Why A Pond Aerator Is One Of The Best Pieces Of Your Pond

Find Out Why Other Pond Owners In Charlotte, North Carolina, And Surrounding Areas, Are Putting A Pond Aerator In Their Water Feature

 

In this post, you can find out what water feature owners need to know about aeration and circulation and if you need to worry about either of them for yours.

Why Does Your Pond Need Oxygen?

Your pond needs to have certain oxygen levels in its water to have a healthy ecosystem.

Fish, aquatic plants, and everything else in your water feature needs oxygen to live. Many of them get it when it mixes in with the water.

Ponds usually get it from the atmosphere or from phytoplankton photosynthesis. But, this may not be enough due to an overload of nutrients or stratification as time goes on.

Pond owners often use a pond aerator to prevent the following two events.

Too many nutrients

Your pond may also start getting too many nutrients for the amount of oxygen it gets. Then there isn’t enough to go around for everything to survive.

Pond stratification

Stratification is when the top layer of water gets all the air, and the bottom doesn’t. This happens because hot and cold water doesn’t mix, so no gasses make it to the bottom. This limits the amount in your water feature, which means the living organisms don’t get enough to breathe.

One of the best ways you can help prevent these from happening is by putting an aerator in your water feature.

What Is A Pond Aerator?

Pond aerators are devices that artificially add oxygen to water.

It aerates your pond by bringing water in contact with the air. You’ll place an aerator in the deeper basin of your pond. It’ll turn on and start bubbling or moving the deeper water towards the surface.

This is all part of the larger idea of water circulation. When your pond has good water circulation, it should get enough oxygen to support its ecosystem.

What Is Turnover, And How Can A Pond Aerator Help Prevent It?

Turnover is a natural event and can be either normal or terrible.

A turnover happens when the layers in a pond mix. This occurs naturally during fall when the surface temperature drops closer to the bottom layers’. You don’t have to worry about this kind of turnover.

It’s rapid turnover you need to worry about.

Rapid turnover

Rapid turnover can cause a fish kill because the oxygen levels thin out too quickly. You’ll want to watch out for this during the warmer months when stratification can happen. The likelihood heightens during storms, windy days, and cold rain.

4 ways you can help rapid turnover from happening

Before anything else, you need to have proper pond construction. You need to have the correct ratio of surface water to deep water. Broad, shallow ponds are better because most of the water is on the oxygen-rich surface.

Aside from that, here’s what you can do:

1. You won’t have to worry as much if you’re using a pond aerator! They use an air pump to force air through hoses to the bottom of your pond. This air then rises to the surface as oxygen-filled bubbles. They circulate the water and increase the oxygen levels.
2. Control your aquatic plants and weeds. You want to keep them from covering more than 20 percent of the water’s surface. They can slow circulation, oxygenation, and they remove oxygen.
3. Lower nutrients and algae growth. Both of these will lower the oxygen levels in your pond.
4. Mechanical circulation. Unlike a pond aerator, this device oxygenates the deeper water by moving it to the surface. This helps prevent stratification.

What To Know About Water Circulation Systems And Your Pond

How You Can Help With Water Circulation

You can add a waterfall (even if you already have one). They disrupt the water’s surface and some of the area below it and help move the water around.

Fountains can help a bit, too. They mostly move the water’s surface around, but you really want to move the deeper water so it gets oxygen.

Then, of course, you can add a pond aerator.

Can water circulation help control algae?

Water circulation helps prevent stagnant water, which is water that isn’t moving. Stagnant water is a great home for algae and mosquitoes. Circulation systems keep this from happening.

Water circulation also moves your pond water through filters, which help clean your water. This removes the nutrients algae feed on.

Benefits of water circulation systems and oxygenation

• Cleaner and clearer water
• Helps break down muck
• Keeps your pond from smelling bad
• Helps control algae blooms

Problems with circulation systems

They can increase shoreline erosion because the water is continuously wearing away at it faster. This is especially true for smaller ponds and if you put the device too close to the shore.

You may see a slight increase in your electricity bill, too. Installation may require adding an outlet closer to your feature.

How often should you run your pond aerator?

Your system should run all the time to keep your pond’s oxygen levels at the right amount. This will keep stratification from happening. You might trigger a turnover if you turn it off for a while and then back on.

Water Circulation Is A Top Priority

A water circulation system is the best way to ensure you enjoy your pond to the fullest. It’ll help your pond have a healthy and thriving ecosystem.

You can contact us about maintaining your pond so you can always love it. Or, you can check out our pond maintenance page for more information.