I suspended one of the water pumps so that it was only a few inches below
the surface and pointing towards the opposite side of the pond. This
creates a river current across the pond reducing freezing. I also have a
floating water heater (1500 watts) as backup but I have not needed to plug
it in.
The important thing is not to remove the warmer water from the bottom area
of the pond or spray water into the air which would super cool the water.
The pond was clear of all ice last weekend after warming weather. We have
had winter storms the last few days and there is a thin layer of ice on part
of the pond now. It has never frozen over completely. The fish seem happy.
Don
Greens Corners, Ontario

"Joel" wrote in message
ble.rogers.com...
This is was a test run for trying to keep a hole open over the winter, I
used bubbles, we are also having one of the coldest winters in years, -10F
and the ice is about 8-12inch think.

my question is:

the water did freeze up around the airline, I know its still pushing air
under the ice, the air must be escaping somewhere, is this enough to let
the gases out?

The bad news is, my test pond will have to be filled in as I'm selling the
house and will build again when I move.
my current small pond is only a 4 x 3 x 4ft, when I move I want to do
something diffferent then just a hole in the ground, I want shallow water
to see the fish, could I make the pond 18-24inch deep and at one end and
have a hole 4 ft for the winter at the other end and have the water fall
spill into the shallow water?

Joel.