Pond Cover

After reading several websites that suggested covering a pond and
keeping the filter running during the winter I decided to give it a go.
My first attempt has used bigbubble bubble wrap covering about 70% of
the pond area and insulating the filter. This has been a spectacular
success with the water temperature increasing from 7 to 10 Celsius over
1 week. However its a bit unsightly, doesn't look if it'll have much
longeviety and its difficult to check out whether the fish are enjoying
their warmer home.

My latest plan is to take two layers of Plexiglas and attach a couple of
inches of polystyrene to the edges to float the glazing off the water
allowing air exchange.
The alternatives seem to be a temporary greenhouse/polytunnel, or a wood
based construction.
The advantages of my idea seemed to be ease of construction, better
aesthetic and easiness of storage when not in use.
I am basically putting this idea on here for people to shoot the idea
down before I spend my hard earned cash on materials.
Peter

PS I should say that I live in the middle of the UK and the winters are
long but don't get very cold. In the 2 winter's I've had my pond has
had no more than half an inch of ice, however there is quite a bit of
wind chill which I think is what the bubblewrap cover has helped with.

"Peter Breed" wrote in message
...
After reading several websites that suggested covering a pond and keeping
the filter running during the winter I decided to give it a go. My first
attempt has used bigbubble bubble wrap covering about 70% of the pond area
and insulating the filter. This has been a spectacular success with the
water temperature increasing from 7 to 10 Celsius over 1 week. However its
a bit unsightly, doesn't look if it'll have much longeviety and its
difficult to check out whether the fish are enjoying their warmer home.

My latest plan is to take two layers of Plexiglas and attach a couple of
inches of polystyrene to the edges to float the glazing off the water
allowing air exchange.
The alternatives seem to be a temporary greenhouse/polytunnel, or a wood
based construction.
The advantages of my idea seemed to be ease of construction, better
aesthetic and easiness of storage when not in use.
I am basically putting this idea on here for people to shoot the idea down
before I spend my hard earned cash on materials.
Peter

PS I should say that I live in the middle of the UK and the winters are
long but don't get very cold. In the 2 winter's I've had my pond has had
no more than half an inch of ice, however there is quite a bit of wind
chill which I think is what the bubblewrap cover has helped with.

You don't say how big your pond is, so it's difficult to comment. Two years
ago I built an insulated wooden cover for my pond and put a small heater in
to keep the water above freezing. Everyone survived, but the cover was TOO
damn heavy. Last year the fish came in to a small stock pond with MH
lighting to keep the plants alive. This was also a success in that I had
lots (too many) Water Hyacinths early in the season and never had any String
Algae as a result. But it cost about $20 a month to run the lights and
condensation was an issue. I built a new cover this year using metal studs,
so it is much lighter than the old cover.

Next year I plan to dig the pond deeper so that I don't need a cover, except
for some kind of leaf cover in the fall.

Peter Breed wrote:
After reading several websites that suggested covering a pond and
keeping the filter running during the winter I decided to give it a
go. My first attempt has used bigbubble bubble wrap covering about
70% of the pond area and insulating the filter. This has been a
spectacular success with the water temperature increasing from 7 to
10 Celsius over 1 week. However its a bit unsightly, doesn't look if
it'll have much longeviety and its difficult to check out whether the
fish are enjoying their warmer home.

My latest plan is to take two layers of Plexiglas and attach a couple
of inches of polystyrene to the edges to float the glazing off the
water allowing air exchange.
The alternatives seem to be a temporary greenhouse/polytunnel, or a
wood based construction.
The advantages of my idea seemed to be ease of construction, better
aesthetic and easiness of storage when not in use.
I am basically putting this idea on here for people to shoot the idea
down before I spend my hard earned cash on materials.
Peter

PS I should say that I live in the middle of the UK and the winters
are long but don't get very cold. In the 2 winter's I've had my pond
has had no more than half an inch of ice, however there is quite a
bit of wind chill which I think is what the bubblewrap cover has
helped with.

I'm using big bubble wrap too, on a frame of plastic poles. First problem
has been the 'waterproof' tape I used to join sections, wasn't. Now, the
high winds we have had this weekend have partially destroyed the structure.
Gonna have a rethink.

--
ßôyþëtë
SE London, UK

Bill Stock wrote:
"Peter Breed" wrote in message
...
After reading several websites that suggested covering a pond and keeping
the filter running during the winter I decided to give it a go. My first
attempt has used bigbubble bubble wrap covering about 70% of the pond area
and insulating the filter. This has been a spectacular success with the
water temperature increasing from 7 to 10 Celsius over 1 week. However its
a bit unsightly, doesn't look if it'll have much longeviety and its
difficult to check out whether the fish are enjoying their warmer home.

My latest plan is to take two layers of Plexiglas and attach a couple of
inches of polystyrene to the edges to float the glazing off the water
allowing air exchange.
The alternatives seem to be a temporary greenhouse/polytunnel, or a wood
based construction.
The advantages of my idea seemed to be ease of construction, better
aesthetic and easiness of storage when not in use.
I am basically putting this idea on here for people to shoot the idea down
before I spend my hard earned cash on materials.
Peter

PS I should say that I live in the middle of the UK and the winters are
long but don't get very cold. In the 2 winter's I've had my pond has had
no more than half an inch of ice, however there is quite a bit of wind
chill which I think is what the bubblewrap cover has helped with.

You don't say how big your pond is, so it's difficult to comment. Two years
ago I built an insulated wooden cover for my pond and put a small heater in
to keep the water above freezing. Everyone survived, but the cover was TOO
damn heavy. Last year the fish came in to a small stock pond with MH
lighting to keep the plants alive. This was also a success in that I had
lots (too many) Water Hyacinths early in the season and never had any String
Algae as a result. But it cost about $20 a month to run the lights and
condensation was an issue. I built a new cover this year using metal studs,
so it is much lighter than the old cover.

