Interesting idea. If you've done it in the past and it has worked without issue then makes sense to keep doing it until a less expensive way to heat comes along.
After a really harsh winter years back, we lost most of our fish. From then at the onset of winter we moved the fish to an insulated water tank complete with a small heater and air supply. Now with the fish out growing the tank we need to keep them in the pond. This year I installed solar panels and run 2x 60 l/m air pumps during the day run from solar. The pumps are indoors and the air temp at pump outlet is 20C. Then using foam insulated hose to the pond we keep the temp of the pond above ambient temp. The fluctuation of temp from day/night didn’t drop by much but that foam layer is a good idea to use also.
Your probably refering to December 2010. Many ponds had problems that year. But I think your plan would prevent the worst should we have another spell like that.
Hi Lee. I hope you are well. This video Proves my point. Now hopefully my Dad will take my knowledge and experience more serious so that he will let me do the same with his Pond that I restored and extended for him. Your video has just been given the #53rd big 👍 up! Thankyou very much Lee. I hope you have a great week. Stay safe and take care Sir. Much love and greetings from Glasgow. 👍😊❤️
I have had a koi and a turtle die from eating little bits of styrofoam floating in the pond to provide a turtle basking area (dead animal, stomach full of foam). I now do the same exact same as you in winter and a much smaller spot to provide some shade in summer and a basking spot for the turtles... but now my sheets of styrofoam are wrapped completely with one layer of fiberglass. Note - you will need to use epoxy not polyester resin with the foam... poly will melt it.
What a great idea! I think the price has gone through the roof since you installed your sheets. You mention £12 per 8ft x 4ft sheet @ 100mm thickness. I found prices of £36 upwards per sheet @ 75mm thickness at a well known DIY store. I’m not sure if these elevated prices will eventually drop, but thanks again. David
Brilliant video and a great money saver. Your videos are packed with information. You remind me of one of your previous videos about Zeolite and the ability to recharge it with a salt solution. Have you noticed that it works better after drying the zeolite after rinsing to remove salt?
Good idea but what about a combination of polystyrene and some polycarbonate on top to cover the open spaces. You would have light penetration through the polycarbonate and still have air circulation as long as the cover wasn't too tight fitting. Think I might have to make some alterations to my setup!
Yes that could work. We have drop down nets and solid wood roof as well. It's really does help us keep the heating bill down. We don't use a heat pump. It's an in-line heater 6kw so if it was uncovered and not making temperature the bill would be substantial. To me insulation is the way. The more the better.
Great vid again lee, and thats a brilliant idea, ive been struggling with trying to cover mine this year as when i made the pond bigger i didnt take into consideration the extra cost of the pollycarb, now the price has gone through the roof ive kind of give up on the idea of covers, i am 5ft 6inch deep but id still like to try to cover them, this idea is perfect and very cheap todo 👍🐟
Thank you. I think it's the perfect solution. Short of build a permanent structure over the whole pond. Polycarb is very expensive. It can't possibly be as good an insulator as this.
You can buy ammonium chloride. There are brands such as Dr Tim's that are marketed for maturing purposes. You should not be putting it into a system with fish. Why not mature the system with gradually increasing fish stock?
We have nets down so no wind. But a few bricks would sort that out. You can actually sit on the polystyrene. I was going to film that but it's so cold if I fell in I would have been freezing.
Great idea. No issues with them blowing off? Take it they wouldn't sink either in heavy rain for the people without a pergola? Might try this next year
Arent you concerned about fragments of the polysterene getting into the water? Isnt it very toxic? I always thought that if it came into contact with water it would leech into it
I had once read that fish get healthier after a cold winter and more immune to certain diseases. Can this be true? I never bothered with heating. But this I’ll try.
Stabilizing the pond temperature through winter is best for the fish. In a large natural lake the temperature would not fluctuate massively up and down through winter. Garden pond is up and down fish weakened. No point heating up to year round summer temperature.
