Pond Frequently Asked Questions
The answer is yes!! Oxygen is one if the major keys in keeping a pond clean and healthy. Ponds without aeration systems become stratified and a situation of little or no oxygen occurs at the bottom of the pond. This situation kills off bottom dwelling animals that help keep the pond clean.
Another reason that air is needed at the bottom of the pond is for decomposition. Over the years leaves and weeds gather at the bottom of the pond and turn into muck. Air speeds up this process of decomposition therefore having much less muck. Air in combination with beneficial bacteria can save a pond owner from having to dredge out a pond which is very expensive and messy.
An air diffuser systems are the best way to aerate ponds deeper than 6 feet. A compressor sits on shore and pumps air through tubing to the bottom of the pond were the air escapes out a manifold. For shallow ponds the aeration can come from a waterfall feature or in a linearization system. These processes puts air directly into the bottom of the pond and also creates an uplift effect forcing the bottom water to the top and hence pushing the top water to the bottom in a circular motion aerating the entire pond. When this occurs your pond will tend to be the same temperature throughout the pond. In most situations this is not a problem. However in spring fed ponds or at warm times of the year a pond could be warmed up too fast if the aeration system is installed and left running. We recommend running the system only at short intervals the first few days to slowly warm up the pond. This way your fish will not be harmed from a temperature shock.
After initial start up is done we recommend running the aerator 24 hours a day year around.
Keep in mind if you live in an area that ice forms on your pond running aeration will cause the pond to not freeze through and the pond will not be safe to walk on. If you like ice skating please turn of the aerator to allow the pond to properly freeze.