Pond in the foothills

[MitchM]

I ordered this wireless thermometer from Lacrosse : http://www.lacrossetechnology.com/9029/
It comes with a wireless transmitter that has a 6 foot probe.
My pond is 5 foot deep with 3 foot plant shelves, so I couldn't mount it on dry land - the probe would only read 2 feet down, so I came up with this:



It's a bit hard to see what it is because the snow is falling fast here this morning.
I took a piece of hard foam insulation, screwed a tupperware container to it, drilled a hole through both. The transmitter is inside the tupperware container and the probe drops down through to the bottom of the pond.
Reception is excellent. The transmitter sends out readings from both the probe and transmitter locations.
Pond bottom is currently 42.2F, pond surface is 31.6F.

The pond breather is percolating away nicely.





I wasn't able to get any trailcam pictures last week. The unit didn't record any images at all for some reason. Maybe I put the image card in wrong? Hopefully there are some images for me later today when I check.

 

[sissy]

great price for that here they sell for a lot more .Going to check out there sight for all the other stuff they have

 

[callingcolleen1]

That pond breather looks like it has a red heater attached to it, how many watts is that?

 

[MitchM]

That red part is just to keep it floating. There is a black heater strip inside the clear tube so water that is being pumped up in to it doesn't freeze.
The total wattage of the unit is only 40 watts.
Wayne says that it will probably freeze up below -20C, so I'll put a shelter over it and see how that works, once the ice is thick enough for me to stand on it.

 

[CountryEscape]

How far away is the receiver that has the temperature readings, Mitch? I have an indoor/outdoor thermometer that reads temp and humidity, but the outdoor part has to be so close to the receiver that I can't put it anywhere in my house, although it's supposed to read it from "as far away as" 100' or something like that! More like 20' max! The transmitter that I have in the garage (just because I had to buy a second set, first receiver fell and broke) reads just fine, and it's farther away. I've replaced batteries, and doesn't make any difference. What you have doesn't say anything about being waterproof, so was surprised you dropped the probe to the bottom of your pond, and the transmitter must also be waterproof, or is that the purpose of the tupperware container on the styrofoam? Very ingenious! I'd buy a set just to have it inside to read water and surface temps, and my pond is just off my deck!

 

[callingcolleen1]

That heater most likely will freeze below minus 20 Mitch, I agree with Wayne. But Your pond is very deep and large and the fish survived last year so this will improve the conditions as the temperature warms up. I never have fussed with taking the temperature of my water in previous years as my main concern was keeping my pumps running and having a heater to keep small holes open in ice. My theory on cold water is that the fish will be just fine no matter how cold the water is, as long as there is an open hole in the ice then they should be good. If the water is very very cold and the heater freezes over that is OK, cause the colder the water the less the fish breath and consume the oxygen. When the water is warmer under the ice the fish will breath faster and more oxygen will be used, then the open hole will be needed. I am not going to bother taking the temperature of my ponds this year, what for? The water in my pond is always around zero top or bottom and the fish have always been fine for twenty years....

 

[MitchM]

CE,
The transmitter is about 50 feet away from the house, goes through 1 wall and is right next to my computers and screens.
There were a couple of different probe setups available, and I chose the one that is meant for submersion in a hot tub or swimming pool.
The thing actually tipped over yesterday from the weight of the snow. The tupperware container kept the transmitter dry. The pond's frozen over now, so that shouldn't happen again. :biggrin:

Colleen,
I like seeing the temperature for my own curiosity, there's nothing I can do about it anyways.
I think this will keep the water well oxygenated, and if the thing does freeze up, it will be for a couple of weeks, max. I think the fish will be fine with that.
Plus it only uses 40 watts, not the 1500 with the big heater.

 

[callingcolleen1]

Yes, and I will just stick to the big 1500 watt heater myself as my ponds are not deep enough, and even if they were, I would still use the 1500 watt heater cause hubby like to see the fish and would freak if the ponds froze solid.... so would I. My fish are very old and very large, they would die if my ponds froze over very hard for sure, as that pond is only about six feet wide, 10 feet long, and three feet deep, the other two connecting ponds are similar size. I would like to dig out that top pond and make it bigger next year for sure, but the thought of moving those two very large koi scares me, as they look to be very very large now, but it will have to be done soon as that liner is getting old now.

 

[MitchM]

Yup, and I'm not going to see my fish for the next 6 months. That's why I'm not going to put koi back in the outdoor pond.
Last year I didn't lose any goldfish but none of the koi made it.
It sounds like you have a good balance between heater size to pond size.

 

[callingcolleen1]

I think the koi never made it cause they are much bigger and require much more oxygen and can slowly suffocated to death. If I had your pond I would rig up and good pump and filter (like my proven winter filter) (both underwater) and run it all winter, with the hose just above the surface of the pond bringing up water from near the bottom, then the bad gasses would escape and good oxygen would exchange, and run that little bubbler/heater thing too. I think then your koi would be fine... maybe use a 1500 watt heater when temperature falls below minus 20 as your pond is larger and you could get away with that. I have not used my heater yet, waiting for ice to form first and real cold like minus 15c or colder. If you keep those big 1500 watt heaters unplugged when not needed only use yours when minus 15 or colder, that cuts back the power bill big time, as they use lots of power when plugged in.

Soon your koi will get very big and moving them can be hard on them too.

 

[CountryEscape]

Where are your koi now, Mitch? Are they in your greenhouse?

 

[MitchM]

No more koi, CE.
I had 3 in the outdoor pond, 2 didn't survive last winter and the last one died about 1 month after the ice was gone.
I'm thinking of getting some koi for my aquaponic system 200 gallon aquarium.
I'm trying to find out if pheromones will limit their final size. Pheromones have been shown to limit other aquarium fish growth.

 

[callingcolleen1]

I need some too cause my big Tin Foil Barb won't stop growing and is too big now for my 80 gallon tank, and to make matters worse, my hubby is feeding him dog food too!!!

 

[j.w]

That's a bummer about the koi Mitch. I'd just stick w/the goldfish as they are much hardier and way cheaper!

 

[CountryEscape]

Holy cow, Colleen, I want to see a picture of a tin foil barb that is so big it has outgrown an 80 gallon aquarium, and is being fed dog food! I have never seen a tropical barb of any type that is that large! Please share a pic with us.