As most of you may know, Deaner passed away in Feb. Now I find myself in need of advice. At what temperature should I turn our aeraters on? We live in Southern Mississippi. I would really appreciate your help. Thanks, Ms. Deaner

Mitzi, what a pleasure hearing from you. I don't have an answer for you, an expert will certainly be along shortly, but I wanted to reply to express my great respect for the man I only briefly knew via this forum. It was an honor to speak to Paul and get to know him and he is dearly missed around here. We continue to pray for Shane and his family after Paul was generous enough to keep us updated on his progress. Thank you so much for keeping us in mind with this question and you're certainly welcome here anytime.

Thanks for posting Mrs. deaner. Praying for your continued healing. My pond is in Tylertown, so basically the same. Post amended to reflect one of the aeration gurus(Cary martin) suggestion that at surface temps of 52, start aeration as bacteria begin their processing of nutrients at that temp. and use O2 during this time.
I believe ya'll have a good many catfish which can handle lower dissolved oxygen. Unless you think you have a high density of them and/or a lot of larger ones.
Refresh us on the size and depth of pond if you can, and what species are in it. Maybe an early post of Mr. Deaner. It will be OK to turn it on when you start feeding a good bit.

I believe Deaner's pond is approximately 3 acres and 10 feet deep, from reading one of his earlier posts.

I thought that if a Pondmeister waited too long after the pond's turnover that the aeration system had to be gradually turned on?

esshup. turnover of stratified ponds in the southeast would normally occur in early fall, during cold, cloudy and/or rainy days. If the pond has been aerated during the summer, there should be no stratification. But, good call to always start off a system slowly, 1 hr 1st day, then 2, 3 4, up to however long you need to continue. Normally, from late evening til dawn will do the most good. Example from midnight til 6-7 AM.

Thanks for the help. Last spring, I felt we didn't get it turned on quick enough as Paul was having some problems and it was not top priority. We lost a lot of large cats. We are still overloaded with large cats but also have large bream and large mouth bass. I let the feed run out in January but filled both feeders again in mid February. They are feeding twice a day for now. Only about 2 seconds at a time.

burgerbeister:

Isn't there two turnovers per year; one in the Fall and again in the Spring? Or is that just for climates where the surface water gets below 39*F?

Aeration experts and others plse chime in to correct me if needed.

Yes. that probably was the case this year. I was told that my pond had ice on it a few wks. ago. I'm sure Mrs. Deaner experienced the same thing. I guess I just never consider spring turnover down south as being an issue, especially in smaller 10-12 ft deep ponds. The metabolism of the fish is very low and not much O2 needed. Thanks for adding that possibility as folks from all over the country read this. Our concern is usually keeping the fish from boiling in July and Aug.
I turn off my aerator when the fish quit feeding and turn it on when I ramp it up in late spring; not so much co-ordinating it with possible turnover, but with warmer water and added nutrition to keep all of the pond habitable and improve water quality.

Hello Ms. Deaner,

Burgermeister is right that natural circulation (turnover) occurs twice per year normally during spriing and fall. There may be other times that this occurs during rain and cold snap events but usually only twice per year.

We make a general recommendation that at 52 degree water temp is a good time to ramp up the system. This is when the bacterial communities begin to wake up and reproduce and work. When they do this, they begin to use oxygen.

Happy ponding and I will miss Mr. Deaner's post, so please keep visiting Pond Boss!

All the best, Cary

Welcome and we do miss Paul. I would expect that your water temps are now high enough to start the system. Burger is right about timing but because you have a history of high density fish and DO (oxygen) problems I would start early. With day temps in the 75-80 range like today and cold rains it is time to start the ramp-up process Burger described.

MS. Deaner so glad to hear from you. I say start up the system now. If you need any help feel free to call or email me greg@lakework.com I know we had helped Paul a few times along the way.

Thanks again, I sure hope I can take good care of his fish. I do believe he loved them more then some humans.