Next year I plan to dig the pond deeper so that I don't need a cover, except
for some kind of leaf cover in the fall.
Hi Bill,
My pond is 2000L about 6ft long 4.5 wide and 4feet deep (3 feet
underground, 1 over). From what I read on various web pages the winter
to spring transition seems to go smoother if you keep the filter going
all winter. I've moved the pump and filter outlet to one corner of the
pond so there isn't too much water flow for the fish to struggle
against, but the water was still chilling, covering seems to have
reversed that trend. I guess removing most of the wind chill has allowed
the residual heat in the ground to take effect.
Peter

"Peter Breed" wrote in message
...

Hi Bill,
My pond is 2000L about 6ft long 4.5 wide and 4feet deep (3 feet
underground, 1 over). From what I read on various web pages the winter to
spring transition seems to go smoother if you keep the filter going all
winter. I've moved the pump and filter outlet to one corner of the pond so
there isn't too much water flow for the fish to struggle against, but the
water was still chilling, covering seems to have reversed that trend. I
guess removing most of the wind chill has allowed the residual heat in the
ground to take effect.
Peter

Mine is roughly 4*8, but with less than two feet of water. Keeping the
filter going is not an option here, too cold.

When I covered mine two years ago I never got any ice and the heater was
only 300 watts. So I expect keeping the wind off the water is a major
factor.

On Sun, 26 Nov 2006 21:30:12 -0000, "BoyPete"
wrote:

I'm using big bubble wrap too, on a frame of plastic poles. First problem
has been the 'waterproof' tape I used to join sections, wasn't. Now, the
high winds we have had this weekend have partially destroyed the structure.
Gonna have a rethink.

Compatibility of plastics is another thing to consider. I built a
small greenhouse with a uv-resistant greenhouse cover (Regular
construction grade only lasts one year.) type plastic and PVC, and the
PVC reacted with the cover plastic and ate through a double layer in
about 3 years. I didn't tape mine however, there was a treated wood
frame to hold the PVC and I stapled to it. That was strong enough to
endure a couple light windstorms, but the plastics ate one another.

Regards,

Hal

my pond in winter
http://weloveteaching.com/mypond/winters/winter.htm
it is very easy to do. but then it is a lean to type arrangement.
I vote for using pvc and plastic for a hoop house arrangement if your pond is open on
all sides. all you need is to drive aluminum tubing down into the ground on the
sides. it is easy to do this with a fence "thumper" and the round tubing comes out
lickety split easy in spring. the tubing should rise 2-3 feet up and slip the pvc
down over the tubing. the pvc may need to be joined to make them long enough.
against the tubing on the outside is 1 inch by 6-8 inch plank (I would use U flanges
to hold pipe to wood
throw the plastic up over the hoops, attach by stapling the plastic to the planks and
over the staples screw down some think slats of wood (holds better in the wind than
just staples). if there isnt a big snow load then there really isnt a lot of reason
for perlins on the sides.
if you want the hoop low over the pond, then drive the tubing in at an angle.
the plastic keeps the hoops down. the wood provides "bulk" to hold the whole thing
down. the plastic on the open ends can be pleated and weighted down or stapled down
to more wood.
as a simpler alternative for smaller more regular ponds, just use build a wood square
or rectangle (with hinges) and drill holes for the pvc to fit into. pick up and
carry the whole thing and set it down over the pond.
here is a picture I created showing this.
http://weloveteaching.com/mypond/hoophouse.jpg
Ingrid

Peter Breed wrote:
My first attempt has used bigbubble bubble wrap covering about 70% of
the pond area and insulating the filter. This has been a spectacular
success with the water temperature increasing from 7 to 10 Celsius over
1 week. However its a bit unsightly, doesn't look if it'll have much
longeviety and its difficult to check out whether the fish are enjoying
their warmer home.

The alternatives seem to be a temporary greenhouse/polytunnel, or a wood
based construction.
The advantages of my idea seemed to be ease of construction, better
aesthetic and easiness of storage when not in use.
I am basically putting this idea on here for people to shoot the idea
down before I spend my hard earned cash on materials.
Peter

PS I should say that I live in the middle of the UK and the winters are
long but don't get very cold. In the 2 winter's I've had my pond has
had no more than half an inch of ice, however there is quite a bit of
wind chill which I think is what the bubblewrap cover has helped with.



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List Manager: Puregold Goldfish List at
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sign up: http://groups.google.com/groups/dir?...s=Group+lookup
www.drsolo.com
Solve the problem, dont waste energy finding who's to blame
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I receive no compensation for running the Puregold list or Puregold website.
I do not run nor receive any money from the ads at the old Puregold site.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Zone 5 next to Lake Michigan

yes. the evaporation of warm water takes the heat of the pond. covering it keeps the
heat in the pond along with the water. altho I do have a 500 watt heater in my pond
to keep the temp above 50oF for most of the winter (I am zone 5, to -20oF below zero)
Ingrid

Peter Breed wrote:
covering seems to have
reversed that trend. I guess removing most of the wind chill has allowed
the residual heat in the ground to take effect.
Peter



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
List Manager: Puregold Goldfish List at
http://weloveteaching.com/puregold/
sign up: http://groups.google.com/groups/dir?...s=Group+lookup
www.drsolo.com
Solve the problem, dont waste energy finding who's to blame
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I receive no compensation for running the Puregold list or Puregold website.
I do not run nor receive any money from the ads at the old Puregold site.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Zone 5 next to Lake Michigan