Pond Boss Forums AERATION Should I aerate? how to aerate?

Hi all...new here.

I have a pretty small spring fed (I'm guessing 10-20 gallons a minute?) pond on a property I bought 2 years ago, about 1/8 of an acre (150ft by 45ft), stocked with bass and perch, and about 8-10 feet deep (very sharp dropoff). The pond is surrounded all around by irises, and bordered by mature maples on the uphill western side and downhill eastern side. The pond takes in a large amount of leaves each fall.

The stratification is drastic right now, although I don't have numbers...just from a basic swim test. The spring generates water around 55 deg, and I suspect the bottom of the pond is similar. I think the surface is closer to 70. There is a thick layer of muck on the bottom. The hydrogen sulfide smell is rather strong when the water is heavily disturbed (like kicking while swimming), so it seems the decay process at the bottom is mostly anaerobic.

I'm wondering what you folks recommend for aeration. I was leaning towards a basic membrane diffuser on the bottom, working from the shoreline to the bottom over a period of a few weeks to avoid overwhelming the fish. Once installed, I was thinking I would just start raking the muck a patch at a time from the shore, since I can get access to most of the pond with a 20ft pole.

Most diffusers, however, seem to be recommended for larger ponds, so I was hoping for some feedback from folks.

Thanks for your help!

Hello Jhub and welcome to Pond Boss. Hang on for expert opinions.

jhub, welcome to pb forum, you should receive more info from people with lots of aeration knowledge, I can tell you that I have a small linear pump attached to a soaker hose which produces lots of very fine bubbles, it's on its third summer and draws only 80 watts, 88 liters/min. 4.2 p.s.i.. Here's the one I have.
http://www.aquariumspecialty.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=139_267_532&products_id=1187
If you can please post some photo's of your pond.

Thanks jeffhasapond and adirondack pond! Adirondack, what depth do you use that compressor at? Seems like 4.2 psi is on the lower end of what I've seen (should get you to 10ft depth at most, I guess?) 80 watts is pretty awesome. Less than 10 bucks a month to run it must be pretty nice!

I keep the air hose at 4 or 5 ft., in the summer connected to a thermostat so it mostly runs at night to help cool the pond, and in the winter it runs non stop to keep an area ice free for air exchange.
You have a nice looking pond, does it stay full all year?

Jhub, if you don't get all the answers you need try sending a PM to some of the aeration experts, but if you look thru the aeration posts you'll get alot of info.
Since you have alot of muck from leaves and with 10ft. or more depths you might need a larger aerator to help decompose the bottom muck.

Hi AP, the pond does stay full (plus or minus 1.5 ft or so considering spring thaw and the drier months). It drains slowly through the bank downhill, and is fed by the spring pretty much constantly.

Well, I didn't hear too much, so I went for an economy Vertex Air 1 diffuser package (seems like everything minus the cabinet, which I already have a setup for), powered by a Gast compressor.

Any advice on how to acclimate the pond to the aerator? I was planning on either

a) dragging it slowly from the shoreline to the center of the pond
b) lowering it from an anchored buoy half a foot every day, starting at 4ft depth.

c)?

Thanks in advance!