Pond Heaters – Why Warm Your Pond In The Winter?

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Let’s admit one thing. Fish are hardy creatures and in a sense, they’re designed to tolerate a lot of extremes in weather conditions. The one thing they can’t handle is being frozen solid.

You might laugh a bit at that last statement, unless of course you’ve found your favorite koi or goldie in that unfortunate state of being.

The truth is, winter is an awfully harsh time for a lot of wildlife and if your pond is deep enough, say, 3 or 4 feet or deeper, in most cases, fish will winter below the ice just fine. But in many backyard ponds with less depth, having a pond heater in the water is the surest way to keep everyone in good shape.

Obviously you don’t want the pond to freeze solid from top to bottom, and in deeper ponds they usually won’t. It’s the shallower one’s that you have to watch out for.

Also what might even be more critical is keeping an area of water open on the surface. It doesn’t take much, but doing so will allow the exchange of gases leaving the pond, and oxygen coming in from above. A surface based, floating heater works well for this while a submerged, bottom dwelling heater will tend to keep more of the pond from icing up.

In this week’s video I’ll talk about one of the most affordable and useful little heaters we’ve found and you can use these in ponds, stock watering tanks, or anyplace where you want to keep the water from freezing up. It’s a great useful winter tool and works well with small aerators to keep your fish save from the deep freeze.

[youtube width=”425″ height=”355″]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hh8TEsSf6xQ[/youtube]

For more information on pond heaters and a zone map one which one might work best for your area visit our pond heater page. And just as a reminder we have additional fall pond care products listed here.

As always if you have other winter tips you’d like to share, please do so in the comments section below.

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8 thoughts on “Pond Heaters – Why Warm Your Pond In The Winter?”

  1. Mark, love your videos. You talk about cold water bacteria. When I started my pond 10 years ago, one of the things I thought would happen is that animals would be attracted to it. Things like frogs, ducks, and other critters. That hasn’t happened. I live in the suburbs of Chicago so maybe that was wishful thinking. However I have added some of your bacteria products and was wondering why don’t they stay in the pond…why do I need to keep adding more?
    Jim

  2. Hi Jim,
    That’s a very good question…thank you for asking. Bacteria is good to add every now and then just to keep the numbers up, but some ponds don’t need this if they get some good colonization in the pond body…or the bacteria can set up shop somewhere in the pond and build up numbers. This can happen in various places and I would compare it to what happens in the biofilter. If there are surfaces and areas like crevices where it can get into and not be too disburbed, it may colonize there and build up.

    If it’s not able to do this much, then supplementing is helpful to keep the counts up and of course good oxygen levels help increase the vitality too.

    If you have fish, the thing to watch for are things like ammonia or nitrites, both of which you don’t want at all in the pond (they’re toxic to fish) so if you see them, you know biologically that you’re probably lacking. If all remains well, then the bacteria either in the pond or in the filter, or both, are doing their job well.

    Hope this helps a bit.

    Mark

  3. I live in the Tampa Bay Florida area and have about a 200 gal pond that I heat when needed with a large aquarium heater since we don’t really freeze for long. I have enjoyed my pond so much more with your guidance and now I only have to skim leaves and rinse the biofilter ! Clear beautiful views of Red eared slider turtle, Myrtle (about 10″ long ! ) and the fishes! It is so clear I have added a submerged ceramic pot and birdfeeder for added interest !

  4. Hi Mark:
    Thanks so much for your wonderful videos,
    I’ve learned so much from you this past season.
    My big problem is, that where I live, southern calif, at the beach, we have extreme tempeture shifts during the winter. It will be hot and sunny, (80-90 deg) and then it will be back to normal, (60-75 deg), and I’m afraid that my fish will not do well because of this.
    I haven’t been though a winter yet with this pond set up. (250 2ft x 6 ft stock tank with double areation sources, and 2 filters, one small with flat box and fountain, one filter with very strong pump 250gph and a extended intake filter). so I’m not sure if all will be ok, I also have built a sun shade to put over my pond, because I have no natural shade around it. almost all my plants have died, like my water hycynths, and parrot leaf and some other kind, which I don’t know the name, my water lilies are still there, but will be going dormat shortly.
    I have 12 goldfish, from 3 inches to 8 inchs, a couple of minnows.
    Sorry to be so long,
    but my question is, should I be using a heater to keep the water a consistant temp, or just let everything be “natural”?
    Thanks again Mark for all your great information.
    take care
    Gwen
    Malibu, CA

  5. Zumadobie,

    Pending mark’s reply to you, my thoughts are:

    We’re in north of you in Pismo Beach with slightly cooler temps (highs of 75 this time of year, and lows down to 40). We have a 10,000 gal. pond with about 300 rosy minnows and 20 or so assorted carp from 3″ to 9″. Plus frogs, turtles, catfish and assorted bugs, snails and micro critters (that the fish eat).

    Our waterfall bio-filter is 3′ x 2′ x 2.5′ with a 7000 gph recirculating pump.

    No heaters are used. Current daytime water temps are 62 deg, and night time water temps are 57 deg. I suspect water temps will dip down to 40 or 45 by mid winter. No ice, so no heater required.

    -s2-

  6. Hi Gwen,
    I agree with what s2 has said. I understand your concerns about the wide temp swing you guys have there but as long as you don’t get really cold I’m pretty sure the fish will handle it fine. They’re wonderfully adaptable for the most part and who wouldn’t enjoy 70 degree days during the winter:)
    Mark

  7. I have had my pnd for two years now and have have a problem with alge both summers. I have tried several algecides,but the alge just keeps comming back.

    Can you recommend something that does not cost an arm and a leg, to control the alge?

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