Designed specifically for heating koi ponds

     Koi can survive in very cold water, but it doesn’t mean they like it. This is obvious by their lying still in one position on the pond bottom for days on end, hardly showing interest in anything. Since they are not eating through much of this period they can consume a lot of their own body weight. These things can present a challenge in the spring as the water warms up.

     However- Heating your pond can relieve a lot of stress from your koi during the cold winter months.

     When the water temperature reaches approximately 52 degrees, any parasites and bacteria that might be in the pond will start to become active. Unfortunately a koi’s immune system doesn’t become active until the water temperature reaches approximately 58 degrees. This means that while the pond water temperature is between 52 degrees and 58 degrees, the koi are not only weakened by not eating for much of the winter but are also somewhat defenseless. Add to the fact that this can sometimes last for several weeks. Some koi keepers often refer to this time as “aeromonas alley”. This is because aeromonas (a common flesh eating bacteria that affects koi) can sometimes infect your koi without much resistance on the part of the koi during this period.

     Additionally, if one of your koi does gets sick during the winter it can be hard to effectively treat the koi while they are in cold water. A small heated sick tank has its benefits, but what do you do if your whole collection gets sick and your sick tank is not big enough to hold them all? 

     With your entire pond heated both you and your koi are able to avoid all these potential problems.

 Heating your pond can also take a lot of stress off of you. With a heater you are in control of the pond rather than the pond controlling you for the following reasons: 

    (1) It saves you  the work of winterizing your pond in very cold areas since you shouldn’t have to worry about pipes or equipment freezing as long as the system is running. 

    (2) You have the comfort of knowing your koi are not being severely stressed by extremely cold water.

   (3) You know you can take care of your koi if any get sick. 

   (4) You have the confidence that spring time will not be an issue for your koi. 

   (5) You get to enjoy your koi throughout winter as you feed them and watch them grow.

By balancing your heating desires with how much it costs to heat your pond you should be able to settle on a heating program that, fits the needs of both you and your koi. Giving you full control over your heating costs. 

The following are some examples of how you might use your pond heater.

     You can just set the heater to maintain a minimum temperature all year long and then don’t touch it. This means that in the fall as the water temperature drops below that set minimum temperature the heater will automatically come on and prevent your pond from ever dropping below your set temperature. In the spring as the outside temperature increases enough to cause the pond water temperature to rise above that set temperature, the heater will simply shut off for the summer. 

    If you choose to operate your heater this way, the temperature you choose is important. If you set the pond temperature at 68 degrees your koi will love you. They will continue to keep extremely active and eat like pigs all winter long. If you set your pond temperature at 62 degrees your koi will still be happy but will not be as active. This lower temperature could save you at least 25% on your pond heating bill.  

    You could set the heater to maintain a minimum pond temperature of 50 degrees during the winter. This will allow the koi to go dormant. They will stop eating but continue to swim around. Chances are that they will not be particularly pleased with you but they can usually survive well at 50 degrees. Then, in the spring as the water temperature naturally rises to about 55 degrees, you can use the heater to gently, over a two day period, raise the pond temperature up to 65 degrees. This will allow you and your koi to avoid, “aeromonas alley”, the period where the parasites and bacteria become active while your koi’s immune system is not. This is probably the most economical way to use your heater while still providing a great benefit to your koi.

     You could just use your heater as an emergency tool. This means that you might go through the whole winter without using the heater once. But, if you did experience a health issue with one or all of your koi you have the ability to gently warm up the pond water to a temperature sufficient to treat the problem. Additionally, if your koi were to ever come in contact with KHV, you have the option to raise the pond temperature to 86 degrees. At this time this is the only hope of stopping the virus from quickly killing all your koi. Note: You never want to raise the pond water temperature more than 5 degrees a day or lower it more than 3 degrees a day. Sick koi respond to treatment very well at water temperatures between 65 and 72 degrees. It is important to  remember that as you increase the water temperature to stimulate your koi’s immune system you are also stimulating the reproduction of any parasites or bacteria in the pond. Therefore, any scheduled parasite treatment should be started as soon as possible.

There are some important things to consider in selecting a heater:

Efficiency
The efficiency of a heater can be a make or break issue for heating your pond. If the heater is so inefficient that you can’t afford to operate it, you have wasted your money. Make sure the efficiency rating is as high as possible. 

Dependability
The heater needs to be extremely dependable. An important part of heating a koi pond is to reduce the stress on your koi. If the heater stops heating for some reason and suddenly the water temperature starts dropping, this can be extremely stressful to your koi. A 20 degree drop in temperature over a few days can be life threatening to a koi. Gas heaters seem to have an advantage over electric heaters, not only because gas in general is cheaper than electricity but also because a constant gas supply is seldom a problem. 

No copper

Copper is toxic to koi. At high levels copper can kill koi but even at low levels it has been proven to greatly lower their immune system making them more susceptible to getting sick. Many swimming pool heaters use copper for their heat exchangers because copper transfers heat exceptionally well. Additionally, copper is especially problematic with heaters on koi ponds because of one major reason. As copper is heated to high temperatures, it sheds copper into the water much faster than a standard copper pipe used in your house would.

The ability to maintain an accurate temperature
Look for a heater that will maintain the temperature within a couple of degrees. Some heaters are only capable of maintaining the water temperature within a 5 degrees range.  For example, a heater might increase the pond water temperature up to say 62 degrees, and then shut off. It will not come back on until the temperature drops below 57 degrees. This temperature roller coaster can be very stressful to koi on a daily basis.

 The new Advantage Koi Pond Heater meets ALL the requirements discussed here and more. 

If you are someone who really enjoys the whole  koi experience, heating your pond may be just the right pond improvement you have been looking for. Heating your pond can greatly increase the amount of time, through out the year, that you will have to enjoy your koi while greatly reduce the time you spend worrying about them. The confidence you get by knowing you have so much more control over your pond plus the way a heater can simplify caring for your pond over the winter can have a profound effect on your whole koi keeping experience.