CE Said...
"Wondering why my goldfish pond is always warmer than the koi pond. I'm pretty sure it's because the bog is running, and the water is pulled from below ground level, and the stream is running on the ground level, but maybe because it is covered in snow and ice, it is more insulated. The koi pond only has aerator going, and the hole is the same size this afternoon as it was this morning. Goldfish pond with water fountain pump running just under the surface has twice the opening as it had this morning. Hmm .... Colleen would probably know." :cheerful:
The goldfish pond may only "appear" to be warmer, but in fact it may actually be colder! Did you take a temperture reading between the two ponds? Running water actually cools the water more, but it also melts the ice faster creating more open water, and prevents much ice build up while the running water best rids the pond of build up gases too. During extreme cold the ice can insulate the water and keep it warmer too, especially if fresh snow falls on top. Although if you run just a bubbler you will get more ice and much less open water.
But be careful with ice that thick, it always makes me nervous. The fish have gotten much bigger over the last few years, remember that our ponds are not getting bigger, and a very cold winter can make twice as thick ice that will take twice as long to melt come spring, displacing twice as much water UNDER THE ICE, and then the water under the ice warms twice as fast, and the fish start to move twice as much, and then require twice as much oxygen as before. I think that is what happened to lots of peoples fish that I know over the years, they all shut there pumps down, ran a bubbler and heater, and when I asked what happened to their fish, lots just said to me " I don't know, they were all so big and healthy!"
I prefer to keep the ice down to minimum even if it means colder water, cause at least they won't "smother" to death under too thick of ice, which has happened to lots of peoples fish over the 20 some years that I know of. I will stick to the running water method as my fish are still alive and well after all these years and many friends that I know have lost fish just using a bubbler and a heater. (our winter's up here are just to long and cold for that I think) The ice get's way too thick with a bubbler method and while it may work for a few years, after a while the Koi get too large and require more oxygen than the goldfish, and that's why the biggest fish always seem to die fast when smothered, cause they require more oxygen cause they are bigger.
The ice can splash due to running water and create ice formations on the rocks and nearby areas, and "displace" the actual amount of water in the pond. Now that my pond has been melting for three days due to warm water, the bottom pond water level has again risen to full as the ice all melted out of my pond. Last week large amounts of water had turned to thick ice during the extreme cold weather. I kept a very close eye on my very big koi too!
