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We own an elliptical shaped sand pit that ranges from 15 to 20 some acres that needs to be aerated. Does it need to have a complete aeration system or would a smaller system be sufficent? The pond has a 15 ft. hole and several places 9 ft. but has a lot of 3 to 4 ft. depths.


Two ponds, 13 and 15 acres on the Mattaponi River.
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kenc, what are the reasons behind why you think you need aeration in the pond?


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HALT!! Yes, you definately need to aerate the water body as a whole! In some cases you can do a section of a lake or pond if it is sectioned off, like a cove. In an eliptical pond/lake you would need to aerate the whole thing! We have seen too many examples of what can happen when you under-aerate a pond and none of them are good! You will actually make your water quality worse if you introduce enough aeration to mix the water, but not enough to get your oxygen levels up. Let a professional run some calculations and make an aeration recomendation. It is better to do nothing than to not do enough.


Sue Cruz
Vertex Water Features
www.vertexwaterfeatures.com

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Interesting.. Sue if you have time you could explain some of the drawbacks of under aeration?


I believe in catch and release. I catch then release to the grease..

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BGK: Sue provided a pretty good explanation in her post:

You will actually make your water quality worse if you introduce enough aeration to mix the water, but not enough to get your oxygen levels up.


"I love living. I have some problems with my life, but living is the best thing they've come up with so far." � Neil Simon,
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We actually are working on a case study down here in Florida where a 14 acre pond that had very poor water quality installed a undersized aeration system (not Vertex) and they killed not only every fish in the pond, but every creature that came into contact with the pond. We have all kinds of water quality data that should be ready to post soon... We properly sized the pond, installed more aeration and it is coming back to life. It will be a great case study for lake restoration and what happens when a pond aeration system is undersized. In the case of Ken's pond, imagine he has OK DO levels on the surface, but half the water has very little DO. If you just mix it up, then all the water has low DO levels. If you don't cirulate it enough (atleast one time per day is usually adequate)then you never get those DO levels up and you are just mixing bad water.


Sue Cruz
Vertex Water Features
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We have had 2 bad fish kills in the last 9 years. The first time the fish came bad strong but the last one has left a ton of bullheads and stunted croppie. When the pond fills up it floods tall weeds that decomposes. The pond is also down in a deep hole and does not get as much wind action as most ponds. I would like to be able to keep the fish alive without spending several thousand dollars. thanks

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Ken, what time of the year did the fish die?


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The first of June. The last kill they sprayed roundup and nit. to sow soy beans and it came a big rain (2 in.) that wiped out the bigger fish. There is no vegatation in either pond.


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Hello Ken:

FWIW....I do not believe the roundup (glyphosate) was directly responsible for the fish kill you mention above.

In regard to the need for aeration, I highly recommend either purchasing or finding someone with a good dissolved oxygen meter. I personally use a YSI ProODO meter for monitoring dissolved oxygen and temperatures in lakes. There is no mention of DO concentrations in your posts so no one really knows what if any level of aeration is needed in your situation. Bottom sediment composition, run off from surrounding watershed, fertility, etc, all play an important role in determining the need for aeration.

While whole lake aeration can be beneficial in certain situations, it can also promote continuous planktonic algal blooms. Lakes with high sedimentary phosphorus concentrations are particularly prone to these types of aeration induced blooms. The concept of aeration reducing algal blooms is based on the reduction of phosphorus as it binds to ferrous iron in the water column.....where it precipitates out as ferric phosphate. If iron is limiting......the chemical reaction obviously does not take place. When iron becomes limiting.....large amounts of sedimentary phosphorus can begin cycling in throughout the water column....making it available to undesirable algae.....thereby increasing the BOD (biological oxygen demand) of the lake, pond, etc..

In summary.....obtain dissolved oxygen data for your lake. If I were you....I would purchase my own meter considering there are times that some of your fish kills were related to agricultural runoff.....(you can then monitor the specific effects of the runoff at any given time) By having your own meter, you can design an aeration system (if needed) to your particular needs. This will save you in both product and electrical costs.

Regards,

Jeff Gray
Grays Aquatic Services
www.GraysAquatic.com


Jeff Gray (Aquatic Biologist)
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Thanks for your reply Jeff, the pond is about 10 yrs. old and usually has a good bloom and hasn't had any FA or other algae in several years. The pond is fed by underwater streams and only has between 10 and 20 acres of water shed. I do not live there and it is not unusual for me to miss 2 or 3 weeks going up there. That is not my choice but I have health issues and still try to work during the week so it would be hit or miss on testing. I don't have elec. there yet but hope to this year. Thanks again, ken.

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Jeff, great first post.Thanks


It's not about the fish. It's about the pond. Take care of the pond and the fish will be fine. PB subscriber since before it was in color.

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