The O of
H2O or Pond Aeration Basics
You most likely know that your pond needs oxygen in the water but you
may not know how much and how to get it there.
 A
still pond is only able to exchange gases at the water surface. A still
pond will support only a very small fish population.
A pond not only needs to absorb oxygen from the air but it also needs
to release carbon dioxide and maybe hydrogen sulfide among other gases.
Hydrogen sulfide is produced by anaerobic (without oxygen) bacteria breaking
down organic matter in the bottom of the pond. The pond bottom has less
oxygen than the upper layers of the pond especially if you have stone
or gravel in the bottom of your pond. Anaerobic bacteria work in the absence
of oxygen and cause a septic condition in the bottom of the pond.
When you spray water through a fountain or when you run water through
a stream or over a waterfall you are increasing this surface that is exposed
to the atmosphere many times. Harmful gasses can be released to the atmosphere
and oxygen absorbed very easily.
You want to circulate the water in the deep part of the pond in order
to help with the break down of organic compounds therefore providing better
water quality. During warm weather draw water from the bottom of the pond
to expose it to the atmosphere. When you expose the bottom of the pond
to oxygen rich water you will have aerobic (uses oxygen) bacteria breaking
down the organics. This will reduce foul odors in the pond, which are
caused by anaerobic bacteria action. 
Since oxygen is absorbed only through the surface of water it is possible
to have too many plants in a pond. If the entire surface is covered with
water lilies or other surface plants very little gas exchange can take
place unless there is a large fountain or waterfall. (Blossom
Fountain Head at right.)
You may think that adding more underwater plants will add oxygen to the
water. While underwater plants will help add oxygen to the pond during
the daylight it will use up the available oxygen at night the same as
other life in the pond. As such it is possible to have too much anacharis
or other underwater plants in a pond. Underwater plants, such as anacharis,
are important to the pond but their function is to use up nutrients to
starve out the algae.
There is a limit to the number of fish that you can keep in a pond. When
you exceed this number you start having problems with water quality and
fish health.
The hotter the water the less oxygen it can hold. Therefore cold water
holds much more oxygen and coupled with the slow respiration of fish in
the wintertime you should not need additional aeration in the pond.
If your fish spend a lot of time at the surface sometimes gulping air
or you have noxious odors coming from your pond then you most likely do
not have enough circulation. What steps can you take to insure an ample
amount of oxygen in the water? We have already mentioned that it may be
necessary to remove plants and fish when these become excessive. If your
waterfall
or fountain
is not adding enough circulation then you may want to consider a larger
pump. You may also want to consider adding an additional fountain or waterfall.
By simply adding an aeration
pump you can greatly increase the gas exchange with the water.
In very hot weather a pump failure can lead to a fish kill very quickly.
By having a second pump running or an aeration pump you greatly decrease
the chance of having a major loss of fish. Even if you don't keep it in
operation, having a backup pump available in case your main pump fails
can save your fish. If your pump fails in hot weather you may only have
a few hours if your pond is heavily stocked with fish.
|
