What should you do if your pond surface freezes over?

If you live in colder climates, you may have seen the surface of a lake or other body of water freeze over. While ice skating may be fun, and a frozen lake is entirely natural, a frozen fish pond is dangerous.

Debris like trapped under the ice will continue to break down in the winter and release toxic chemicals into the water. If there is ice on the surface, it blocks the gases from escaping into the air, and the water becomes lethal. Lakes are usually large enough that it won’t stay frozen for long so that the gasses won’t reach deadly levels in time. But frozen fish ponds are much smaller, and the toxins will build up quickly.

One of the best ways to keep your fish happy and your pond from not freezing over is with a pond de-icer. Floating de-icers work by heating the surface of the water just enough so that ice won’t form. Keep in mind; they won’t increase the overall temperature in your pond; just clear enough ice to let toxic gasses escape.

What if your fish pond completely freezes solid because it is too shallow? In that case, a submersible de-icer is always your best bet.

Farm Innovators 1500 watt submergible pond de-icer is excellent if your pond is 18″ or shallower. It heats the water above so a hole won’t freeze over. The water underneath stays warm enough to allow the fish to hibernate, but also not freeze in the ice.

In other cases, people also combine a submersible de-icer with a pond air pump. The air pump helps dispel even more harmful gasses and is useful if you have a lot of organic debris stuck under the ice. Some air pumps also come with their own built-in de-icer.

This doesn’t answer your question? email us at faq@azponds.com