My pond is about 1/8 acre 10 feet deep.I have been aerating for about a month with a 1/4 horse pump and dual diffuser. Before aeration the water was clear but there was a noticable thermocline and some algea issues. The algea has gone away and the water feels the same temp top to bottoms but there is alot of suspended matter in the water. If i rake out the beach which is 1/4 stone there is a fair layer of sediment that get stirred up. This sediment never get any better no matter how often I rake it. I have also been using microblift hc. Should I cut down from a 24/7 aeration schedule?

What is microblift hc ? If it's not some kind of bacterial treatment, I would think that lookin into some bacteria approach might be benefical. With a small body of water it should be fairly cheap to incorporate.

I and a fellow pond owner use bacteria regularly. I know that some folks do not think that it does any good but I will tell you my beach muck has totally cleared up and my water quality has greatly improved Aeration 24/7 seems to really help and keeps algae under control. Best year ever for our ponds. Some brands of bacteria work better for some people and not others.

Matt,

How are your diffusers mounted on the bottom?

I still say many are giving credit to adding bacteria, when most of the credit should go to the aeration that coverts an anerobic zone to an aerobic zone in conjunction with bacteria that is already in the pond. But that's my opinion and you know what they say about opinions.

My diffusers are set up on the deepest part of the pond. Micro lift is some kind of bacteria. The problem I am having appears to have started with aeration but not sure. The pond is only 2 years old so I don't think there is that much organic matter built up. I might try cutting aeration time down to see if that helps. I am very open to suggestions as I am new to pond maintenance. Thanks

Provide some details on your aeration system as far as diffuser type and what output the compressor is producing. It might be as simple a slowing it down or running it less (just depends)

There Is 2 vertex diffusers mounted to a single base unit. The pump is 1/4 horse brookwood 1/4 horse and it is running at 5 psi

Try running at night only and see if it appears better at sundown prior to startup. Also do the jar test and determine what is actually suspended in the water column. Take two samples in clear jars and let set for a week and observe if they settle, shake one and see how it appears by comparison to the other, This will take wind and aeration out of the equation.

There ya go Matt. TLF knows his stuff!

Sounds like overkill for a 1/8 acre pond to me.

Ted could you give me a little more info on how that test would work. I understand letting the sediment settle out but what will shaking one up do? I would think it would stir up the water again. I am very new to this so I think I might be missing something. Thank you for you response.

Shake one to represent the sample at the time you took it and compare to the other to see if and or how much it would settle in a zero circulation environment. If it stays suspended without circulation move on to exactly what it is and how to drop it out of the column. Do you have a stone apron or does the water meet soil at the shore line?

Stone apron around 75 percent. The soil is heavy clay really grey. When there is alot of people swimming the water will take on a grey color. I will try the glass jar method sound like a good idea. Thanks again

I agree with Cecil on this. That same system you have I could run in my 1 acre pond and you only have an 1/8th acre. I think you may be on the right track when you say you need to turn down your run time. Your turning that pond over and over and over and over and over!!! In 1 days time. When all you really need is a good turn over per day. She may be over doing it a bit dont you think guys?


RC

Thanks for the input. There must be a way to calculate how long it takes to turn it over. How many times should it turn over per day. Pond size in gallons / lift rate To give you hours of run time for 1 turn over. Does that sound right?

Yeah that's where the experts come in. I know from reading if memory serves me right your want to turn your pond over 1.5 to 2 times day. Don't quote me on that though. But yes there is a way to figure it out. Maybe Ted or Bill or someone here can better explain the calculation part of it. Or there may be something in the archives on it.

RC

If my pond is 200000 gallons and I am lifting 3000 gpm it would take a little over an hour to turn it over 1 time. Probably not that simple but that's what makes sense to me. Not sure how many time it should turn over per day.

Your math is very close but 1-2 lifts per day being a good number has to be achieved over several hours regardless as running it an hour would agree with the math but respiration would more than reverse that 1 hour. Lifting numbers are only part of the equation. In your case I would put it on a xmas tree timer ($15 at Lowes) and run it 6 hours at night to see if it settles. Since your pond is only 2 years old the o2 demand should not be great. Try this along with the jar test. Any chance the 25% with no stone apron has soil coming back into suspension at that area or is that a beach area? Also if your pond has only had aeration for a short period of time it is still "finding" itself as newly aerated ponds have a transition process to go thru..

