"Frances Whited" wrote in message
...
I must be going through something all new ponders do. When we first put
the pond in, my attitude about the two goldfish was, "What the heck. If
they die, $4 will get us two more." Now, as we're looking at our first
night with temps in the teens (!), I'm thinking, "My poor darlings! I
must protect them!" :-)

I've seen several references to using aquarium airstones and heaters.

When you use an airstone, you need an air pump too, right? Where do you
locate the air pump so it is protected from the elements?

With an aquarium heater, is the goal just to keep the water temp above
freezing? I've got a 90-gal. pond. Should I look for a heater for a
90-gal. aquarium?

I have a birdbath heater that I was planning to use. It consists
basically of a heating element between two thin, flexible sheets of
aluminum. It did a great job last year on the shallow birdbath, but I'm
not sure it would be effective in a large volume container.

Please forgive these really stupid questions -- but the lives of my
darlings are at stake! Thanks!

Frances (Zone 5, Wooster, OH)

This depends on the depth of your pond. Mine is 2 feet 6inches deep,in
winter I can get 9inches of ice on the top . The main thing is to make sure
you have an area of the surface clear of ice. Do not break the ice with a
hammer as the shock will kill you fish. Use a saucepan full of very hot
water, or a floating heater to make and maintain the hole.The fish will
disappear to the bottom of the pond and re-appear in the spring when the
temperature reaches about 50f
Mike
UK


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