Pond De-Icers

For people living in colder climates that have a garden or fish pond, they have to maintain the pond all the year round and especially in the winter months. Using a pond deicer is much more economical then using a water heater or any other method to keep the pond from freezing over during winters? A pond deicer is exactly what the name implies that it will melt the ice under it creating a hole in the ice that will allow the trapped gases in the pond to escape and aerate the water. There are basically two types of pond deicers one that floats on the water when the ice has melted the other which is both floating and submersible. That is once the deicer has it will sink in the pond and continue to operate heating up the pond. However one only needs to use the floating type of deicer as during winters all bacteria growth also stops or slows down. Also if there are fish in the pond they also go in to a hibernation state. During winters the oxygen level that is retained in the water is more then in summers and the fish move very little and require virtually no feeding. But one should not allow the pond to freeze completely over as there is bound to be trapped gases that will pollute the water so using a deicer is necessary. If the pond has different levels then place the deicer in the shallow side of the pond and if it is a big pond then one may need to use more then one deicer.

There are several pond deicers that one can purchase and consulting with a garden supplier or with other people who have ponds in the same area would be a good way of getting the right size of pond deicer. If the area does experience heavy snow storms and power outage then one can also get a UPS or a power generator to keep the deicer going.

Start using the deicer as soon as ice starts forming on the pond and don’t wait for it to get completely frozen. One should not delay deicing a fish pond especially if it’s not very deep as the fish may die if one delays in deicing it. It is not a good idea to run the aerator during winters as this may reduce the water temperature. If the ice gets too thick it is going to take longer for the deicer to melt the ice.

Using a floating deicer is a good idea as these can be left unattended and using a submersible one in a deep pond will just be a power waste. Laguna pond heater deicer is quite useful as it has an automatic temperature controlled switch which controls its operation. A Laguna pond heater deicer will turn on automatically when the temperature drops and will stop when the temperature rises. The minimum and maximum temperatures can be set on this device. Tetrapond deicers are also quite popular with people who have fish ponds especially koi fish ponds as they virtually supply everything for pond maintenance. Thermo pond deicers are also quite popular. What one really needs is a pond deicer that will not take up too much power do the job it is designed for and also be durable. A durable pond deicer is a primary requirement as a deicer which keeps malfunctioning or consumes too much power is more of a headache then a blessing. Rating pond deicers can be found on the internet for various makes and models of floating pond deicers but these are usually user ratings and can vary. Therefore it is best that one should consult the local garden suppliers or with other pond owners and learn from their experience before getting a deicer that is suitable for the pond. One needs to be quite confident about the deicer to get if they have a fish pond.