[GBBUDD]

Seeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee.................. Lmao

 

[Jeeplover2020]

Hello, everyone!

I have a 125-gal pond in my backyard that my husband and I built for our two turtles over the summer. I've had my turtles for 8 years, and this is the first year they will be outside for the winter (as long as we can find a suitable water heater). We have been unsuccessful in our search for a water heater so far, so any advice would be greatly appreciated. All we can find are the de-icers, which do not work since we are in the Savannah, GA area where temperatures don't usually reach freezing. We ordered a de-icer a couple of months ago, but found out after it arrived that they do not cut on until the water reaches freezing, so they do not actually heat the water.

We have seen plenty of aquarium heaters, but our pond is made of hard plastic pond liner, so we are concerned that if we try to put an aquarium heater in there, it will melt the plastic. I am looking for recommendations for heaters or other ways that we can keep the water at a comfortable temperature for them. We recently moved the above ground water filter to a sunny corner in an effort to try and heat the water up that way, but that is only a temporary fix. Any and all advice would be greatly appreciated!

Please note that I understand that wild turtles survive in winter all the time; however, my turtles were raised in captivity, so they are not accustomed to colder temperatures. Please do not comment if you are going to suggest that our turtles will "be fine". If we are unable to find a suitable heater, we plan to bring them back inside for the winter. We are just exploring all options at this point.

I have attached a photo of our pond, so you can see what we're working with.

Did you find a heater as we have a yellow slider about 7 yrs old in a 90 gallon In our sunroom looking to put in a preformed 100 gallon pond like you've done - Chesapeake, VA- thank you