Pond Aeration
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Some of the more
common issues with backyard ponds and small ponds are simply the natural conditions
affecting water quality and nothing more. Ponds get older and begin to show signs
of that aging in similar ways that can be helped by aeration, circulation and
proper shorline control. Almost everyone with a pond, regardless of it is an existing
natural basin or a homemade pond that has been built with care on your property,
begins to notice from time to time that the pond starts to show signs of ill-health.
Foul odors,
like the stinky sulpher egg smell, sludge buildup and fish kills can be early
warning signs that the natural balance of the pond has been disrupted or requires
some maintenance. Often theses factors that cause such subtle degredation of the
eco-system are natural ones so don't beat yourself up thinking it's Karma coming
to get you, although sometimes Karma can enter into it!
If
the year is a very hot dry summer and the water level drops significantly changes
in the natural balance of the water garden or even koi pond will only become more
pronounced as time goes on unless concrete action is taken. On the other hand
a very wet season may flood the pond with very high levels of organic materials
and nutrients from the shoreline into the pond which can create decomposing materials
that consume high levels of the oxygen that the living system so heavily depends
on.
Unsightly pond scum and thick black bottom muck and
sludge can build up in the pond bottom and oxygen emitting aquatic plants can
be literally suffocated in dark murky waters which can lead to algae blooms which
disturb the pond's beauty and health. Any pond that is constantly filling up with
organic deposits and sediments will eventually suffer and most people think the
best solution is dredging or re-digging the pond to remove the muck the pond but
there are other more cost effective ways to reverse the process and restore the
pond or lake. Re-digging a pond, while it will immediately increases depth and
help with structural flaws in the pond, is often only a temporary solution as
these problematic sediments and thick offensive sludge are typically only a symptom
of a pond needing aeration and porper shorline revitalization. Adding an aeration
system to your pond or basin will resolve a number of discouraging problems.
Adding aeration
can be a fun project and many people like to go through the process of learning
how to build their own aeration system. Whether you want to have a do it yourself
style aireator or prefer a pre-built, turn-key system is up to you. It depends
on how much time you have to spare and what your budget is!
Simply put,
adding aeration to a pond, water-garden or even a natural lake is one of the best
methods to control algae and maintain clear waters and discourage the build-up
of bottom sediments.. It is extremely important never to overlook aeration when
building a new pond or when trying to restore one that is undergoing eutrophication
especially in small basins athat have a large organic load and that are typically
mucky at the bottom. The organic material can be grass clippings, so it is best
to leave a perimiter of natural thick vegetation and even aquatic plants to help
reduce erosion and prevent runoff laced with fertilizers from getting into the
water.
My experience has shown that in most cases that adding air diffusion
into the bottom levels of the pond is often the the best form of aeration. This
manner of aerating is basically the injection of air bubbles into the water to
supply oxygen as well to create water movement because as the small air bubbles
rise to the surface they create a movement that pulls oxygen deprived waters from
the depths up towards the surface where they can interact with the atmosphere
and achieve a high level of efficient oxygen transfer.
The water of
the pond is continuousely being turned over and circulated towards the the surface
by air diffuser plates, airstones, disc diffusers, or coarse bubble homemade diffusers
that some people build themselves. There are many ways to get the air into the
pond but the general rule is that the smaller the bubble the better the efficiency
of the system will be. Aeration can be done with electric air compressors or linear
pumps or by windmills or even solar aeration systems! There are many ways to achieve
the goal and the location of your pond will determine wether you want to use a
windmill for aeration, an electrical system, or a solar pump.
Whatever way you do it, take
the time to install the best system you can afford as seeing a pond with clear
water and happy fish and frogs is truly a joy and any fish lover knows that maintaining
fish, either trout, ass or koi, is a passion and now to be taken lightly!
Aeration, depending on your longitutde and latitude in the world
can be effective all year round or only during certain seasons but it is undoubtably
thekey ingredient in maintaining a healthy aquatic system. The benefits of using
an aeration system, especially when combined with applications of natural pond
bacteria that feeds on organic materials like leaves and fish waste, will return
your pond to vibrant health in no time at all!.
Building
an aeration system can be a snap especially if you have a pond store in your town
where experts can help choose the best system componants for you, althought looking
on the Internet for pond supplies is another fast way to get the information you
need. But be careful, there are many people trying to get pond owners to part
with their hard earned money with new fangled technologies like ultra-sonic algae
killers or complicated bubbler systems, when the fact is it is not rocket science!
