Ask-a-Dave's-Gardener: Does anyone use heaters for their ponds in the winter?, 1 by iseegreen

iseegreen wrote:
I live in central southern Indiana in zone 5. Zone 5 dips down almost to the Kentucky state line in the middle of Indiana\'s southern border so we usually get cold harsh winters. I\'ve had a koi pond, about 600 gal. and 26 inches at deepest point now for 6 years. I have never brought my fish inside for the winter. Don\'t know about Plecos but I have 4 large Koi and 2 gold fish. The pond freezes over for about 2 months, give or take, in winter. The small K & H De-Icer I use keeps about a 10 inch hole open for the needed gas exchange. Never say never, but I\'ve not lost a fish yet. I do reduce fish feeding in fall and when temps reach 50 - 55 degrees I stop feeding completely. About the last week of October or first week of November I shut down the pump. I sink a 12 inch diameter piece of plastic-like sewer pipe in deepest part of the pond about mid October and cut back all the plants. I\'ve had the pond covered with netting over a light weight metal frame now for about 2 weeks to protect it from falling leaves. It takes a few days for the fish to get use to the pipe but even before I shut down the pump the fish have slowed their movement and taken refuge in the pipe for the winter. So far this method has worked well for me. Once the heater is installed it would be nice to forget about the pond till spring but once it freezes over I\'m constantly checking to make sure the heater is working and all is well. Hey Molly Blooms, my map shows you are in zones 4 and 5 in Michigan with zone 6 below most of us here in southern Indiana.