What do I do if my fish pond freezes over? Morris County- New Jersey

The winter can pose a major problem for our fish ponds and fish friends in New Jersey. Numerous steps are taken to keep a hole in the ice for constant gas exchange during the winter months. Many pond owners use aerators and de-icers to keep a hole in the ice, but sometimes it can get so cold these holes can possibly close up. Aerators and de-icers may malfunction, too. There are some important steps to take to fix these problems.

Pond Aerator vs. Pond Deicer- Which one should you use? 

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Most importantly, DO NOT BANG ON THE ICE TO MAKE A HOLE! It is equivalent to putting a metal trash can over our heads and banging on the trash can.

If you are using a decier and an aerator to manage the hole in the ice, you don’t really need to do much. Periodically make sure the aerator is still functioning and there is no snow covering where the hole.  As long as the hole area is free from snow and the aerator is still functioning gases are being released along the sides of the pond. As the “arctic blast” retreats the deicer and aerator will burn another hole in the pond ice as the temperature warms up. (If you are using only an aerator we recommend adding a deicer as a back up, for the well being of your fish friends)

Pond Aerator vs. Pond Deicer- Which one should you use? 

If only a deicer is being used, you have a bit more work cut out for you. First, make sure the area near the deicer is free from snow and that the deicer is working (the deicers we use have a light on them indicating they are receiving power and heating). If the deicer is not working check your electrical source first. If your power source is on, the deicer probably needs to be replaced.
If you have determined the deicer is not working, you need to make a hole in the ice. We recommend two methods: the hot water method and the new deicer method.

Hot Water Method
The hot water method is a two step procedure:
Boil some hot water and start pouring it on the ice. (The thickness of the ice will determine how many times you need to do this.) Once you get a new hole in the ice, place a new deicer or aerator in the hole to continue the deicing.

​New De-icer Method
You can also purchase a deicer that can be put on top of the ice, plugged in, and it will melt a hole for you and then continue to de-ice the pond once it is submerged. Not all deicers can do this, so make sure the directions for the deicer say its capable of this..
The de-icing methods above will need to be used if your aerator to stops working. We recommend checking the hole in the ice at least once a week and be sure you remove any heavy snow from the top of the pond at the hole location. By taking these steps you will hopefully be able to prevent a problem before one occurs.

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