Tetra Pond De-Icer, 300-watt

The deicer from Terrapins did well for two winters but did not make to its third year warranty. My electrician installed 2 twenty amp circuits for the pond and he said the heater was tripping the circuit. He demonstrated by plugging the deicer into the new outlet and it tripped. Then he plugged in his corded electric drill and it did not trip. He said the heater or its cord had a short. When I pulled it out of the pond I shook the head and it had water inside. How do I collect on the warranty?

So I put this in my small pond about 24 hours ago. The temperature outside is still in the mid 30s at night... And mid-40s and 50s during the day..so obviously, I put it in the pond a little prematurely, it however, raised the temperature of my 60 gallon water garden upwards of 85° F in 24 hours or less. Did not realize this until after dark tonight. I'm hoping that my fish are still alive after being exposed to such a huge temperature increase in such a short amount of time. I unplugged it and ran cold water from my hose to decrease the temperature down to about 70°. I will check on my fish in the morning during the daylight. I really hope they are alive. Given the reviews I keep reading So I put this in my small pond about 24 hours ago. The temperature outside is still in the mid 30s at night... And mid-40s and 50s during the day..so obviously, I put it in the pond a little prematurely, it however, raised the temperature of my 60 gallon water garden upwards of 85° F in 24 hours or less. Did not realize this until after dark tonight. I'm hoping that my fish are still alive after being exposed to such a huge temperature increase in such a short amount of time. I unplugged it and ran cold water from my hose to decrease the temperature down to about 70°. I will check on my fish in the morning during the daylight. I really hope they are alive. Given the reviews I keep reading tonight about this contraption, I'm wondering if it has a bad or highly inaccurate thermostat. Even the people that are ranting and raving about it for being a great product are uploading pictures of their ponds with 4ft or 5ft diameter holes of unfrozen water.... Product is only supposed to create 2-in diameter hole around itself... Meaning given the fact that this product is only about 6 in long and 4 or 5 in wide, people should not have anything bigger than a 10 inch diameter hole where ice does not form. I'm glad that chewy.com is sending me a new one without actually making me send back this one as I'm still probably going to use it in the same 60 gallon pond (that is only 2.5ft deep deep) and put it on a timer on the nights that it gets really cold and have it only turn on every 3 hours... for durations of 30 minutes to 1 hour along with the new one that hopefully works as it is supposed to.... As I was worried that I would need a submersible heater along with the replacement floating heater to keep the pond from freezing at the bottom. Just like I prematurely put this de-icer into the pond I prematurely gave this product three stars not knowing if the new one is going to have problems too. If I can change my review after the new product comes I will … more

I waited until spring to write a review. I bought in the fall & had running all winter long. This worked great for me. Live in zone 6, and never had a spec of ice form across the entire 5 foot pond. On warmer days I unplugged otherwise the temp would climb above 50F. My pond is 5Lx5Wx3D (feet). My goldfish and myself pleased with the purchase.

Here is a pic of my tiny water feature with this de-icer in it. Today it is +11 & this is barely fit to de-ice for my stray & feral felines to drink from. Pond is only 18" deep & approx. 5'x3'. I would not recommend. Expensive to run for what you get.

Have used a number of these over the years, to help "de-gas" the pond for the goldfish and mostly to keep at least a small area for my feral felines to drink from. However, they only last one year... no matter what brand you get.

Ordered two last November, one arrived DOA and was replaced by the wonderful people at Chewy. After using the two de-icers for one season, another one of them no longer works. When it works, the product does keep a hole in the ice open. (even in negative temperatures with a foot of snow on the pond) However, this product is not reliable and I wouldn't feel comfortable going on vacation and depending on this to keep the pond from icing over.

Worked fast my fish love it they constantly swim underneath it. Only 300watts so it doesn't use much energy like the other ones I found in store that use 1500watts. All the fish need!!

I am VERY pleased with this de-icer's performance. I ordered it and received it just in time before a polar vortex hit my area. My pond isn't large, but I am on a ridge top with no trees to help block any wind. For two, going on three days our temperatures have been below freezing and in the single digits even in the daytime with negative numbers for wind chills. The first super cold night the next morning my thermometer said 5 and not sure what the wind chill was besides COLD. The following morning my truck thermometer parked beside the pond said 1 degree but the wind had died down. This item kept my pond from freezing and my fish from dying. The 5 degree night with the windchill I had a little I am VERY pleased with this de-icer's performance. I ordered it and received it just in time before a polar vortex hit my area. My pond isn't large, but I am on a ridge top with no trees to help block any wind. For two, going on three days our temperatures have been below freezing and in the single digits even in the daytime with negative numbers for wind chills. The first super cold night the next morning my thermometer said 5 and not sure what the wind chill was besides COLD. The following morning my truck thermometer parked beside the pond said 1 degree but the wind had died down. This item kept my pond from freezing and my fish from dying. The 5 degree night with the windchill I had a little more ice around the edges and glazing but not bad. (photos included). The 1 degree morning with no wind I had even less ice. I would definitely recommend this de-icer especially if you have a small pond like mine. … more

This heater looks a bit odd but does a great job at keeping the pond from freezing. Even the fish enjoy gathering under it.

Worked great last winter. Apparently this product is only good for one season. Got it out last week and it no longer works. My fish are bummed :(