insulating a raised pond?

[Krista]

I have a raised pond that houses my hardy lilies and 5 goldies that I"ve had since '98. I used to store my hardies in the garage since the pond freezes and I suspect fairly solid, but the heater in my garage broke so that is not possible anymore. Also, the preform pond that I used to set up in the house for the fish is no longer doable.

So, here is my idea..

Drain the pond (it's 4 by 8 feet by 2.5 deep and made from landscaping ties). Install at least 1" foam insulation on all 4 sides and then make a 'lid' from a couple sheets of plywood that I also have the foam insulation board on. Then install a set of lights on the lid to form something like a Bickel... oh yeah, put the liner and water back in   Would this work you think?  I"m not wanting anything other than to keep it from freezing and i figure that there will be enough cracks to let any bad air escape.

Anything better?  I don't have a cold room at all as we have radiant floor heating throughout or I would just do that.

[MikeW]

This has long been a topic of interest to me too. Of course, I am hoping for 70F, so I have written it off as too complicated - and expensive.

Will be watching here for some ideas though.

Cheers,

Mike

[Desertponder]

How cold are your winters there?

You could certainly do the insulation but if you don't want to drain it ect. I would get a stock tank heater for it. The stock tank heater will keep it from freezing. You can stack some bales of straw or old hay around the perimeter to help insulate. You could also tent it with some clear plastic to help retain heat and gain some solar heat during the day.
I use the stock tank heaters in my above ground tanks, the lilies do just fine through the winter. Our coldest part of winter is usually December/January and low temps can be around zero or minus a few degrees.

[Timgod]

I don't have very cold winters but I have thought about covering my propagation pools with a clear plastic to retain heat so that the lilies won't go dormant. Most of my lilies bloom until January and then restart up at the beginning of March. However it is the large swings in temperature between Janauary and Febuary that cause me to lose some tropicals. They will start to go dormant. We will have a week of warm weather and they will put of new growth and then we will get a new cold front that puts some back into dormancy but kills some others.The question I have is this...

How does covering in a plastic to retain heat affect the plants; or goldfish I keep in there for insect control.

My concern is the exchange of gases. Does anyone know how much of an oxygen/carbon dioxide mix is necessary to keep everything alive. How often would I need to uncover them to make sure they don't suffocate... the plants more than the fish. If I have to uncover each day to retain a proper air mix wouldn't that negate the heat saving effects if I mix in colder air? Or are the fish able to put out enough carbon dioxide to provide for the plants.

I would appreciate feedback from anyone who has covered their ponds/pools to know if this was even an issue.

[Krista]

I didn't even think about hay.. I could do that on at least 2 sides and maybe 3..(fourth is butted up against the deck. I do need to put a new liner in there anyway and had planned to do it in the spring. So, it would be better to use plastic over top? instead of a plywood/insulation lid? I think I"m in zone 6a or maybe 6b back there. It's very sheltered so don't have to worry too much about cold winds.

[EagleEye]

In my opinion, with you being even north of me, with an above ground pond, insulated or not, it will freeze solid.
Sorry,
Steve

[Mikey]

I have no "cold" experience but my thoughts were the same as Steve's.  Without a source of constant heat, an insulated pond would tend to act like a cooler.  A cooler keeps hot things hot and cold things cold but without outside assistance, the heat or cold will eventually give way to the outside temperature.  A greenhouse effect would work on sunny winter days but come evening I should think the heat gained would quickly dissipate.

[Desertponder]

How does covering in a plastic to retain heat affect the plants; or goldfish I keep in there for insect control

Your climate is warmer than mine so I couldn't really tell you. Its going to depend on your water temps. Everything stays dormant for the winter here. Tropicals cannot be left outside.

I"m in zone 6a or maybe 6b back there.

You probably have winters pretty similar to mine. You don't have any fish in there? If not, you could still do a type of solid lid but I usually just use plastic over my lily tanks during the coldest part of winter to help retain some of the warmth from the stock tank heaters. I drape it over loosely so there is some venting for gas exchange. I also keep water moving in them with small pumps. I had two goldfish in the one tank that overwintered fine this way last winter. The tanks never freeze or even get any ice in them.

[Desertponder]

Without a source of constant heat, an insulated pond would tend to act like a cooler.  A cooler keeps hot things hot and cold things cold but without outside assistance, the heat or cold will eventually give way to the outside temperature.  A greenhouse effect would work on sunny winter days but come evening I should think the heat gained would quickly dissipate.

That's why I mentioned that I use stock tank heaters in mine. She may or may not need one. It just depends on how cold it gets, how protected the pond is by the house, whether it gets southern exposure during the day, water moving or not, etc. When we have a mild winter here, I can get away without using the stock tank heaters. The tanks may get a crust of ice on top during the night but it melts by mid morning. If we have a hard winter I have to use them or the tanks freeze too much and yeah, you lose plants.

[Krista]

Winters are getting more and more mild here... now an average winter we  stay right around freezing. A couple weeks of really cold  freezing but give or take 5 degrees on both sides. Amazing how much more i pay attention to the weather now...   And my yard is very sheltered with high fences around, lots of trees surrounding and in the yard and the pond is about 15 feet from the house. Too bad the vent from our air exchanger is so far away.

Well, I guess the only thing to do is try something and hope for the best.  Thanks everyone! You are great!

Maybe next year we will have moved.... yeah right