# Mini Heated Pond



## DaveyG (30 Oct 2018)

I have been running a small (300 litre) mini-pond in my garden for about a year.
It is heated to cater for temperate fish (Rainbow Shiner, Red Shiner, Odessa Barbs, Golden Barbs and White Cloud Mountain Minnows).
It has a 4000 lph pump with an external filter to provide a high flow environment for the Shiners.
Planting includes aponogeton henkalianus, Anubias Barteri (nana), Java Fern, Java Moss, Hornwort and a couple of mini pond lilies.
I have included a few pictures of the plants, fish etc.


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## martin-green (30 Oct 2018)

Only asking, how are you heating it? and is the pond outside?


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## DaveyG (30 Oct 2018)

The pond is heated by 2 x Aqua Medic 300 watt titanium heaters via an Inkbird temperature controller. It’s outside and is constructed from sleepers with 25 mm of insulation on the sides and bottom. Filter and hoses are also insulated.
I also cover it with an insulated clear plastic sheet.
The pond is also monitored with a Seneye (which I originally purchased for the aquarium).
I have pictures of the construction process if anyone is interested.


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## J@mes (30 Oct 2018)

Always interested! Throw them up


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## Edvet (30 Oct 2018)

Yup pics


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## TBRO (30 Oct 2018)

Love the idea of a nature aquarium/pond! Do you get the fish breeding? 

What kind of temp does it maintain? 


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## DaveyG (30 Oct 2018)

A few pics of the construction phase of the mini-pond.
I also have some graphical output from the Seneye if anyone's interested.



 
Insulation fitted into wooden surround


 
Pond surround with channels for Pipework etc.


 
Liner and Pump fitted


 
Filter plumbed in prior to insulation


 
Water pump used during the summer for oxygenation and cooling


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## DaveyG (30 Oct 2018)

Temperature is set to 19.5 degrees with a 1.0 degree drop before heaters cut in.


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## DaveyG (31 Oct 2018)

Just to follow up on some of the questions :-
1) Breeding : I haven't seen any fry in the Pond so I am assuming if the fish have tried to breed they have been eaten. I use a small underwater camera to take a few minutes of video regularly. I tend to do this when I feed them so I can see if there are any problems with the fish. Haven't seen anything on the footage.
2) Temperature : Heating worked well over the winter months (see graph and Seneye output). Had more work to do over the summer period to try keeping the temperature from escalating. 
I used a combination of an insulated cover (at peak periods), the water feature (shown previously) and a DIY blower. This was used to blow cooler air under the cover across the water surface.
The warnings (red exclamations) on the Seneye are false positives for "out of water" caused by direct sunlight hitting the sensor.

Fig 1) Temperature Graph - produced from Seneye data



 

Fig 2) Latest Seneye readings showing heating cutting in during recent cold spell and pH 



 
Fig 3 ) Free Ammonia and Kelvin readings from Seneye for same period as above. 



 
Fig 4 ) Temperature / pH at end of May (note daily fluctuation of pH with temperature increase during the day). 



 

Fig 5) Temperature / pH reading in April (after the cold snap)


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## zozo (31 Oct 2018)

Lovely little project..   Tho i guess it aint cheap.. 

I wonder, what is the power consumption on the heaters during British winters. I guess that would almost be 24/7 about 600 watt in the coldest periods if you go sub zero. Quick calculation for my country would be 0.6 kwh x 24  = 14.4 Kwh / day x € 0.20 kwh makes +/- a € 90,- if it heats 1 month 24/7
No idea what the pound sterling price is per Kwh?

I would love to have such outdoor heated pond, i thought about it in the past, but the energy cost holds me back. Can't afford it..


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## DaveyG (31 Oct 2018)

I know that during the coldest period we had this year the heaters were on for 6 hours per day. At the current external temperatures heating will turn on twice a day for about an hour.


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## zozo (31 Oct 2018)

DaveyG said:


> I know that during the coldest period we had this year the heaters were on for 6 hours per day. At the current external temperatures heating will turn on twice a day for about an hour.


Quite positively surpised about that..  That's pretty doable.. Do you also monitor the min/max air temps outside the pond?


