trout750

I was just wondering if i should heat my pond in the winter as it isnt as deep as it should be (just under 3ft), I know this isnt ideal so i am considering heating it to keep the temp stable, say maybee 10degrees.
Any advice would be great.
Thanks

bason1976

hello there my pond is only 3 foot i have never had a problem some of my fish are 8 years old my dads pond is only 2 to 2.5 ft and he has had it for years and all his fish are ok i dont think are winters are that bad but if your got alot of money then go for it

trout750

Cant be much of a problem then I think i may just take the risk, hopefully it will just harden them up, I will add some salt in the autum just to prepare them for the winter and maybe cover the pond and filters in bubblewrap or something.

worthy

Heating is a very hot subject and to heat or not to heat is a good question. to heat your pond to 10c would be a wast of time the reason people heat there pond is to stop the bacteria diying back and having the trouble in the spring when the water warms up and all the bad bacteria grows faster than the good i my self dont heat as it would be far to expencive you would be lookin at about £5+ A DAY!!!! your best bet is to cover it and as you say wrap every thing in bubble wrap and turn off water falls where it there is moving water in the air ill be covering my pond and wrapping all filters and pipe work with as much bubble wrap i can to try and keep the tem up as much as posable.

__________________
Hi im Dan and im addicted to Koi

koimaster

yes i have just over 3000 gals and to keep that at a stable temp of 10 degs it cost me £5-£6 every 24hrs

allanmacuser

yes good question l did read somewhere that the Koi do need a cold snap and when you look at the climate in Japan they do have quite a cold time but only for about a month. from what l read they were saying that this cold snap helps the materialism. l we have a Atlantis 800 gal Fiberglass pool l have not yet heated it during the winter but in saying l am thinking about it this time. let you know how l get on.

regards
allan
Our Koi Pool

brockp

I agree koi need a time of low temp and low/zero food intake to burn up some of the fat they have laid down for the winter and for the females hopefully to reabsorb any unspawned eggs. Many pond keepers let the pond temps fall for 6 – 8 weeks during Jan and Feb for this reason.

However I see a world of difference in a fish lying in the soft mud bottom of a pond in the wild and fish resting on hard fibreglass or rubber in our pond.

I heated my pond last year for the first time, I kept it about 5 or 6 and my fish just swam lazily around and took some food occasionally but the difference in the spring was worth it. No red patches or ulcers on the belly and generally more healthy i.e. alert, active and hungry.

My plan this year is to keep the pond at 18 until the weather starts to get colder and then slowly reduce it during Nov & Dec to 6 - 7 and then slowly increase it in March onwards back to the 20s for May through September.

So for me it is worth it.....I just hope it isn't as cold this year as last year !

Pete

Davej

Hiya pete, you have tacked this on to an old Thread.

Just for the benefit of any Guys passing by;

Anyone thinking of keeping Koi in an outside pond of 3’ depth without the ability to have some control of the pond temps when we have a cold spell is simply asking for trouble.

OK rant over

Pete; you are doing the right thing in having the facility to take control of things and not simply having to rely on luck.

Your plan is a much safer option - I suspect that extra degree or so planned for this winter will increase the bills considerably though.

Dave

brockp

Sorry about the old post.
Last year I just used a 3KW inline electric heater. This year I have the heat pump first and have kept the 3 KW in line heater after the heat pump just in case in cannot cope. The heat pump tends to level out temp with any extremes delt with by the immersion heater. So far the immersion has not kicked in yet.
Pete

Davej

Please keep us posted on the performance of the heat pump.

Dave