I gave up that battle after last winter, going out and trying to reopen my
frozen bubbler hole, and still losing my fish. This year I put up a hoop house
(just 6 mil plastic over pvc) and it has worked like a charm. I've stuck my
head under the plastic a few times and it is all clear of ice. I convinced
that this is way to go. I'm in Iowa, zone 5, and my pond is actually shadowed
by the neighbors house, so I'm not getting the full greenhouse benefit, yet it
is working great. This is a lot less cost and worry than a heater.

Dave

Thanks for the post, Dave! So your house is shaded all winter long
too?! I am definitely going to look into tenting my pond. It is on
the north side of the house and gets no sun from October/November
until March. I thought the shade would make a hoop house a non-
issue. The poor koi all huddled together on the bottom may be in
for a shocker. It will be spring before I get anything done... just
planning will be a morale booster for me. Thanks again.

Nedra in Missouri
http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Pines/4836
http://community.webshots.com/user/nedra118

"DavidEberbach" wrote in message
...
I gave up that battle after last winter, going out and trying to reopen my
frozen bubbler hole, and still losing my fish. This year I put up a hoop
house
(just 6 mil plastic over pvc) and it has worked like a charm. I've stuck
my
head under the plastic a few times and it is all clear of ice. I
convinced
that this is way to go. I'm in Iowa, zone 5, and my pond is actually
shadowed
by the neighbors house, so I'm not getting the full greenhouse benefit,
yet it
is working great. This is a lot less cost and worry than a heater.

Dave

Nicole,

My guess is that the difference is that your pond is above ground, made of
cinderblock vs. Rich's which is (I assume) in-ground and most likely deeper
than 18".

Those cinderblocks are going to have temperature swings much greater than
the ground surrounding the typical water garden.

Anne Lurie
Raleigh, NC


"Nicole Thompson" wrote in message
...
Really? The holes are completely frozen over in mine. And believe me, the
bubbler stones I bought are big and created a big area that wasn't frozen
for a long time....wonder what the difference is?

Nicole


"Rich" wrote in message
...
I live here too, and I run a pump 24 7 and it keeps a hole in the top of
the
pond. The birds were drinking out of it yesterday.

Rich


"Nicole Thompson" wrote in message
...
I live in Central PA - current temp - 5 degrees F - nighttime temps
are
below zero.

My question is, I have a *raised* pond made of cinderblock (was here
when
we
moved in) and the single goldfish that was here when we moved in
survived
the winter last year just fine w/out any "assistance" - the pond was
already
frozen when we moved in, so we were delighted when we saw him alive
and
well
in the spring.

We added some friends (I've posted here in the past about that) and
for
the
winter, I bought bubbler stones - two long ones - which were working
pretty
well until this really cold snap. My concern is that the water
surrounding
the bubblers will freeze and burn up the pump (which is a cheap small
one,
but works well) - and my worst fear is it'll catch on fire or
something -
since I have the pump inside the house (figuring the warm house air
going
into the bubblers wouldn't be a bad thing).

So, my question is, should I unplug it altogether until warmer weather
or
just let it keep going? The pond looks frozen solid and the pump
doesn't
*sound* much louder than it did......but I'm still concerned. I
thought
of
adding a de-icer, but I have no idea if that would really help or
not -
we're talking about a 10' x 10' (roughly) water area that's 18" deep.
Am
I
being overly-concerned about the fish since the one *did* survive
w/out
anything last year?

Thanks,
Nicole

Do you have pics? I'm in Indiana zone 5 and have a nice electricity bill
from my pond heater. I'm sure my goldfish would be very happy!

Thanks,
Adrian
"DavidEberbach" wrote in message
...
I gave up that battle after last winter, going out and trying to reopen my
frozen bubbler hole, and still losing my fish. This year I put up a hoop
house
(just 6 mil plastic over pvc) and it has worked like a charm. I've stuck
my
head under the plastic a few times and it is all clear of ice. I
convinced
that this is way to go. I'm in Iowa, zone 5, and my pond is actually
shadowed
by the neighbors house, so I'm not getting the full greenhouse benefit,
yet it
is working great. This is a lot less cost and worry than a heater.

Dave

I built a cinder block pond when I lived in an apartment with a small patio.
I did insulate mine (under the liner) with those styrofoam sheets that
builders use on houses. Never had a problem with temps getting too low. I
did use one of those floating deicers. I wish i could find a digital
picture of the pond! Sometimes I miss that small simple pond.

Adrian
"Anne Lurie" wrote in message
r.com...
Nicole,

My guess is that the difference is that your pond is above ground, made of
cinderblock vs. Rich's which is (I assume) in-ground and most likely
deeper
than 18".

Those cinderblocks are going to have temperature swings much greater than
the ground surrounding the typical water garden.

Anne Lurie
Raleigh, NC


"Nicole Thompson" wrote in message
...
Really? The holes are completely frozen over in mine. And believe me,
the
bubbler stones I bought are big and created a big area that wasn't
frozen
for a long time....wonder what the difference is?

Nicole


"Rich" wrote in message
...
I live here too, and I run a pump 24 7 and it keeps a hole in the top
of
the
pond. The birds were drinking out of it yesterday.

Rich


"Nicole Thompson" wrote in message
...
I live in Central PA - current temp - 5 degrees F - nighttime temps
are
below zero.

My question is, I have a *raised* pond made of cinderblock (was here
when
we
moved in) and the single goldfish that was here when we moved in
survived
the winter last year just fine w/out any "assistance" - the pond was
already
frozen when we moved in, so we were delighted when we saw him alive
and
well
in the spring.

We added some friends (I've posted here in the past about that) and
for
the
winter, I bought bubbler stones - two long ones - which were working
pretty
well until this really cold snap. My concern is that the water
surrounding
the bubblers will freeze and burn up the pump (which is a cheap
small
one,
but works well) - and my worst fear is it'll catch on fire or
something -
since I have the pump inside the house (figuring the warm house air
going
into the bubblers wouldn't be a bad thing).

So, my question is, should I unplug it altogether until warmer
weather
or
just let it keep going? The pond looks frozen solid and the pump
doesn't
*sound* much louder than it did......but I'm still concerned. I
thought
of
adding a de-icer, but I have no idea if that would really help or
not -
we're talking about a 10' x 10' (roughly) water area that's 18"
deep.
Am
I
being overly-concerned about the fish since the one *did* survive
w/out
anything last year?

Thanks,
Nicole