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## DaveyG (31 Oct 2018)

No, I just rely on local weather information via the phone etc.
I did intend to purchase a weather station but never did.
I must admit I never anticipated the extremes of temperature we experienced this year.


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## frederick thompson (8 Nov 2018)

DaveyG said:


> No, I just rely on local weather information via the phone etc.
> I did intend to purchase a weather station but never did.
> I must admit I never anticipated the extremes of temperature we experienced this year.


Have you thought about putting a frame around and over the pond
And run it like a green house.
Its the wind chill that you have to beat.
On my grow on QT. in my shed its all celotex around my 500 gallon tank
I run it on a a titanium heater at 22c.
And it runs pretty cheaply.
I like that you run a heater outside. 
I have just put my pond cover on this year. First time ever.
As i had 3 koi carp with hypothermia last year.
And don t want it to happen again
All the best with your pond
Fred


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## DaveyG (8 Nov 2018)

Good idea about the frame and cover. Unfortunately I have very little room around the structure to erect it.  I do keep the Pond covered with  clear plastic insulated sheeting (designed for conservatory roofs) which helps with the heat loss.
I must admit I though that the cold was going to be the issue, but, it wasn’t. Trying to disperse heat during the summer months proved difficult.
I am currently running the pond on 1 300W Titanium heater and that has no problem at maintaining the temperatures I require for the livestock (1.5 hours for a 1 C rise in temp). 
I will put some more graphs of temperature etc. up soon.


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## frederick thompson (9 Nov 2018)

Nice one davey. Good to hear your covering up. In cold weather.
In the summer like the one we have had. You need air in the pond mate.
That helps to keep temps down.
I run a ea air pump 90 on my main koi pond 24/7. At full throttle
And on my qt grow on. A ea air pump 70. I find this works.
To counter act the heat. And the fish need the air anyway.
My air runs from bottom of tank and pond upwards so it circulated the whole pond. Acts as a mover to clean the bottom floor as well.
And push crud to bottom drain. Then on to filters.
In winter when the pond is covered i leave a small gap to release the Co2
Gases.



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## DaveyG (19 Nov 2018)

I recently had a problem with 1 of the 300W heaters in the pond (or so I thought). Turns out it was the RCD playing up. I have however, decided to run on 1 heater at the moment which is working fine. Here are the Seneye readings for the last 24 hours. Looks as though 1 x 300W heater is coping well in the current cold snap.



 
Temperature / pH readings for the last 24 hours.



 
NH3 / NH4 readings for last 24 hours.


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## Oldguy (19 Nov 2018)

zozo said:


> No idea what the pound sterling price is per Kwh?


Nether do I, and I live in the UK. Depends on your supply company and tariffs and what deals you have. We have half price electricity called Economy 7, runs for seven hours over night. House and our lives run on timers Lol. Wife pays for electricity, I try and hide when the bill comes.


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## Oldguy (19 Nov 2018)

DaveyG said:


> mini-pond in my garden


Very interesting project. Thank you for sharing.


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## DaveyG (11 Feb 2019)

Here is the latest update for the pond.
I have attached a picture of a lily which produced a bud last week. I thought it would die off in the cold but it actually flowered.


 
Here are the latest temperature / pH and NH3 / NH4 readings form my Seneye. Last 72 hours.


 


 
Heating ( 600W total) is currently on for approximately 3 hours each day.


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## Tim Harrison (11 Feb 2019)

That is beautiful


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## DaveyG (13 Feb 2019)

Bit of Sun on the Pond today interesting to see that the heating has only been on for an hour in the last 24. pH tends to rise slightly as well.


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## DaveyG (1 Apr 2019)

I always thought that the pH level reduced when temperature rises. I get the opposite in the Pond. Wondering what other factors are involved. I’m thinking Sunlight and the increase in plant growth may contribute to my rise in pH with temperature increase. Any ideas ?


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## zozo (1 Apr 2019)

DaveyG said:


> I always thought that the pH level reduced when temperature rises. I get the opposite in the Pond. Wondering what other factors are involved. I’m thinking Sunlight and the increase in plant growth may contribute to my rise in pH with temperature increase. Any ideas ?