The heart of any lake-bed, or bottom-mounted aeration system is often the
air compressor itself. There are a variety of compressors that are quiet, small,
energy efficient compressors that will pump a steady and constant flow of oxygen
to your bottom-mounted diffuser system. The depth of the pond where the diffusers
are located will determine the type of compressor you require. Shallow ponds less
than 9 feet deep can often be aerated with a small linear or diaphragm type of
pump that are usually fairly silent and real energy misers! If you have a deeper
pond, from 8 to 15 feet deep you may need to use a rotary vane compressor, although
the carbon vanes are known to require changing every 18 to 34 months. Piston compressors
can delivery up to 35 psi or more and are excellant for deep water aeration. While
piston compressors often do not have the high levels of CFM (cubic feet per minute)
of airflow as a rotary vane or linear pump, they make up for it in reliable strong
airflow.
Windmills
can also be used and in North America there are a few choices of windmill aeration
systems both in Canada and here in the United States and I have even seen some
real go-getters build a windmill aerator out of old cars and tractor parts, but
I wouldn't recommend it. The standard windmill like a Superior Windmill or Koenders
Windmill works by having a diaphragm compressor in the head of the windmill. As
wind turns the fans of the windmill compressed air is forced down the airline
into the airstone in the pond. No electricity is required and the simple technology
has worked extremely well for decades as farmners across the plains have attested
to. Aerating dugouts with a windmill is a popular practice in areas where there
is often no electrical source, plus there is only the initial cost and cosntruction
of the system to contend with and no ongoing maintenance fees.
Solar
systems can be built as well bu the DC compressors used in solar aerators deliver
fairly low levels of pressure and CFM. Solar direct systems are less expensive
and can be built by many people who want a homemade aeration system. Battery back-up
systems are more expensive but allow you to use large compressor like a small
rotary vane compressor which will increase your airflow and allow you to aerate
a larger area.
Whichever compresdsor you choose you will then need to
run an airline to your diffuser system (airstone, membrane disc, diffuser tubing)
and there are ways to save money here. Using weighted tubing or self-sinking airhose
is the fastest way because it will sink quickly on it's own but it can run over
$1.50 per foot or more! A cheaper way is to use standard airline, often 1/2"
or even 3/8" which does float but by zip tying some rebar or threading the
tubing through bricks you can run any length from the compressor to the diffuser
for under $100.
In order to determine the size of the compressor and
the number of diffusers you will need there are at least two critical factors
to consider and this is why it is often good to consult a pond expert before starting.
First you must know the true depth of your pond as this will determine the PSI
required from your compressor and when you look at the shape of the pond this
determines the number of diffusers you need which will determine the best CFM
you need from your compressor since most diffusers require at least .5 CFM for
operation. Thesis data helps you decide if you can get away with using a linear
air pump or need to go with one of the bad boys like a 1/2 HP piston compressor
or 1 3/4HP rotary vane. Making the wrong choice at this stage can mean burning
out a compressor and losing alot of time and money in the process!
If you are using a windmill
or a high pressure dual-piston compressor then the compressor can actually be
oplaced quite far from the pond, sometimes up to 900 feet or 1 km away although
as you can imagine this requires laying out some 3/4" airline which can be
a messy job if you need to bury your tubing. Better to try and get the system
as close to the pond as possible although I want you to understand that you can
go a long distance with the right tools and products.
A round pond like
a big bowl with a single deepest area and an equally proportional interior grade
may require only one diffuser placed at the deepest point. This will provide a
nice even circulation but the diffuser doesn't necessarily have to be in the center
so look at the entire pond as a whole because raising fish can add additional
points of concern when using aeration such as overheating the pond with aeration.
There are thermostat controls to automatically tun on aerators when temperatures
drop below a certain level, this helps prevent fish kills as trout are very susceptible
to warm temperatures.
An irregular shaped, often kidney shaped or bean
shaped, pond with more variations in depth and shoreline slope may involve the
installation of one or more diffusers but again, this is not always the case.
Balance the need for aeration by looking at the existing condition of the pond,
do you have algae, are fish dying? Sometimes even in a large pond we only add
a single aeration station...it all depends and there are no hard a fast rules
to go by...although pond stores will try and often sell their biggest aeration
package they can!
For more
information on pond aeration visit the following ten pond aeration websites. Please
note that we are not specifically endorsing any particular way of treating ponds
or any particular business. Due dilligence in all things!
1.
Pond aeration - Wikipedia en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pond_Aeration
2. The Role of Aeration in Pond Management edis.ifas.ufl.edu/FA021
3. Flash animation: Dugout Aeration www.agr.gc.ca/pfra/flash/dugout/en/dugout_e.htm
4. Canadianpond.ca - Pond aeration systems www.canadianpond.ca/homea.html
5. Low oxygen & pond aeration www.ca.uky.edu/wkrec/LowOxygenandPondAeration.htm
6. Quality Pond Aeration www.qualitypond.ca
7. Rittenhouse www.rittenhouse.ca
8. Lake aeration systems www.vertexwaterfeatures.com
9. Superior
Windmills for Pond Aeration www.superiorwindmill.com
10. Koenders Windmills for water aeration www.koenderswindmills.com
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