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  1. #1

    Heating, is it worth it?

    Just installed a 17kw Thermotec for my 7500 gallon in greenhouse pond (thought it was 8000 gallons but had to salt, have sturgeon so can't use some treatments, and did the calculation on Mankey's site). Had the pond for years and coming out of winter I've always had issues, as I have this year. It's been cold for a long period and I just had to do it. Heater has been running for 4 days and I've gone from 14c to 17.5c. The difference in the koi with just that small increase is amazing. Active, feeding, no sulking, they've all suddenly come to life.
    It's going to be the best thing I've done I believe. I know not everyone has the means to heat, the pond is at my garden centre so the burden of cost is not directly on myself, I'm very lucky.
    What are peoples thoughts? If you can, I personally think it's worth every penny.



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  3. #2
    Extreme Koi Member Rank = Kyusai Pomster's Avatar
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    17kw Wow, that might cost a pretty penny. Gas would of been the better option.
    Not to read a newspaper makes you uninformed. But to read a newspaper makes you misinformed

  4. #3
    Quote Originally Posted by Pomster View Post
    17kw Wow, that might cost a pretty penny. Gas would of been the better option.

    Yes, it might have been but we don't have gas in this area. Gas would only be cheaper in winter. Pond is in a greenhouse that has semi tropical/house plants in, the lowest temp is 10c in winter to keep those plants alive, so that's a head start as far as heating the pond is concerned. Without heating the lowest the pond has ever been is 10.5c.

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    Senior Member Rank = Adult Champion Twhitenosugar's Avatar
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    Glad to hear it finally turned up and is now doing the job.

    I must admit I'm coming round to the idea of heating my pond. Just wish I had some solar panels to help off set the cost of running one.

    My current thinking is if I were to get an ASHP, I'd probably only heat to 13C over winter and only heat to 20-23C between June and October for the prime growing season.

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    13,000L fibreglassed raised pond with window

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  8. #5
    Senior Member Rank = Supreme Champion Ajm's Avatar
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    From experience now.. Heat if you can. But at the very least I feel a pond need a inline heater to iron out any fluctuations in temp and keep above that 4 danger zone. This winter I will he holding 6. The price of heating like that vs the price of restocking should something happen not to mention if you want to keep koi they have the right to be well looked after and their needs put before a couple quid a week electric bill.. Only my opinion

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    "we are water keepers first"

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  10. #6
    Senior Member Rank = Nanasai Big nige's Avatar
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    I'm pretty lucky to live right on South coast and the lowest my pond went to this winter was 8c well above the danger zone so for me personally I won't be heating my pond

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  12. #7
    Extreme Koi Member Rank = Hassai davec's Avatar
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    Well you should live here on north east coast it’s freezing bloody polar bears and penguins on my pond last few weeks wish my hearer would arrive


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  14. #8
    Quote Originally Posted by Big nige View Post
    I'm pretty lucky to live right on South coast and the lowest my pond went to this winter was 8c well above the danger zone so for me personally I won't be heating my pond

    Sent from my moto e6 play using Tapatalk
    But what happens when you get to 10c and the parasites are active but the kois immune system hasn't kicked in?
    For me it's not an option any more, and I'm probably in a different situation than most, but with the water temperature always being 10.5c in the winter because of the greenhouse being heated that's bang in the danger zone for parasites. I'd rather heat than put the koi through the trauma every year, too many koi sulking at the bottom until temps rise.
    I guess once temps rise you move through the danger zone fairly rapidly so it's not an issue.

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    Moderator Rank = Supreme Champion Feline's Avatar
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    glad to hear it’s working for you Mal.
    I have to say, if I couldn’t heat, I wouldn’t be buying any of the decent fish as I think I wouldn’t be able to do them justice.
    If you’re only buying cheap garden centre Israeli koi then it might not be economically worth it, but if you are buying a fish of decent parentage with good growth potential, not heating is throwing that fish in the bin IMO.

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  18. #10
    Quote Originally Posted by Feline View Post
    glad to hear it’s working for you Mal.
    I have to say, if I couldn’t heat, I wouldn’t be buying any of the decent fish as I think I wouldn’t be able to do them justice.
    If you’re only buying cheap garden centre Israeli koi then it might not be economically worth it, but if you are buying a fish of decent parentage with good growth potential, not heating is throwing that fish in the bin IMO.
    Completely agree. That's the other main reason for heating, after years of not buying fish and just keeping the pond ticking over through losing enthusiasm I'm right back into it and want to be able to do justice to the new fish I'm purchasing.

  19. #11
    Like AJM I took the decision to use heating purely to keep the water out of the infamous danger zone.
    Over many years, three of those years with my current pond, I have yet to have a serious problem with this minimalist heating regime.
    Obviously heating to optimal temp 24/7 would be nice in an ideal world, but I don't feel that I am not practising good animal husbandry with the current system.
    Luckily our fish are a decent size (smallest 60cm), so rapid growth not a priority and luckily they are Israeli budget specimens, with dubious parentage (and luckily they don't know that - at least, I haven't told them
    ).
    My DIY ponds from 1988 until present day.
    All can be found here:
    https://www.ukzero.com/pond.htm

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  21. #12
    Senior Member Rank = Rokusai Whitey79's Avatar
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    So heating wise what is the optimum temperature for a pond and what would be the benefits of heating to this temp

  22. #13
    Senior Member Rank = Jussai Spongebob's Avatar
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    I think historically heating hasnt been the first consideration. On a modern Koi pond Its a no brainer for me, the season is so short without heating, too much money spent on the hobby for too little reward, and the inevitable issues and losses. The extra money on heating is negligible and there is still huge misconceptions on the cost of heating with a ASHP v gas, average it out the ASHP wins easily. I cant get my head round how anyone would design a pond, spend many thousands of pounds and then not heat it . The fish we buy from Japan will surely never have experienced cold temperatures either.

