Water Garden Heaters and Deicers for Use in Fish Ponds

Does Your Fish Pond Freeze Over in Winter?

If the answer to this question is yes then it becomes important to maintain a hole in the ice so that toxic gases can escape.

Water freezes from the top down and it is normal that most ponds that freeze over do not completely solidify. Fish then sink to the bottom of the pond where the water temperature is about 4 degrees Centigrade (38 degrees Fahrenheit). The fish and other animal life in the pond continue to metabolize even though at a much reduced rate. This process along with the decaying process of solids on the pond bottom produces waste gases that need to be vented from the pond water.

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De-icers work by maintaining a hole in the ice. The wattage of the deicers available varies and typically a 1000 Watt water garden heater would maintain a hole in the ice except in the most extreme conditions. Some deicers come with thermostatically controlled devices that switch on when water temperatures drop below a certain point

Never break a hole in the ice by striking a blow since this will create enormous stress on the fish in the pond. A hole can be made by placing a pan full of hot water on the water garden or fish pond surface.

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