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Tue, Oct 20, 09 at 13:26
| I have decided to try something new this year and wanted to bounce my idea off the genuis here.
My pond is small-- hubby dug until he hit a tree root and stopped-- so its not deep enough to let my fish overwinter in it. Its probably only 15" at its deepest point, and our winters get waaaay too cold for me to run a heater. (I should add that this is a hobby, not an obsession for me, since it was supposed to be the dh's, and I took over to prevent the cest pool it was turning into) Last spring, I dug and retro fit a settling chamber off to the side... it works, but not exactly how I pictured. The darn thing plugs more often than I thought it would and most of my fish end up in it.... which sparked my idea. Somewhere around here I have Greg Bickle's cd where he made the light bulb cage to keep an open hole in the top of the ice. My pond isn't big enough for that idea, but I'm wondering if it would work for the settling chamber. I started with a 35 gallon plastic drum, and it holds about 20 gallons after taking a few inches off the top. Have any of you tried his light idea and do you think it would generate enough heat to keep 20 gallons of water ice free? Normally, I keep my fish in a kiddie pool in the basement.... I'd rather not have to do that anymore. Esp now that my daughter is starting to crawl. Any suggestions are appreciated. |
Follow-Up Postings:
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| I never tried the light bulb heater, but I've see plastic preformed ponds freeze solid. I think one of the factors that keeps my pond from greater freezing is that it is in the ground. As you dig deeper into the ground, the temperature gets warmer and the sides of the pond are somewhat insulated. A plastic container at ground level is exposed to cold temperatures on all sides. There is no insulating factor at all and no advantage of warmer temperatures below the ground surface. The size of the container is also a factor. I had 5 gallon water bottles freeze solid in my garage. |
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