Winter Arsenal

[koisRus]

Currently I have ten small fish: Two Koi: 4”- 6”, One Comet Goldfish: 4”- 4.5”, One Sarasa Comet: 4”- 4.5”, and Six Shubunkins: 3.5”- 4”

I was planning on using aeration as my main source of overwintering, I already have several aquarium pumps, two of which have dual outlets. One of them is from Walmart, it is the Aqua Culture 20-60 gallon, and the other one is a Tetra whisper 60.


I think that I will go with the Aqua Culture, run both outlets (for max air flow) to a 3 gang valve, from the 3 gang valve I will run 3 separate silicone airlines to 3 one inch air stones, they will be set at 12”- 18” below the pond surface (my pond is 24” deep). I will only run one air stone at a time, the other two would be a backup in case something happens to the first one.

The pump and valve assembly will sit outside next to the pond in a Coleman 28 quart marine cooler.

My next line of defense will be a 250 watt pond De-icer that the airlines will actually be tethered to. This will only be used if the air stones cannot keep the pond from freezing completely over.

Please let me know what you think.
Thanks, Dave

 

[rdk]

I live in CT. I ran a powerful air pump 12" off the surface last winter. Complete failure. Froze right over. Had to use a deicer to save my fish. RDK

 

[Big Red]

Used both last winter. Only needed the bubbler. Surprised yours did not do the job. I used the same deicer as you and it broke halfway through the winter. Bought a new one to be safe this winter. I was warned that they break frequently, and, well, they do.