pond heaters..how much

[rossb]

Has anyone in calgary/edmonton tried to keep an outdoor pond from freezing? I was wondering if anyone has some tips...and maybe an estimate of how much it costs to power the trough heater??

[Canadian Man]

One idea that just poped into my head is.

Have a mag pump in the pond and have like 40 feet of tubing that goes into your house and back out to the pond. If the flow was slow enough it would pick up the heat from your house and transfer that to the pond.

Put some insulation foam around the tubing that goes from your house to the pond and from the pond to your house.

[rossb]

This is actually a good idea. I have given some thought to doing this, and wrapping it around an exhaust stack for a water heater.

I was also trying to figure how much electricity the trough heaters use to see if it iw worth doing this. They are 1.5 Kw heaters, but they only come on at about 34 degrees.

Maybe both would be a good idea.

[Buccaneer]

I have a trough heater for my pond Ross but I cannot tell you how much it costs to run ... works great though :cool:

Cheers

[Canadian Man]

I imagine any heater that is running through our winter would cost an arm and a leg to run. It would probably be on 24/7. I like my idea. More cheep :biggrin:

[rossb]

Steve, do you have the floating kind or the sit on the bottom kind? Did you notice much of an increase in power? Do you cover part of the pond?

[Buccaneer]

Hey Ross ... I really dont know about the power bill but it works well and it is the floating kind ... also the pond is not covered

Cheers

[Glampyre]

I use a 1250w floater. Last year I saw a $20 increase on the power bill over winter. I rarely plug in the car, so most of that would be from the heater. (My pond is 18' x 10' x 3.5', 7 koi between 6" - 18"). Making a spa cover for your pond will help cut that down as well. 2x4 frame with 1 1/2" compression board, 1/2" plywood and a good tarp works well.

How much water do you have? How deep is your pond? Less than 3' can be problematic for wintering fish around here. Also, fish under 6" generally don't carry enough body fat to make it through our extended winters without feeding. I keep a 300g holding tank in the garage for the little guys and usually feed them once a month over the winter.