Ok thanks I will try a timer. As For aeration I have been running 24/7 for 4-6 weeks. I am seeing small particles of sediment as well as black debris the 5 or so inches in size floating on top the will work their way out of the drain pipe. Those pieces are coming from the bottom I think. There is little to no soil entering the pond from the sides. How long might it take for a pond to find itself after starting aeration? Thanks for the help

Matt:

Was the installation instructions for the diffuser/weight box followed? Just wondering if somehow the diffuser/weight box got turned upside down during installation.

How many diffuser disks on the weight box? How deep is the diffuser in the pond?

I thought the same thing might be the case and haven't ruled it out. I filled the base with 1/4 pea stone and attached the weighted tubing and then lowered it with rope. The rope is still attached so I could pull it up and try again. I am not sure how I could verify proper installation. Is this the proper method or should I try another way? There are 2 diffusers and it is at 10 ft which is the deepest part of th pond. Thought I would mention 70 ft diameter round pond. Thanks for the info

Sounds about right. I loop the rope thru both holes and have the airline already attached to the cabinet. I have someone on shore hold the airline, I pull it tight and hold one end of the rope in each hand. Slowly lowering it down, keeping the botomline tubing tight (boat motor on keeping the boat pulling away from shore). When it's down on the bottom, I let go of one end of the rope and pull it thru the holes and out of the pond. I'll have a 1/4" nylon braided rope attached to the airstation and float a duck decoy for a marker.

Just to clarify what Ted said, the 2 diffusers should be lifting close to 3,200 gpm at that depth.

Ok thanks for the help. If you have any other thoughts or ideas I am open to suggestion. I am going to aerate for 6 hours in the evening and get a couple of samples and go from there.

If you'll look down on your 2 bubble columns and they are clear your station is upright, it is difficult to install them upside down. If it were upside down you would be pumping up massive mud by now and the boil would be very skewed. Post or send me a pic of this sediment and do that jar test.

Will do thanks to everyone for the help

Looks like I was able to post a pic. How ever it is in the photo gallery and it is upside down... Sorry. I went diving last night and was able to verify the diffuser is sitting properly in the bottom. I have cut back to 6 hours of aeration and the water is noticeably cleaner. I am still wondering what is in the water. It is very light and will float on the surface for some time. I have noticed a thin layer on the bottom of the pond that can be stirred up easily. I am guessing it is decaying organic matter but I am not sure how to tell. Probably have to send a sample out for testing. Looking for input/advice. Thanks

It may indeed by decaying organic matter but I'm not sure water testing will help as those are obviously not dissolved solids. Since everything settles out so fast the jar test shows that it could be mechanical agitation causing your turbidity.

Would it be helpful to get the diffuser off the bottom a little more?

BUMP

Send a private message to Ted Lea for a good answer.

Hi Ted:

When you have a few minutes, could you give us a run down of this process? I think it would informative and a benefit for all. Thank you.

Backstroke

I think it would. I think the deeper your diffuser is the stronger the current, no? I heard something like that, not from Ted but I would like to hear what Ted has to say about this.

Bumping.

Since bottom water is just that and has not been exposed to the surface temps it will now react with sunlight and warmer or (different) temperatures in general. Higher Ortho P levels and nitrate levels will now get diluted also. But having those higher levels in the lower depths (nutrient sink) with out sunlight and cooler water may keep them from contributing to growth of FA & plankton and making themselves available for uptake by bottom rooted plants. Lower water PH levels may be raised and higher surface ph levels lowered. Other than natural mixing ponds become layered/ stratified. When aerating or circulating a body of water has to find a new "normal" and see what will thrive and struggle in this new eco system. Current anerobic bacteria will now be replaced with aerobic bacteria and as the pond bottom comes alive it will take some time for a pond "to find itself" and establish that new norm. This can take weeks or months as all ponds and lakes can react differently to aeration either bottom diffused or surface aeration.

Matt, how is your water clarity doing?

My water quality is ok. My water supply is from my neighbors pond. I plan on using my well overflow and a ram pump to feed my pond for next year and eliminate my neighbors pond as part of the problem. I was out in the canoe today and can only see about 3 feet down. I have stopped aerating for the year because we are hoping to make some good ice up in the cold vermont winters. Thanks for all of the input as always i am open to thoughts or suggestions.