Yes its plant metabolisme, warmer and more light will encreasy CO² uptake during the light cycle. I don't have a heated pond but during the summer months in the sun, temps can rise drasticaly and i see plants pearl like mad. Pretty normal to measure 0.5 to 1 unit pH difference between night and day..

That's aslo why its common practice to always measure pH in the morning and in the later afternoon. To get an average pH profile.. Morning is lowest late afternoon is highest. It's in the CO² equilibrium.. Ofcourse mind warmer also gasses out more CO² and water takes less up from the atmosphere..


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## dw1305 (1 Apr 2019)

Hi all,





zozo said:


> Yes its plant metabolisme, warmer and more light will encreasy CO² uptake during the light cycle. I don't have a heated pond but during the summer months in the sun, temps can rise drasticaly and i see plants pearl like mad.





DaveyG said:


> I always thought that the pH level reduced when temperature rises. I get the opposite in the Pond.


Yes it isn't really the temperature, it is changes in the CO2/O2 ratio during photosynthesis when the sun is shining, and sun-shine also increases the temperature. Oxygen is a base (it is really O-H)  so when the sun shines CO2 is depleted (so you have less carbonic acid (H2CO3)) and oxygen levels rise, giving you a rise in pH.

There are some figures in <"TDS and ....">, and some actual measured values for a planted aquarium in <"maxing CO2 in low...">, where this graph came from




There is a slight difference in the <"solubility curves"> (with increasing temperature) for CO2 and O2, but don't think they are different enough for this to matter (but I don't actually know).

cheers Darrel


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## zozo (1 Apr 2019)

I experience most (sub) tropical plants prefer water temperature above 20°C before they start with any good growth. Bellow it they are more surviving than thriving. Thus i reconed, depending on plant sp. growing in the heated pond sun shine + higher temp also results in even higher plant metabolism and even more CO² depletion. 

For example in the winter i keep Hydrocleyes alive in the cellar, under 100 watt LED light but the water doesn't get warmer than 15°C. And it is indeed only surviving instead of growing. Comparing this with the same plant in a much warmer indoor tropical aqaurium with much less light grows faster and even flowers.


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## DaveyG (12 Mar 2021)

The pond has now been up and running for nearly four years. I have attached a few stills from a video I took yesterday. Plants are now growing more rapidly due to the increase in daylight. Have to start thinning them out. The fish seem to enjoy the environment though.


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## Maf 2500 (12 Mar 2021)

Looks great. I am surprised how effective the insulation is against heat loss in winter, like other posters I was expecting heating costs to be astronomical!

What is the current fish stock? Looks like different species in new photo's compared to original stocking mentioned in first post.


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## DaveyG (12 Mar 2021)

Originally there were Rainbow Shiner, Red Shiner and White Cloud Mountain Minnows, The Shiner are short lived and numbers gradually diminished. I think there are 2 or 3 left. There are still quite a few White Clouds remaining. 
I have a 270 litre aquarium which I converted to a Tanganyikan tank so I relocated some of the original inhabitants from there. These included Diamond Tetras, Pentazona Barbs and a Bristlenose.
Added some Golden Barbs and Odessa Barbs about 18 months ago. They are still going strong. 
I have recently added some livebearers Swordtails mainly and a few Endlers Guppies.
In terms of invertebrates there is a colony of Cherry Shrimp, Amano Shrimp and a few Nerites.
One thing I have noticed is the difference in behaviour of the fish in the pond in comparison to aquarium residents. They tend to be more ‘lively’ and aware of their environment than their indoor counterparts.
They seem to grow more rapidly and their colours are more intense.
Probably due to the extra live food (insects etc.) they have available to them.
I've attached a few more stills containing Barbs and a solitary Shiner.


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## DaveyG (1 Jun 2021)

Here’s a few pictures of the Pond inhabitants / plants I have taken recently. Plants are now starting to grow rapidly with the increase in daylight etc.


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## DaveyG (14 Jul 2021)

Few pictures of the Nymphaea Lotus flowering in the Pond.


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