Comments on: stop freezing water from cracking it's container?

By: rustynail

rustynail — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 03:23:25 +0000

For ponds it is wise to put in something which will move around in the wind but if it is very cold it may freeze anyway. The tank should not crack if the ice has room to expand upwards when it freezes. If it does freeze place a pot of hot water on top of the ice till it melts, don’t pour boiling water into the tank or you will kill the wildlife. You could also try protecting the tank with lagging jacket or straw packed tightly around it.

By: Sal*UK

Sal*UK — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 03:23:25 +0000

The ball thing certainly works in garden pools, but I’m not sure about glass containers.

By: ernie.e

ernie.e — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 03:23:25 +0000

Tennis ball, You are correct,More than one if possible.

By: c_biohazard14

c_biohazard14 — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 03:23:25 +0000

the reason they crack is because water expands when it freezes and becomes too big for the container. The solution is to start out with less water, ie. siphon off some water from the fish tanks so there will be more area for the water to expand into as it freezes. this should considerably reduce the risk of cracking.

By: red_sebring

red_sebring — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 03:23:25 +0000

Water expands when it freezes adn the glass will crack.The tennis ball is softer than glass,so it would abcsorb some of the pressure but would likely be insufficient to save the tanks.A lot will depend on how cold it can get at night in your area,several tennis balls might help if the water only freezes on the top inch,but if the tanks are exposed above the surface of the ground,it is unlikely that they will survive anything but an occasional light frost.

By: Isadora

Isadora — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 03:23:25 +0000

I don’t know about the tennis ball thing,never tried it, but I do know that I have had glass containers that inadvertently got left out in the winter, and with just an inch or so of water in them, the bottoms popped out when they froze, so the amount of water isn’t the question. If a container has sloping sides, there is less chance that it will break because the pressure of the freezing ice goes up and out, instead of to the sides. If there is any way to bring them in, I would do it rather than risk breaking them. If you don’t get anything other than mild freezes there probably won’t be a problem, but if water freezes pretty solid where you are, it could break them. Also kill the plants and wildlife in them.

By: Paul in San Diego

Paul in San Diego — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 03:23:25 +0000

Seems to me that freezing pond plants and other wildlife would kill them. I would say, if he has to keep that stuff outside, he should get plastic containers. Or, bring them inside so they won’t freeze.

By: Jon R

Jon R — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 03:23:25 +0000

Fish tanks are pretty delicate. If they freeze solid, I don’t think you can do anything to keep it from damaging the tank. I would try to prevent them from freezing. Either move them to a safe location or put a tank heater in them. If it is only going to be cold for a while, you could just cover them.

By: chill out

chill out — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 03:23:25 +0000

Don’t have the tanks too full so that when/if the water freezes it has room to expand. If there is no room the water when frozen has to go somewhere so will crack the tank. Is it possible to raise the tanks off the floor and put them on a wooden slat like an old wooden crate or something. Can you protect the tanks by wrapping them in a fleece that is used for garden plants in winter?

I think the safest bet though is to put them somewhere sheltered but raised off the ground and it is the ground that freezes first so this should help considerably.