Pond in South East England

[Dr Joe]

Do you know what the frost line is in your area? (how deep the ground freezes, you can find out where you would get building permits)... How long is -4 sustained? That's chilly.

If you have long periods of that kind of temp. 150g of water doesn't stand much of a chance

 

[Don4921]

u need to go bigger if u can then u can get koi and not have to worry about it freezin jus need a floating heater to prevent complete freeze over

 

[Joshy]

Sorry for reviving a long dead topic, but i only arrived at MFK recently.

I am from the SE UK as well, had a few small ponds in the past as little projects.
You should ensure the pond is at least 24 inches (2 ft) in depth, to avoid major risks of freezing. Anything shallower than that and you are playing with a knife edge.
However saying that, i over wintered a few comets in just 18 inches of water.

As for keeping some of the surface ice free, pop a few corks in the pond to delay freezing.
And if the pond's surface still freezes over, heat up a frying pan and then place it on the ice.

You would have made your decision long ago seeing the age of this topic lol, but may still come in handy etc.
Maybe you have some pictures if you went ahead with it?

 

[Nugget]

Hi all im in the southeast of the uk and i have fish in a non heated outdoor pond they are Koi Goldfish Carp Tench and they are all fine my pond 450 gal half in the ground and half out ill put some pics on as soon as i can