How about constructing your own evaporative cooling tower?
Some above-ground ponds may be over heating during Perth’s hot summer weather, particularly if there is not sufficient shade supplied.
High water temperatures can be very stressful for fish. Combine this with ectoparasitism and bacterial infection, no amount of medication would ever be the magic bullet cure unless you can address the issue of high water temperatures.
I discussed a case with Mr Chris Rout, my colleague at Boronia Aquarium, and he came up with an innovative solution – why not construct an evaporative water cooler out of polypipe? I wish I could have said that I thought of this on my own!
I hope my hand drawn picture below of his idea does him justice. This contraption would sit in the middle of the pond. A fan may be place on the side of the pond to blow air across the wet cloth (hessian bag or shade cloth) to improve its efficiency. Make sure the fan is secure and is situated well away from the water’s edge.
That’s a great idea Richmond, however would the evaporation rate be an issue? Would you run auto top ups, or just make sure not to leave this going for too long without topping up manually?
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Yes, evaporation can be an issue, so you’d have tap water running in to counteract the evaporation rate. An in-line chemical filter (usually activated charcoal) can be used to dechlorinate the top up water. But make sure that the hose is not running across hot pavement as this can cause the water to heat up prior to entering the pond (which will defeat the purpose).
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