    Not everyone can afford it of course, and I deliberately built a small pond so I could lol, but surely even a cheap electric heater is a must in most areas of the UK to keep a minimum now we are back to proper winters. Each to their own though, if you dont heat and havent had problems its working for you. I think after this winter though, those unheated may have some trouble in store over the coming weeks.

    Mine sitting at 23 this morning! Very happy koi! Growth at the moment is extraordinary.
    Fibreglassed/5000 gals/4.5 m Tunnel/Spindrifter/Twin drums/Bio chambers/Beads/Showers/Remora ASHP

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  24. #14
    Senior Member Rank = Jussai Spongebob's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Whitey79 View Post
    So heating wise what is the optimum temperature for a pond and what would be the benefits of heating to this temp
    So many opinions on temps! Benefits are simple for me, koi keeping 12 months. Think this year being a good example, its going to be June this year before unheated ponds see normal active Koi, 3-4 months later its Autumn again! That's a very very short season, for the amount ive invested in my pond, for me personally it wouldnt be worth it.
    Fibreglassed/5000 gals/4.5 m Tunnel/Spindrifter/Twin drums/Bio chambers/Beads/Showers/Remora ASHP

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  26. #15
    Never heated before, but after loosing a lovely fish and was about to lose another until I got some heat into the pond. I’ve seen the light, heat is a must imo


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  28. #16
    Senior Member Rank = Supreme Champion davethefish1's Avatar
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    heating to a minimum 15C in winter is worth it just to keep the filter bacteria alive,
    let alone the koi's immune system ticking over...

    the other benefit is heating in summer...
    my pond would struggle to stay much above 20C... even in july and august.
    and ideally i'd want the pond around 25C for at least 3 months for good growth...

    as for ASHP Vs GAS, lots of debate on that...
    the gap in prices between gas and electricity has been getting wider in the last 6 years...

    and will probably get bigger still due to increased demand for electric vehicles.
    the chancellor will want his petrol and diesel duty from somewhere when we all drive electric cars
    Last edited by davethefish1; 09-05-2021 at 09:53 PM.

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  30. #17
    Senior Member Rank = Adult Champion Gazkoi's Avatar
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    To heat or not to heat that is the question... the very question which is likely to divide most koi enthusiasts of all experience.

    To me..... heating constantly is not a necessity, however it certainly has both advantages and disadvantages...

    Advantages:

    The Koi immune system is strongly believed to remain ‘on’
    Less koi stress from temperature fluctuations
    Less ‘parking’ on the bottom, which can lead to sores and other issues
    Ability to feed at a higher rate all year round - leading to koi growth
    Beneficial bacteria remains in the filters assisting pond maturity
    Treatments / medications are more effective in warmer temperatures

    Disadvantages:

    Cost - heating water can be expensive
    Should the heater stop working mid-winter temperatures can plummet drastically leading to many Koi problems
    Koi do not ‘get a winter’ - which some believe is necessary
    Heating may lack ‘green’ credentials
    Koi can become reliant upon heat and less ‘hardy’

    Whilst I do heat my personal pond, I do not believe it is an all year round essential, however what I do believe is essential.... is having the capability to heat when needed and control the pond environment during times of severe koi stress and/or when treatments are required in order to maximise their efficacy.

    Cheers

    Gaz
    Hobby and business gone but when you’re hooked you’re hooked.

    Always happy to help!!

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  32. #18
    Senior Member Rank = Jussai Djstiles999's Avatar
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    If I could afford to heat in the winter I would, instead I’ll just aim to keep the water above 5/6. My previous pond was heated and I think the pros outweighs the cons personally

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  34. #19
    Senior Member Rank = Hassai Mike Bass's Avatar
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    I bought my 14kw Thermatec ASHP 2 weeks ago for the new pond but has paid for itself already when I suffered from a KH/ PH crash I was able to use on my non- heated pond to ease the remaining fish back from the stress of “summer” days & “winter” hours later. The constant 20 *C allowed me to bring back to stability, fish that had subsequent bacteria infections allowing me to treat & de-stress.
    1kGal BD/Skim RDF/UV/k1 2.3kGal 2windows 2airBD/skim Sieve/Eazypod RDFcombi+bakki 3xVP/UV,ASHP

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  36. #20
    Senior Member Rank = Mature Champion dbs's Avatar
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    I think I am going to have to make the plunge and get set up for heating this coming winter, it will be a bit of a task working where to add the kit in and and what size to go for but I hope it will be worth it, I am yet to finish landscaping around the pond so that I can finish the tiling, so another project on the list is adding to the timeline pressure

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