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Heated pond
I use a 500 watt aquarium heater in a 1600 gallon 4' deep pond but I have the pond
covered to prevent water loss. this is essential for keeping the heat in as well and preventing the loss of too much water. on 1-16 the water temp was 50oF and was the last day I fed them. then came the cold snap and the pond temp dropped to 40o where it is now. I am in zone 5, Milwaukee. but just covering the pond with plastic over arched pvc or a wood lean to you can really keep the water open all winter no problem with a little heater and a pump. I am heating my pond so my fish dont go "dormant" for so long each year. last year the temp was below 50o for 6 months. I am hoping to cut down the "down time" to 2 months using this 500 watt heater. It is only like having 5 - 100 watt light bulbs on all the time. I also hope to stop swinging temps that bring on ich. so far, so good. temps have not fallen below 40o. Ingrid "FrankS" wrote: I live in North Dakota and for the last week or so the temperature has been VERY cold. The night time temps have been as low as -28 degrees F for several nights with the daytime high temps staying below minus 10 degrees for about a week now. This is cold even for us natives. I have a small pond, about 300 gallons, stocked with gold fish, a comet, koi and shibunkin(sp?) and maybe a crayfish or two. The pond was nearly covered with snow and frost that I was sure the fish would be crispy critters by now but this afternoon I braved the cold and went out to check on them. I was surprised and, to say the least, pleased that everyone seemed to be in as good as spirits as possible under the circumstances. I use a 1200 watt floating stock tank heater and a bubbler pump but I wasn't sure if the heater could keep up with the constant cold temps. This, to me, is proof of the hardiness of pond fish and the value of a $30 heater. My real problem is evaporation, the cold air is very dry and the comparative warm water makes for rapid evaporation so I'm the only guy in the neighborhood with a garden hose stretched out in the back yard all winter. Anyone have a similar experiences? Frank ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ List Manager: Puregold Goldfish List http://puregold.aquaria.net/ www.drsolo.com Solve the problem, dont waste energy finding who's to blame ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Unfortunately, I receive no money, gifts, discounts or other compensation for all the damn work I do, nor for any of the endorsements or recommendations I make. |
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