Hi Lee really good video thank you for sharing it. I have read that the koi's imune system isn't good below 12c and are vulnerable to fighting off things, I have an ASHP set at 13c that fluctuates between 12.5 to 13.5c. My pond is covered with ploy carb but this is a great idea. Would you drop the temp to say 10c if you were in my position. Many thanks
The reason we are heating is to stop big swings in temperature. Big swings in temperature are not at all good for the fish. Maintaining the pond at 10c prevents big swings and it is not so high that it is likely to cost the earth to maintain it. There is some truth to what you are referring to but the benefits are small in my opinion when you consider the huge costs involved. If you want to keep your koi active and feeding heavily and growing then 10c is not going to be warm enough. Koi are slowly weakened over the average British winter, temperature up down fish don't no what day it is. By the end of winter they are worn out and often succumb to spring parasite outbreaks or bacterial problems.
Hi Lee. I recently installed a heat pump and currently it is off as I was looking for a way to cover/insulate the pond before I used it. This may be the trick! What temperature do you keep the fish at?
At 10c. We are not heating to raise the temperature up. We are doing it to stabilise the temperature. Stop the big swings and prevent dangerous low temperature. We use an in-line electric heater. It's not cheap to run but it's only on for brief intervals.
@@danielcook3048 just be careful with the temperature. If your going to be above about 15 I would make sure you keep plenty of movement and aeration going.
Lee I have several issues with this idea - 1. Polystyrene leaches toxins into the water 2. How can the ammonia/nitrite gas off if there is no air gap 3. Lack of U.K. and the koi will lose their colours, particularly beni (red) 4. Aluminium foil tape is toxic….guaranteed Im amazed you think this is a good idea
Also aquarium backgrounds are often manufactured from polystyrene. I am not sure about the sheets of kingspan etc they may have fire retardant etc in there so can't recommend them. But this plain simple polystyrene has given us do problem whatever.
@@leecalladine be careful about this comment Lee. It was Kingspan who made the cladding that caught fire at Grendfell. That’s why there has been some much commotion on Mercedes F1 cars being sponsored by Kingspan
Never tried that. I don't know if there is anything in it such as fire retardants that might be toxic. I only used the simple cheap polystyrene. My gut instinct is it be okay but I don't know.
For me this is madness, who knows what's leeching into the pond, and the aluminium tape edging is toxic for a start. It's all right saying "This is the method we have used successfully for many years without any issues", that's the type of thing smokers say, then they die of lung cancer. When some of my fish cost £1000 plus it's a chance I'm not willing to take, in fact even if my fish were freebies I wouldn't do it.
I understand your concerns. This is an unusual method and I also had resovations when we first tried this method. My main concern was always the oxygen levels. Low oxygen levels would definitely produce immediately damaging effect on the heath of the fish. I certainly would not be be happy restricting air flow in a pond where temperatures where high. The polystyrene material is the same as is used in aquarium backgrounds. They have been sold for this purpose for many years and the polystyrene is actually glued to the aquarium and is completely immersed in the tank. There is no apparent detrimental effects even when used in tanks with delicate tropical fish such as discuss. The aluminium tape is not essential we used it to re-enforce the edges of the sheets. I cannot imagine it could be so toxic that it would be a problem in thousands of gallons of pond water. As far as I am aware most people consume small quantities of aluminium without serous side effects. Is aluminium not used in food containers for instance. I am sure the benefits of a stable water temperature are real and the potential savings of good insulation is massive. Also the insulation is only on the pond for about 3 or 4 months and we are regularly changing water.
I started keeping Koi about.38 years ago and started doing this about 19 years ago and never had a problem
Interesting idea. If you've done it in the past and it has worked without issue then makes sense to keep doing it until a less expensive way to heat comes along.
After a really harsh winter years back, we lost most of our fish. From then at the onset of winter we moved the fish to an insulated water tank complete with a small heater and air supply. Now with the fish out growing the tank we need to keep them in the pond. This year I installed solar panels and run 2x 60 l/m air pumps during the day run from solar. The pumps are indoors and the air temp at pump outlet is 20C. Then using foam insulated hose to the pond we keep the temp of the pond above ambient temp. The fluctuation of temp from day/night didn’t drop by much but that foam layer is a good idea to use also.
Your probably refering to December 2010. Many ponds had problems that year. But I think your plan would prevent the worst should we have another spell like that.
Hi Lee.
I hope you are well.
This video Proves my point.
Now hopefully my Dad will take my knowledge and experience more serious so that he will let me do the same with his Pond that I restored and extended for him.
Your video has just been given the #53rd big 👍 up!
