Wisconsin Pond Build

[herzausstahl]

Patti,
You will be doing the same thing I am. I do have the newer ones where I can shut the water off inside the basement, and drain the rest from the line. I put the insulator covers on them this year. I think Sissy is right though, that the tank being exposed contributes to the ice on top. But that would get really expensive if you have to run the 1500w heater 24/7, or if it has a thermostat and only runs when needed I wonder if that cuts the cost down, but also contributes to why only part of it is thawed out. You would think depending on the thermostat if you have it floating on the surface (and depending on the size of the tank) it would heat the surrounding water and then shut off when that water reached the requisite 34-35 degrees as John said the heat too. lol My hoses are all coiled up in the garage and my fish are still small so I shut down mine at the end of october. I also thought about tieing a rope onto the pump handles to make removing them better.

Sissy,
I know what plant covers you are talking about. Do you have the cover up higher above where you get snow? I would wonder if i would have to worry about snow getting underneath the cover if I had it too high to let air flow in. How high off the base is the cover raised?

 

[HARO]

Nathan; the 100-watt heaters I've seen that failed were damaged by ice build-up either inside or around the unit. Most of them sank, and none seemed repairable. As for ice cover, with my system I turn the de-icer off when the opening is about 18" across, and the hole usually freezes over again within a few hours, so evaporation is not a problem. I've never had to top up my pond in the winter. As for the ice insulating the pond, Ice is a very poor insulator! If you look at your home's insulation, you will see millions of tiny air spaces; this is what provides the insulating effect. Ice is an unbroken sheet of water, obviously colder than 32 C., or it wouldn't be ice. However, the ice will support a layer of snow, which is an excellent insulator, and can prevent the ice from getting too thick. John

 

[sissy]

I set the plant pot sitting low in the summer but when winter comes I have one of those metal 4 leg stands that are used as plant holders and put a clay plant saucer on top of it up side down .I put it close to almost under the front porch

 

[herzausstahl]

John,
Thanks, I will look out for that, was thinking of a heater as more of an option for if the pump fails to run all winter. Otherwise I will stick with that, or get an aerator for next winter to keep a hole open. Right now a de-icer that I turned on and off wouldn't work until I add a couple outlets, because they will get covered with snow possibly. (all have in use outdoor covers on them though) Do you manually turn the de-icer off/on or does it run off the thermostat? Yeah, for the ice I was mostly thinking of the layer of snow that would cover it to lock the heat in.

Sissy,
Ok thanks, I figured you did something with it to stop snow from sneaking under it.

 

[sissy]

deicers have a thermostat and turn on only when water gets down to a certain temp then they go off and as soon as the water temp. goes down again it goes and my son suggested putting the electric outlets up on a 4x4 he cemented in the ground with the wire inside conduit and when he was done I built a fake birdhouse around it with a hinged door to cover the 2 plastic boxes and no bottom so I could pull the cord up inside the house and plug it in and then close the door on the front ..The electric was put close to the ground when it was first done and every time I went in the garden where it was I would trip over it .The electrical boxes for the pond are on the 6x6 for my front porch .He put the same kind of set up in 2 of my gardens in my yard so I could put lights there if I wanted too

 

[HARO]

Nathan; I simply unplug the de-icer once it has done it's job. And yes, Sissy, there is a thermostat in the apparatus, but the two or three times I tried leaving it on, almost the entire pond was cleared of ice. So I'm back to doing it manmually! John

 

[taherrmann4]

Mine has a thermostat as well and I did not turn it on until it looked like my aerator was not going to keep the pond from freezing over so I plugged it in but took forever to melt the a hole in the ice b/c the thermostat kept turning off. It turns out that the water temp around the deicer kept getting too warm and shutting off before a hole was in the ice, now it eventually did it's job just took a while.

 

[sissy]

How big a watts is your deicer ,this is the first year with mine ,but my neighbor has had hers for 3 years and hers doesn't clear her whole pond .She has a 350 watt and mine is 750 watt and they are both KH brand

 

[sissy]

hmmm now I wonder how mine will work as I have only seen hers working and she leaves it plugged in and it keeps an opening about 2 feet around .I 'm wondering if it is because it does not get as cold here and in colder temps it will work different than here .I guess it really depends on what extremes it is working under and what your utility rates are

 

[HARO]

Laguna has come out with a 500 w de-icer with a stainless steel housing. Be interesting to hear from any users how well it performs. John

 

[addy1]

Pattie

Here is the ring I made, 3/4 inch irrigation tubing attached with a T barb, that goes to the pump.
I tied it to a few rocks to keep it on the bottom, but like sissy's idea of a floating one, would need to change the holes to the bottom. Or just flip the sucker over ......that would be easier.

 

[CountryEscape]

Looks great, Addy! I like the idea of it on the bottom, as that will help keep some circulation in the water, too, which I think is a good thing, right?

 

[CountryEscape]

Looks great, Addy! Thanks for posting the pics. I like the idea of it at the bottom, keeping some water movement as well. That's a good thing, right?

BTW, WELCOME BACK!!!!! We missed you. :luxlove: :goldfish: :luxlove:

 

[j.w]

That looks like a good deal addy. Gonna think about doing that but waiting til Spring............fair weather DIY-er ya know,lol!

 

[addy1]

Looks great, Addy! Thanks for posting the pics. I like the idea of it at the bottom, keeping some water movement as well. That's a good thing, right?

BTW, WELCOME BACK!!!!! We missed you. :luxlove: :goldfish: :luxlove:

Thanks, glad to be back!
I am putting it on the bog wall shelf, about 20 feet from where the fish will be hanging out. Keep a hole and move a little water.