Cover for Koi pond

[justcovers]

Hello, am writing from Melbourne Australia. Have had an enquiry from a person that owns Koi about putting a solar cover over their outdoor pond. Does anyone know if this is safe for the fish as I don't want to sell her a pond cover if it is going to be harmful to her fish? Thanks

[Gemini]

I would be surprised if it was needed.
Those of you in the icy parts of the world - what do you think? Melbourne probably sees few below freezing days in the year.
I think I would be more concerned with temperature fluctuations.

[justcovers]

Thanks so much for your quick reply, am interested as to what you mean by temperature fluctuations and what effects these have on the fish. I am not 100% sure whether the client wants to keep the fish covered the whole time or what. I just want to ensure that we can offer her the right product for her requirement or steer her in another direction. Would hate it if someone sold me something for my pets that would be harmful just so they could make a buck!

[Northernguy]

You cannot cover the whole pond.Gases must escape from the water.
Water movement on the surface would also be an issue.
Light is also needed for the vegitation.
Have you ever covered one?

[Gemini]

Fish do better with constants/slow changes. I would be worried about whether the solar cover would make it heat up to fast?
I wouldn't want my fish going through more than maybe a max of 4oC change a day. I dont' know how much a cover would influence it.
Also goldfish are cold water - some of the people on here keep them in ponds that nearly freeze. So I don't know if its necessary for someone in Melbourne.
Good on you though for not just going here sure I"ll sell you this. It is very nice to see a person concerned with the persons pets, not just making $$$.

[justcovers]

Thank you everyone, I am very impressed by the enthusiasm. The Koi enthusiast said that her fish are hibernating which she doesn't want them to do? I was concerned about the effects of the cover on the plants etc also. Is ther anyone out there that has coverd a pond and if so, with what? We have put a safety net on the pond as she had a pelican problem but not too sure about the warmth issue!

[Gemstone]

It is only natural that fish get more sluggish during the colder months of the year. If your client has khoi's, it would imply her pond is quite large and quite deep and the fish would migrate towards the warmer parts of the pond as they get warmer during the day ...meaning towards the surface during the day if there was sunlight to heat it, and deeper down at night as the water there would take longer to cool down. Is she is able to cover most of the pont at night, but would be willing to take most of the covers off during the day, I would rather suggest some other sort of heating device such as anundergravel heater...IF the pond's construction would support this, of course. THis would, however, substantially increase your client's heating bills. Other than that, I would suggest your client live with more sluggish fish in winter as that would be nature's normal course. Solar heating? Hmm...Not if it would cover the whole pond...as a means to generate heat to the pont...but maybe positioned next to the pond? Well maybe... But still...I would let it be.

[justcovers]

Thanks Gemstone. The type of cover I am talking about is the type of solar cover made for swimming pools, it's like an industrial strength bubble wrap which traps the heat from the sun under it. The temperature cannot be regulated and although they are not transparent, they still allow light into the water. You are right, the pond is very large but as I know basically nothing about fish and certainly didn't recommend this type of cover to her, I would like to be able to offer some advice on how she should use the cover if she does choose to use this as a heating method.

[scotty]

i live in indiana and my small pond 1100 gallons freezes over for about 2 months each year with no problems and fish do fine , just keep the water under the ice airated i just leave the waterfall running . looks cool wen it freezes hope this helps

[smaug]

Hello, am writing from Melbourne Australia. Have had an enquiry from a person that owns Koi about putting a solar cover over their outdoor pond. Does anyone know if this is safe for the fish as I don't want to sell her a pond cover if it is going to be harmful to her fish? Thanks
I dont know how solar covers work.If they come in contact with the water there could be issues with chemicals from the plastic leaching into the water which may or may not be a problem,2nd unless it gets very cold and your friend is concerned with freezing I dont think it nessasary at all.Even in climates where icing is a problem we simply use small heaters that keep an air exchange hole open to let noxious gases escape so respiration can continue.I have heard of people erecting small green houses over ponds in the winter to keep it ice free,it would be labor intensive but would work great.

[plantedlab]

I am familiar with the solar covers you are describing and to me it sounds like a seriously bad idea. The majority of the oxygen exchange happens at the surface. The plastic would certainly block the Oxygen, and as Northernguy mentioned, it would not allow de-gassing of numerous toxic compounds that can build up in the water.

I think that this would be a race between heat and low oxygen. I'm not sure which would kill the fish faster, but they are both 100% effective.

[smaug]

Thank you everyone, I am very impressed by the enthusiasm. The Koi enthusiast said that her fish are hibernating which she doesn't want them to do? I was concerned about the effects of the cover on the plants etc also. Is ther anyone out there that has coverd a pond and if so, with what? We have put a safety net on the pond as she had a pelican problem but not too sure about the warmth issue!
Koi do not go into a shut down mode till the water goes below 45 deg or so,I cant imagine its getting that cold there.

[bocrayfish]

you know it would probobly be best from what ive read to put the cover on the side just my $.o2