You will need the deicer. Probably not a bad idea to keep one in reserve. I had another deicer go on Christmas day and did not have a back up, although I had a second deicer in the pond. Because I had the second deicer in the pond, I really was not terribly worried about it, but it reminded me that I should have that back up.
Rental of a Bobcat for the day shouldn't be terribly expensive and I believe they are rather self explanatory in how to run them.
Do you have an area where you plan on putting your pond?
