heater

koimaster · 06-01-2009, 04:04 PM

who had that heater for grabs pm me with a price i am undesided wether to go heated ive had enough winter

nishikiboy · 07-01-2009, 01:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by koimaster

who had that heater for grabs pm me with a price i am undesided wether to go heated ive had enough winter

You need heating,
you chaps without just have lifeless Koi sat on the bottom right now,
I've fed mine 3 times today, ( EA Freshwater Shrimp for breakfast 41% protein ! EA Health at 11.30AM Kusuri Multiseason at 2.30pm
they are growing like mad basking in 16C warmth,
the pond steams at night !
When it's very cold like now and the heater is permanently on, it makes me think of the cost, so I turn the house heating off an hour early to make up for it. I'd rather enjoy my Koi 365 days per year,and watch them grow
AND NOT be troubled with Media Bacteria die back, and the problems in Spring associated with an unheated pond !!!

You know much better than me Mark, as the Spring starts to warm unheated ponds up, and temperatures fluctuate wildly ( we have all had warm March months and snow again at Easter ! )
this forum will be FULL of questions about Parasites, in particular White Spot ( ich ) and Pathogenic bacteria outgrowing the media bacteria caused by the odd sunny days,
the ulcers from sitting on the bottom all winter, and just generally weak Koi with their immune system very low, so they can not fight these things naturally, so then we start to advise people to shovel chemicals in !!!

I can honestly say I have only EVER had to treat once ( white spot ! in summer ! from the water from the dealer in the bag containing a Koi ! my fault !!! up to then I used to pour it all in after floating, NOW only the Koi goes in to avoid it happening again !!! )

The only other treatment was for green water, again my fault for NOT renewing the uv lamp bulb !!! at the correct time !

I honestly believe Koi MUST be in heated water,
BUT heated to at least 15C !!!
10 / 11 / 12C can cause problems.
My 6kw Elecro heater is set at 16.2C so the thermostat kicks in at 15.7c

Cost approx £1,000 per year £ouch !
but add up how much your Koi are worth in money
and how much treatments cost, vet / koi healthcare specialists cost,
bacteria start etc in spring .................
suddenly it doesn't sound so bad !
and you've doubled the time you can enjoy your Koi !
and doubled the time they grow !

I'd rather cut down on my fags ! or turn the house thermostat down 2 degrees, or off an hour earlier,I still never wear a jumper so I'm not cold,
but I love my Koi to bits !
they are the best thing I have ever done, and I enjoy looking after them, as I'm sure we ALL do.

If the pond was a bit nearer the gas boiler I would use that with a heat exchanger,....... to buy and install a seperate boiler in my pump house is a lot of money including digging a trench to put the gas pipe in etc !!!

5 of the 6 last Koi I've bought are ALL high class certificated true tategoi tosai ( 1yr ) which would be a waste of money without a heated pond,
the 6th was the same but Nisai (2yr)
Having seen the difference in quality, I would never buy anything less from now on ......
I believe they need heat to keep them at that standard and get the most out of them.
Peter.

Carl · 07-01-2009, 10:30 AM

You could proberbly save quit a bit on that heating bill, Pete if you construct a frame to lay over the top of the pond with either a pond solor cover or poly carb sheeting to stop a lot of the heat escaping out the surface and lag the filter, construct it in a way so you can easy lift it off to view the fish. Although mine are in the summer house it still gets very cold in there and my heater was almost on constantly, since covering it with a solor cover the temp stays pretty stable and heater only comes on half the amount of time now.

flipp · 07-01-2009, 02:57 PM

Little bit chilly down here at the moment, ice a couple of inches thick around the edges

koimaster · 07-01-2009, 04:07 PM

did you get abit excited flipp

all that white everywhere

flipp · 07-01-2009, 07:00 PM

Think it may be a hedgehog infestation.

nishikiboy · 08-01-2009, 03:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Carl

You could proberbly save quit a bit on that heating bill, Pete if you construct a frame to lay over the top of the pond with either a pond solor cover or poly carb sheeting to stop a lot of the heat escaping out the surface and lag the filter, construct it in a way so you can easy lift it off to view the fish. Although mine are in the summer house it still gets very cold in there and my heater was almost on constantly, since covering it with a solor cover the temp stays pretty stable and heater only comes on half the amount of time now.

Thanks Carl, yes it would make a big difference to heating costs,
but I want to see my Koi ALL the time, not just when I go out,
no matter where I am, I can see them at a glance through the glass doors whilst eating / watching tv etc etc
and the same with the Oriental style landscaping etc etc
A mate uses polycarbonate sheets over his pond and even puts one up between 2 posts as a wind break ....... BUT what a terrible sight it all looks,
I just can't see the point !
Koi is 12 months per year hobby to enjoy, I'd shoot myself before hiding 'em under covers etc !
Peter.