Barefoot,

With the lean-to covers, I use 2 15 amp electric immersion heaters on the
4000 gallon pond and one on the 2000 gallon pond. The lean-to covers keep
the heat in, and keep the cold winds away, so the heat in the soil and water
tend to have a slow heat loss. For the first few months, October, November,
and December, the solar gain is enough most days to keep the water
temperature above 70 degrees, but by late December or early January, the
solar gain is very small and cold weather has moved in and the pond starts
to try to cool. For January and February, the heaters run almost non-stop
and the temperature will drop to around 65 by March 1. I find that it adds
about $150 per month for 3 months to the heat bill. I started it after the
summer from h*** when every fish got injections multiple times. Found it
was cheaper to heat than replace koi that at that time were about $100 each.
My price range has gone up considerably per fish, so now one fish cost more
than the heat bill. I have a much shorter and milder winter than I would
suspect you have.

Thanks for kudos. The filter system has undergone an upgrade every year
since I put in the pond. The fish keep getting bigger. I buy a new one,
and have to get rid of one, but the fish size just keeps getting bigger.
--
RichToyBox
http://www.geocities.com/richtoybox/pondintro.html


"Basil Malithorne" wrote in message
...
Rich,
I would just kill to have the water quality that shows in your pond
pictures. As I mentioned in another post, this is the second year of my pond
and I am dealing with the pea green water issue at the moment. I am only
beginning to figure out what to do to correct this and one step looks
possibly to be adding some anacharis to the pond. The pond was great last
season, but I am really struggling with the water clarity this year.
Also, how expensive is it to run the heaters and thermostats that you
use through the winter? I am in Michigan and was really intrigued by your
setup.

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Barefoot Malithorne