Thankyou very much Lee.
I hope you have a great week.
Stay safe and take care Sir.
Much love and greetings from Glasgow. 👍😊❤️
I use this as I get it free from work. The main thing is it’s best for maintaining a stable temperature. It’s the fluctuation that the koi dislike.
Definitely. But I reckon it can save us about 70 percent on our heating bill easily.
Love it, good video Lee. Well explained.
I have had a koi and a turtle die from eating little bits of styrofoam floating in the pond to provide a turtle basking area (dead animal, stomach full of foam). I now do the same exact same as you in winter and a much smaller spot to provide some shade in summer and a basking spot for the turtles... but now my sheets of styrofoam are wrapped completely with one layer of fiberglass. Note - you will need to use epoxy not polyester resin with the foam... poly will melt it.
sounds like a brilliant plan wrapping the insulation. could be an opportunity for some one to manufacture them.
What a great idea! I think the price has gone through the roof since you installed your sheets. You mention £12 per 8ft x 4ft sheet @ 100mm thickness. I found prices of £36 upwards per sheet @ 75mm thickness at a well known DIY store. I’m not sure if these elevated prices will eventually drop, but thanks again. David
Builders merchants. Purchased some last year in Nottingham. Frank keys.
Brilliant video and a great money saver. Your videos are packed with information. You remind me of one of your previous videos about Zeolite and the ability to recharge it with a salt solution. Have you noticed that it works better after drying the zeolite after rinsing to remove salt?
Good idea but what about a combination of polystyrene and some polycarbonate on top to cover the open spaces. You would have light penetration through the polycarbonate and still have air circulation as long as the cover wasn't too tight fitting. Think I might have to make some alterations to my setup!
Yes that could work. We have drop down nets and solid wood roof as well. It's really does help us keep the heating bill down. We don't use a heat pump. It's an in-line heater 6kw so if it was uncovered and not making temperature the bill would be substantial. To me insulation is the way. The more the better.
Great vid again lee, and thats a brilliant idea, ive been struggling with trying to cover mine this year as when i made the pond bigger i didnt take into consideration the extra cost of the pollycarb, now the price has gone through the roof ive kind of give up on the idea of covers, i am 5ft 6inch deep but id still like to try to cover them, this idea is perfect and very cheap todo 👍🐟
Thank you. I think it's the perfect solution. Short of build a permanent structure over the whole pond. Polycarb is very expensive. It can't possibly be as good an insulator as this.
Very interesting, Thank you Lee.
Hi Lee, I see what you mean now after we spoke at your shop 😉 😀
I am going to make some more videos soon. Finally got some time to make a few. I will definitely give your channel a mention.
Hi what's the ammonia called you use to keep your filter going in winter you used it in one of you videos before thanks
You can buy ammonium chloride. There are brands such as Dr Tim's that are marketed for maturing purposes. You should not be putting it into a system with fish. Why not mature the system with gradually increasing fish stock?
How to get office
clever idea..how does it work with aeration/bubbler. What if you get a strong wind..
We have nets down so no wind. But a few bricks would sort that out. You can actually sit on the polystyrene. I was going to film that but it's so cold if I fell in I would have been freezing.
@@leecalladine hahahahahaha
you didnt answer about air stones..do u run them with the polystyrene in place
Yes we have done that it doesn't present a problem. The air gets out the sides.
Great idea. No issues with them blowing off? Take it they wouldn't sink either in heavy rain for the people without a pergola? Might try this next year
We are netted. But you could put some bricks on them if blowing off was a problem.
Arent you concerned about fragments of the polysterene getting into the water? Isnt it very toxic? I always thought that if it came into contact with water it would leech into it
Not toxic
what about the air pump that will help with the oxygen, or do you turn it off during the winter ?
Yes running an air pump would certainly make sure there wasn't any low oxygen problem.
Do you turn air diffuser off when you put the Polystyrene on
I think it would be prudent to keep it running.
Especially if your raising it up into the higher temperatures.
I had once read that fish get healthier after a cold winter and more immune to certain diseases. Can this be true? I never bothered with heating. But this I’ll try.
Stabilizing the pond temperature through winter is best for the fish. In a large natural lake the temperature would not fluctuate massively up and down through winter. Garden pond is up and down fish weakened. No point heating up to year round summer temperature.
