On Sat, 5 Feb 2005 16:51:25 -0500, "Gale Pearce"
wrote:


If your method of keeping a hole in the ice fails, how quickly
does a hole need to be re-established?

Has anyone lost fish after just a day or two? How about a week or so?

I had a bad experience a few yrs back when we got a heavy snowstorm, burying
my airpump container and whole back yard in 3' of snow. I could still hear
my pump running , so thought it will be OK for a few days until some of the
snow melts back - a week later, I thought I better clear a spot to check my
hole in the pond - the ice was gone on the pond and all that was left was a
snow crust ~2' deep (I had 4" of ice on the pond when the storm hit and I
had been walking on it) - the snow insulation warmed the water and melted
the ice , but the worst part was , even though I could still hear my airpump
running, it broke and was pumping nothing - When I put a shovel in the snow
to dig down to the hole, the snow crust caved in and the water was almost
black, then my 3 large Koi and the 4 largest GF floated to the surface and
they hadn't been dead long
Now I put my airpump container 3' off the ground so I can check it often
and keep it clear of snow. Whenever my airhole ices over, I open it up as
I've found the ice dome that forms in really cold weather keeps getting
thicker if left intact
Just my experiences Gale :~)


One of the issues involving the use of aquarium type pumps is that
they are diaphragm pumps. When the diaphragm gets cold it stiffens
reducing the ability to move air or create any pressure. If you put
your airstone deep at all, as I do to get it below the ice pack, the
pressure created during cold weather may not be enough to move any
air.

The solution is to keep your pump warm with some kind of heater or use
a different type of pump.

John