Frozen Minnows !!!

[huntervasili]

Hey everyone... as some of you may or may not know I have my minnow tank setup andYesterday I switched from the 15 gal tank to a 50 Gallon tank... Put it in the garage and of course with the cold temps we have had it froze over with a thin film of Ice... the problem lies though in the filter... It gets ice in it and will stop... As of now i added a little fish tank heater by the filter and have a heat lamp pointed at the filter and water areound it... Have to see what happens tonight... Have an of you had this problem? how did you fix it? Thanks for any help It is much appreciated.

 

Bill

[urbanangler1990]

u mean when u go fishing and need minnows u go to ur garage and grab some from ur tank?? wow, i gotta get me one of those...

[jjcanoe]

A heater will burn its self out pretty quick outside in the winter. A better bet would be to get a powerhead with a quickfilter on it. Check out Aquarium Services or Super Pet.

Just have to keep the water moving around the tank at a good clip and you should have no problems. An air pump would work when it's not so cold out but when those bubbles break the surface in cold weather like this they tend to freeze and ice things up. Ditch the exernal filter and get one that sits in the tank and moves water.

 

 

jjcanoe

[ch312]

the heater will work but you will likely need to get 1 or 2 of the ones that are about 12" long. the heater in my 30 gallon in the basement is on constantly and has been for 3 years or so. i dont see how it could burn out by being in cold temps.

 

what about getting some insulation and wrapping it around the filter?

[irishfield]

I used the same aquarium heater in my outdoor/back step water bowl for the dog for 10 years. It's still working just fine and was many years old before I even started using it. No reason for it to burn out even if it's on continuous. Cycling in an inside tank is probably tougher on it than constant on. As a matter of fact I've never had an aquarium heater burn out on me period in over 30 years. Have had a few that the thermostat arc'd closed and cooked the fish though...

[ChrisK]

I would go with a good size power head for the 50 gallon and go out and buy a submersable heater you can lay down on the bottom of the tank . The regular type hang on the side of the tank heater will do fine as well,I just prefer submersables....

[pikehunter]

Are your minnows in a glass tank? I'd also be wondering if the glass can withstand the expansion ice can cause and subsequently crack your tank.

[sirfish]

On one occasion a few years back had the same problem with water freeze in the tote I used in the garage. I wrapped the tote and then inserted an old waterbed heater down the side where the pump was. worked like a charm for a quick fix for sub zero temps. Perfect for cold snaps like this.

[kennyman]

I've had aquariums for years. Like Irishfield and others said,the heaters are reliable (except for sticking on ...oops).Ebo Jagers heaters seem to be the most reliable (alot of saltwater guys use them). There are also under tank heaters you can use or a heating pad if you can get the temp set right. That may work on your external filter. If you get the external off the ground (if it is) and wrap it like someone else suggested the heat fom it's own pump may keep it from freezing. Another suggestion, if nothing works,get a really small pole cut a 1" hole and go small scale ice fishing (just kidding it'll work).

[brifishrgy]

using a heater is fine ... my brother has a 100 gal in the garage with his pond fish in it ... he removed the top knob and turned the temp right down ... just enough to keep from freezing up but not runnin all out day and night ... you dont want the water too warn in the tank so the shock on the minnows would be kept to a minimum