Pond Boss Forums AERATION Should I aerate? Aerate, Microbes (Muck Away, etc) or both??

Hello!

We measured our pond today with iareacalc on our iphone. Pretty cool little app. Then we lowered a brick at the end of a rope into the water right off the dock. What we came up with is .83 acre in size and about 8 feet deep right off the dock. Here is a link to the google map of our property and pond.

https://maps.google.com/maps?client=safari&oe=UTF-8&q=1806+middle+sound+loop+rd&ie=UTF-8&hq=&hnear=0x89a98d3b1522edd1:0x5db309ef990e64e9,1806+Middle+Sound+Loop+Rd,+Wilmington,+NC+28411&gl=us&ei=jjUyUvacMub_4AOf_4HgBw&ved=0CCsQ8gEwAA

It never has had algae on it, the surface has always been nice and clean. The water is of course tea colored from the trees, but they are old and beautiful and they are staying. I went out today to pull up some muck and see what it looks like and some of it smelled awful, yet when we swim and keep to the surface, the water smells fine. No one has done anything to this pond in the last 10 years as it was purchased as a flipper by an investor. He lost it to us, and we've been here since May. I would like to turn this pond into a beautiful swimming pond and keep the fish that are already in it. LMB and BG and minnows. So should we aerate it? Windmill? Electric? or just treat it with some sort of Clean Flo, or Muck Away type of product? Anyone have some recommendations? Thank you!!

Belinda

Forgive me if I'm stating the obvious, but the smell associated with the muck is hydrogen sulfide gas produced by anaerobic bacteria. So aeration will help that somewhat. It will also help your fish considerably. If you combine aeration with a bacteria product you can break down that muck faster than it normally would on its own. Now that being said, this may or may not cause algae to begin growing. As you break down that muck into products like nitrogenous wastes and change your water chemestry it will also make the bottom more inviting for algae growth. So, although your pond would become a healthier environment, new problems will start arising and those will need to be dealt with. Now how you aerate depends on what you want accomplished.

I am in nearly the same situation except we don't swim in our pond (leeches). I would like to swim in it though. We are considering aeration to reduce muck. I was not aware that might promote algae. Hmmmm, now I am confused!

I am also confused. I was under the assumption bacteria helps to starve out the algae. I better do more reading.

An anaerobic layer at the bottom of a pond will promote hydrogen sulfide producing bacteria. Hydrogen sulfide can dissolve somewhat in water dropping your pH and potentially keeping much of anything from growing in the areas that has little or no water turnover. By aerating, you are turning the water column over and allowing for oxigenation of the previously anaerobic areas. By oxygenating these areas you start growing oxygen loving, nitrifying bacteria. These bacteria break down organics (muck) and produce Nitrites and Nitrates. They will also release phosphates that may have been bound up in the muck. All of these are algae promoting chemicals. And now that the bottom is no longer stagnant, the filamentous algae now have a new place to attach and have an ongoing food source in order to grow and proliferate. Although your water is healthier and will support more fish bio load, it will go through a transition period where something will have to pick up all these new nutrients.
Hope this explains it ok.

Now I'm not saying you will absolutely get an algae issue. That will depend on many factors in each individule pond, such as age, size, depth, clarity, plant populations,and even fish and insect populations. I just wanted to put it out there so that if it does start algae growth that was never there before, the owner will be prepared and know that it isn't necessarily a bad thing.

So if it happens it should be temporary as the pond is being shed of the muck? Or are you saying this would be ongoing if it happens?

Temporary is a relative term. Yes, it would be temporary, but how long it lasts could be many years. The longer the muck was allowed to build up the longer the potential nutrient issues. The trick is to get beneficial plants and plankton eating animals to bind up the new nutrients more efficiently than what the algae can. Or you can use something to eat the algae i.e. tilapia and use the algae to move the nutrients into fish mass.
From what I've been reading here, a lot of people prefer to just drain an old pond and dig out the muck and refill instead of battling the years of muck build up problems.

huloster, Copper will build up in the pond sediment and cause problems. Have you been using a lot of copper sulfate??

Thank you Otter25RS. The algae thing is something I didn't consider. I filled out a questionaire about this pond at the Clean-Flo website and of course they came back with advice for their aeration system and other things to add into the water to the tune of 1,500 to 2,000 or so dollars. A lot out of our price range for this coming winter. We just moved into the house in May and are still recuperating from all moving and fixing up we have to do yet. We were thinking more like a Big Max aerator we keep seeing on Ebay and on other pond product sites that runs about $400. We may just start with that and let it run over the winter and see what we see.

Sounds like a good start. Any Aeration can only help. You can do more once you have the money to spend.

Instead of going it alone figuring out what you need, and getting something from Ebay or the likes, I would contact Sue Cruz or Ted Forevergreen that deal in theses setups. They can be contacted thru this forum. Sounds like you are making the right decision considering money and future maintenance needs. But be sure to get reliable knowledge and help setting up your system.

Aeration is more than just putting something in the pond to make bubbles, a LOT more.

Bkeller,

I have not posted on this thread yet as to say I pretty much wasn't going to get involved but looking at your situation I decided to.

You have about the same size pond as I do and depth. I have been using a DIY system I have put together for 4 plus years now and it's been working quite well for me. Here are a couple of links below to that system from Joker and myself. If your going to go a little cheaper at least I can tell you this. This system works for me and my pond. My pond is 1 acre and 8 to 9 feet deep. Until maybe you can afford something better this may be a way to go. I run my system 12 hours a night and have had good success. Just putting it out there for ya for another option. Here a couple of links about the system.


http://forums.pondboss.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=252928&page=1

Here is another link with some info on my system.

http://forums.pondboss.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=229082#Post229082

Good Luck
RC



RC