Hello all... been lurking and reading over the last few weeks. Great place I've found here for sure!
My wife and I purchased a new home in November with 2 ponds (between cincy and dayton in ohio). I'll briefly describe both, and our goals for each, and will appreciate any advice you pond guru's have!
Front Pond: 1/8 acre, not sure on depth yet
Current Status: Has lots of frogs, some fish (don't know what kind yet), occasional ducks passing through. Fills from groundwater from basement sump pump and runoff, overflows into the neighbors pond. Water looks pretty clear, a little bit of algae showed up after it iced over a few weeks ago. the ducks have been munching on that. No aerator exists here that i know of
Goals: Scenic only, but would like it to remain healthy. We'd like to eventually have a fountain with lights in it for visual effect only.
Rear Pond: 1/2 acre, not sure on depth yet.
Current Status: Lots of frogs, fish, snails, occasional ducks and a blue heron that hangs around from time to time. Fills from run off (20 acre sloping lot behind us), overflows into a little creek / treeline with underground culvert. our lot used to have the same creek but it was piped and flattened. Diffuser in the middle, (assuming bottom), no aerator pump currently.
Goals: Want to build a dock, be able to safely swim with kids and friends, keep fish stocked and healthy for fishing (mostly catch and release. may fry up a couple here and there). do a little lazy floating around or laps in a kayak.
I'm thinking my first step is to replace the aerator pump for the back pond. It has a diffuser in it, with air tube running underground (about 650 feet) to our pole barn where I'd like to install an aerator. I don't know when the previous aerator died, but I'd guess it's been a while. I did test the line with a regular air compressor, and bubbles come up no problem, to the line is clear and working.
I've looked at these eco inline aerators. I plan to the aerator inside our metal pole barn (no electric at pond) and use the existing air tube. We are on a tight budget now with having to fix and remodel and landscape, so we were hoping these aerators may work well for us? We want to to be quiet, and I'd put a timer on it if needed to run on a schedule (and I'm open to suggestions on that).
http://www.aquacave.com/Eco-Plus-Commercial-Aquarium-Air-Pumps-C1045.aspxSo my main questions at this point:
Will one of those Eco Plus aerators work, and what size would I need for 1/2 acre. Or will it be wise to determine depth before purchasing anything?
Is there a way to know if our pond is safe for swimming? What do we do to get it (or keep it) safe for swimming?
When should we begin aerating, and on what type of schedule?
Any time of treatment needed for regular pond maintenance?
Finally -- all suggestions must be Dog-safe as we have 2 dogs that stick their feet in and drink (neither will actually swim, even though they can) -- and neighbor dogs that poke around in the ponds as well.
Feel free to answer any questions I didn't ask as well
Thanks so much, we are excited about having ponds and learning about all this stuff!
Edit: One more question -- do we want turtles in our pond? Red Eared sliders are pretty common around here, but not sure how the survive winter?