Not worried at the moment,, aerator is still keeping a hole in the ice. Waterfall is still running albeit under the ice, which is built up to the spillway. Other ponds have pond breathers.
On frozen pond...
- Thread starter Lisak1
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No worries mate. 
I'm in the Philippines right now and will be here for the worst of the winter, we did have a big dump of snow at home just before we left and I shot this video of the pond and courtyard.
My winter pond system has a pump that recirculates the water into the pump/filter room and through the settling tank which has a 2 1/2 ft open surface diameter that never freezes and functions as a "breather" hole.
Should the pump quit working it would not be good a thing, but I have no reason to believe that will happen.
Still, I have some concerns, but I'm more concerned about my frogs and turtle than any of the fish and my son who lives nearby is checking the house and pond while we are gone.
For comparison, what the pond generally looks like in the summertime.
I'm in the Philippines right now and will be here for the worst of the winter, we did have a big dump of snow at home just before we left and I shot this video of the pond and courtyard.
My winter pond system has a pump that recirculates the water into the pump/filter room and through the settling tank which has a 2 1/2 ft open surface diameter that never freezes and functions as a "breather" hole.
Should the pump quit working it would not be good a thing, but I have no reason to believe that will happen.
Still, I have some concerns, but I'm more concerned about my frogs and turtle than any of the fish and my son who lives nearby is checking the house and pond while we are gone.
For comparison, what the pond generally looks like in the summertime.
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j.w
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No snow or cold here so no worries. Winter is not over yet but we generally are pretty frozen free most of the time. We have had the pond freeze over in past winters but I leave the pump and falls on so there is always an open hole in the ice. The coldest we have gotten here on this property was -6f for only a few days. That was rather interesting to say the least as it broke pipes on outside walls of garages on all the 5 houses on our road. All built by the same builder who did not put insulation on those pipes. They are now all insulated!
@Mucky_Waters I love your pond and the wall around it, very private and cozy
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Our weather is going above freezing tomorrow, so I'll take a good look under the cover and make sure all is well.
I am a little worried about my pond this year. This is the first winter I have shut off my air pump. My big heater kept tripping my outlet and shutting off my pond breather and without the heater I did not think my air would keep an opening. (With the temps we have been having I did not want to pump that kind of cold air into the pond either.) I am relying solely on the pond breather right now. I would feel better if it was centered more in the pond but currently it is frozen in place to one side of the pond. We are used to cold winters but like many of you we have experienced a long cold spell. We have had nights to -22F. One thing I liked about always having a hole is I could usually see down into the water and see whats going on. Not now. Not sure how thick the ice is. I would love to know. We are warming up for the next few days above freezing. Ordering a new heater this weekend. I am replacing my 1500 watt heater that keeps tripping my outlet. Was thinking about a little less wattage. Any recommendations?
Maybe its not necessary with the pond breather but I like to know whats going on down there. lol
Maybe its not necessary with the pond breather but I like to know whats going on down there. lol
I'm finally back home, but it's too dark to do any investigating tonight... I'll be out there at first light tomorrow!
The deicer I have draws too much from the two outside circuits I have. Needed to bring a line out from the garage and seems to work for now. Though I had to get it going with a few pots of boiling water. Ordering a back up now.
Just made a tour of the pond (brrrrrr!) and all appears to be well! Initially I thought we were in a bad situation - the ice is so thick you cannot see water running. However, I could hear the pump and listening very carefully I could hear water running. I checked from the bog/waterfall level and there is a spot where I can see water flowing under the ice. PHEW!
Here's what the pond looks like today. There are no visible openings, but this is not unusual for our pond in winter.
According to most things you hear and read, this should spell disaster for our fish. Our past experience has shown us that keeping the water running is allowing for gas exchanges even when it appears to be fully covered. Our pond flows into an underground rain harvesting system that holds 1000 gallons of water - but that space is never "full". There's plenty of air space under ground and in the pump vault to allow for gasses to escape. After I took this photo, I put the de-icer on the pond just out of curiosity - I wanna see just how thick that ice is!
Here's what the pond looks like today. There are no visible openings, but this is not unusual for our pond in winter.
According to most things you hear and read, this should spell disaster for our fish. Our past experience has shown us that keeping the water running is allowing for gas exchanges even when it appears to be fully covered. Our pond flows into an underground rain harvesting system that holds 1000 gallons of water - but that space is never "full". There's plenty of air space under ground and in the pump vault to allow for gasses to escape. After I took this photo, I put the de-icer on the pond just out of curiosity - I wanna see just how thick that ice is!
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Been well below freezing here for the past 7 days. About 2" of ice on the pond, and the heater shorted.
I installed another heater today, and it is working just fine.
Left the pump running, so the fall, and stream are running, and aerating the water somewhat. Mabe the fish will survive.
I installed another heater today, and it is working just fine.
Left the pump running, so the fall, and stream are running, and aerating the water somewhat. Mabe the fish will survive.
The pond was 100% ice-free as of noon today. We're getting a reprieve from the ice-cold weather for a while. I went outside and unplugged the de-icer. It gets expensive running it 24/7 during the winter, so it can stay off until I need it again.
Wow! You thawed a lot quicker than we did! We are still covered with "rotten ice" - looks solid but I wouldn't walk on it!
Well, the water level was pretty low yesterday so last night I dragged the hose outside and filled it with tap water for about 20 minutes, plus the water has to run past the heat of the de-icer as it flows into the skimmer box, so the combination of those two things probably helped the thawing process. Usually once we get sun and the temperatures hold steady above 25 degrees for 24 hours, the ice starts melting.
Ahhhhh! That makes sense!
why have any water moving? I thought its better for fish if the water was still and not moving around changing temperatures. I just have a de-icer to keep a hole open.