@@leecalladine lovely, thank you. I'll give it a go
Do you keep the filters running during winter months?
Yes. I should have shown them. They are also covered will the polystyrene. We were thinking about lagging the pipework too. But bit done that yet.
Keep the filter and pump running all year.
Hi Lee really good video thank you for sharing it. I have read that the koi's imune system isn't good below 12c and are vulnerable to fighting off things, I have an ASHP set at 13c that fluctuates between 12.5 to 13.5c. My pond is covered with ploy carb but this is a great idea. Would you drop the temp to say 10c if you were in my position. Many thanks
The reason we are heating is to stop big swings in temperature. Big swings in temperature are not at all good for the fish. Maintaining the pond at 10c prevents big swings and it is not so high that it is likely to cost the earth to maintain it. There is some truth to what you are referring to but the benefits are small in my opinion when you consider the huge costs involved. If you want to keep your koi active and feeding heavily and growing then 10c is not going to be warm enough. Koi are slowly weakened over the average British winter, temperature up down fish don't no what day it is. By the end of winter they are worn out and often succumb to spring parasite outbreaks or bacterial problems.
Hi Lee. I recently installed a heat pump and currently it is off as I was looking for a way to cover/insulate the pond before I used it. This may be the trick! What temperature do you keep the fish at?
At 10c. We are not heating to raise the temperature up. We are doing it to stabilise the temperature. Stop the big swings and prevent dangerous low temperature. We use an in-line electric heater. It's not cheap to run but it's only on for brief intervals.
@@leecalladine Thanks so much, I think I will do the same.
@@danielcook3048 just be careful with the temperature. If your going to be above about 15 I would make sure you keep plenty of movement and aeration going.
Could you use them on pond without a roof?
Absolutely. Yes. Just make sure they are weighted down with something so they don't get lifted by a strong wind.
@@leecalladine thank you Lee I was worried how the rain would effect them.
Salam dari KOI lovers Indonesia 🇮🇩😍
Lee I have several issues with this idea -
1. Polystyrene leaches toxins into the water
2. How can the ammonia/nitrite gas off if there is no air gap
3. Lack of U.K. and the koi will lose their colours, particularly beni (red)
4. Aluminium foil tape is toxic….guaranteed
Im amazed you think this is a good idea
This is the method we have used successfully for many years without any issues. The toxicity of the aluminium would be incredibly diluted.
Also aquarium backgrounds are often manufactured from polystyrene. I am not sure about the sheets of kingspan etc they may have fire retardant etc in there so can't recommend them. But this plain simple polystyrene has given us do problem whatever.
@@leecalladine be careful about this comment Lee. It was Kingspan who made the cladding that caught fire at Grendfell. That’s why there has been some much commotion on Mercedes F1 cars being sponsored by Kingspan
hi lee would celotex be safe to float on water
Never tried that. I don't know if there is anything in it such as fire retardants that might be toxic. I only used the simple cheap polystyrene. My gut instinct is it be okay but I don't know.
For me this is madness, who knows what's leeching into the pond, and the aluminium tape edging is toxic for a start. It's all right saying "This is the method we have used successfully for many years without any issues", that's the type of thing smokers say, then they die of lung cancer. When some of my fish cost £1000 plus it's a chance I'm not willing to take, in fact even if my fish were freebies I wouldn't do it.
I understand your concerns. This is an unusual method and I also had resovations when we first tried this method. My main concern was always the oxygen levels. Low oxygen levels would definitely produce immediately damaging effect on the heath of the fish. I certainly would not be be happy restricting air flow in a pond where temperatures where high. The polystyrene material is the same as is used in aquarium backgrounds. They have been sold for this purpose for many years and the polystyrene is actually glued to the aquarium and is completely immersed in the tank. There is no apparent detrimental effects even when used in tanks with delicate tropical fish such as discuss. The aluminium tape is not essential we used it to re-enforce the edges of the sheets. I cannot imagine it could be so toxic that it would be a problem in thousands of gallons of pond water. As far as I am aware most people consume small quantities of aluminium without serous side effects. Is aluminium not used in food containers for instance. I am sure the benefits of a stable water temperature are real and the potential savings of good insulation is massive. Also the insulation is only on the pond for about 3 or 4 months and we are regularly changing water.