Hole in the ice?
 

I use a stock tank heater to maintain a hole in the ice on my pond. My
question is how large a hole is required?
I have a 1200 gallon pond. My heater is 1000 watts and keeps about a four
inch hole in the ice.

don cunningham

Any sized hole will work - mine is currently ~ 5" with an airstone - the
point of the hole is to allow air exchange so toxic gases don't build up,
trapped beneath the ice
Gale :~)
"Don Cunningham" wrote in message
...
I use a stock tank heater to maintain a hole in the ice on my pond. My
question is how large a hole is required?
I have a 1200 gallon pond. My heater is 1000 watts and keeps about a four
inch hole in the ice.

don cunningham

Hmmmm...
I don't think we've ever addressed the size of the
hole to be kept open in the ice that I remember.

If you are concerned you can add an air pump and
bubbler and that will increase the size of the hole
as that worked for me during an especially bad
winter (for us).

kathy

kathy wrote:
Hmmmm...
I don't think we've ever addressed the size of the
hole to be kept open in the ice that I remember.

If you are concerned you can add an air pump and
bubbler and that will increase the size of the hole
as that worked for me during an especially bad
winter (for us).

kathy


My feeling is that if you've got a good vigorous bubble-stream going,
the size of the hole isn't critical: the gas exchange will be driven
more by the bubbling than the exposed surface area. It probably even
gives you some lee-way if the hole freezes over completely: if air is
going in, it *must* be coming out, and presumably exchanging oxygen for
waste gasses along the way. Not that you shouldn't re-open it, but you
probably don't need to panic and rush out in your PJs at 3AM in
mid-January, either ;-).

-- Kizhe

I've always had good luck with the bubblers. (I run two off of one air
pump, so it keeps a couple of small holes open). Occasionally they do
freeze over, so I just pour a teakettle-full of hot water over it to
reopen the hole - or (very gently) tap with a stick on the ice to break
it up around the bubbler hole. Don't bang on the ice, though, or your
fish will have concussions. :(
This winter, it hasn't been a problem at all. No ice on the pond!
As for the PJ's, well, I doubt that the neighbors would appreciate mine
(or lack thereof!) :)

I have a related question about the need for holes in the ice.

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

I realize that the amount of vegitation in the pond might make
a difference, but if the water is near freezing, doesn't the vegitation
decay slow down significantly?

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

I'm just curious about this. My pond (north of Denver) is ice free at
the moment, which is a little bit usual for this time of year. The bubler
has been doing fine any.

Jerry


"Don Cunningham" wrote in message
...
I use a stock tank heater to maintain a hole in the ice on my pond. My
question is how large a hole is required?
I have a 1200 gallon pond. My heater is 1000 watts and keeps about a four
inch hole in the ice.

don cunningham

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 :~)

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

Jerry wrote
Has anyone lost fish after just a day or two?

I did.
Out of the blue our temperature dropped from the middling 30s
and no ice on the pond to 19 below over night. Our power went
off for much of the day, then it snowed, and snowed and snowed
and hordes of teenagers got stuck at our house and needed feeding
and shelter and we had wall to wall to wall band practice...
I think I got out to the pond by the end of the second day to melt
a hole in the ice and then put in a heater and a bubbler. Lost a lot
of fish.

kathy

Jerry wrote:
Has anyone lost fish after just a day or two?

This is a question for a mathematician, something to the effect of:
Gallons : inches of mulm : fish mass : time left unattended.

Then there is the emotional factor:
Price of Fish : Emotional Attachment : Death

~ jan


~Power to the Porg, Flow On!~

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.
I agree about a different type of pump (piston, outdoor type), but they are
expensive and have found the Optima acquarium pump works well at 2" - 3"
deep in my pond - I replace the diaphragm assembly every 3 yrs and have had
no trouble since (I was using a smaller, cheaper one that broke) I just keep
making sure the ice dome doesn't get thick (another story!) and make sure
the bubbler is bubbling
Gale :~)

Gary wrote:
I've always had good luck with the bubblers. (I run two off of one air
pump, so it keeps a couple of small holes open). Occasionally they do
freeze over, so I just pour a teakettle-full of hot water over it to
reopen the hole - or (very gently) tap with a stick on the ice to break
it up around the bubbler hole. Don't bang on the ice, though, or your
fish will have concussions. :(

I use a propane weed-burner to drill the hole open when needed. Only
problem is the torch doesn't always want to stay lit when it's -20degC.

This winter, it hasn't been a problem at all. No ice on the pond!

No problem this week -- we're having a thaw, and the hole is now about
1/3 of the pond.

As for the PJ's, well, I doubt that the neighbors would appreciate mine
(or lack thereof!) :)