Pond Boss Forums AERATION Should I aerate? 3/4 ACRE pond at 7500 foot elevation

I have not been to the boards in awhile.....winter and all. Just as an update...it is a payfish pond stocked with rainbow trout in the mountains of Colorado...been here since the 50's. In the summer time, our water source isn't as good as it is the rest of the year and the pond gets to 70 degrees.....slows down the fishing and the revenue

Pond is approximately 3/4 to 1 acre in size and about 4-6 feet deep throughout...classic pay lake. I don't want to dredge it....but it has some silt etc on the bottom from the water source which is a creek. If we don't shut the irrigation gate from the creek during a rain storm...much mud and sand comes in. Also contributing to the silt would be the ducks/geese and their "poop". the cottonwood trees around the pond drop pods and branches as well.

My pond is normally not clear at all. I'm assuming this is due to the silt getting stirred up by the creek coming in as well as the multitudes of fish necessary to my operation. There is also a good deal of "sucker" fish in the pond, which we trap and sell for bait. They bottom feed and stir it up too right?

Now my questions:
should I aerate?

is there a way to aerate and still keep the air lines safe from hooks?

I use an "ice away" type fountain in the summer to stir the water up a bit..and help with oxygen. this is a very visible fountain that keeps the hooks safe but I am worried about the air lines getting hit.

Do I need to run airlines everywhere or can I get away with one spot to provide a safe "haven" for the rainbow trout?

If I decide to get an aeration system installed, is there a worry about the dangerous gasses mixing and causing some kill initially?

Anybody ever figure out a way to cool off a large pond like this in summer? Cooling towers or something?

Thanks in advance?

FishingInCascade,
You can cool the water entering the pond by going upstream & digging a trench, installing piping & burying 2' to 3' deep. The earth will cool the water before it enters the pond. The length of the piping depends on the amount of turnover you want. The more gpm the longer the pipe/trench.
You can do the same with a pump. This method is used for ground source heat pumps to cool the condenser water.

Tony,

I doubt a bottom-type aeration system will offer you any help in trying to clean up your pond if the sediments are silt. My understanding is that these systems are used to move oxygenated water to those areas of the ponds that otherwise would have a low oxygen count. Doing this turns an anerobic situation into an aerobic one, facilitating the decomposition process of organic matter.

To combat the issue of siltation, I dug a "silt pond" in front of the inlet to my main pond. During high flows, i.e. spring runoff, the incoming flow hits this area, slows and deposits its silt load prior to entering the main pond. Periodically, I drain the the silt pond and muck it out.

Also, if you have trout, you should exercise caution if aerating a shallow pond with a bottom aeration system. Knowing that trout are water temperature sensitive, bottom aeration can mix the cold/cooler water with the upper/warmer water which may result in a stressful situation for your trout. Some have mentioned that in this situation, fountains help to oxygenate the water but will not cause the mixing effect.

Russ

If you use weighted tubing to a diffuser you shouldn't have any problem with hooks,. I have one in my pond that comes from a small compressor that only pumps .7 cfms. (My pond is only 1/10 acre) You could consider running it only at night when temps drop or when daytime temps are low. I only run mine at night as I now have brook trout in the pond and they are more sensitive to milder water temps than browns or rainbows. In the past with the browns and rainbows I ran it as long as airtemps did not reach 80 F. Then I shut it down. I have enough suspended algae in the day time that there should not be any problem with oxygen depletion during the day.

If you start up a bottom diffuser you should pulse it at first and keep an eye on temps and oxygen levels.

thanks guys for the replies...wasn't here yesterday to answer as I was in the mountains hunting wild Greenback Cutthroat and Brook Trout...not stockers....much better eating heh heh!

Ric
I don't think that is feasible as the creek that feeds my pond goes through the property of others and I only own about 100 feet of it prior to entering my property...plus, the State gets upset at that sort of thing...thank you though for the thoughts.

Russ
Much the same thing here....not much room for what you offer.....I have considered some filtration..but really my only option is to close the creek off from the pond when I think it may rain hard....thanks.

Cecil
That was my concern as well, the warming of the water. My pond is quite shallow so the layers are different I think than a deeper pond...however, I always worry. My solution in the past was always to use a fountain to help cool and aerate the water...I may try two fountains this year...the floating variety.

My biggest concern is water clarity.....the trout seem to feed less actively when the water clarity is poor....some of the BEST pay lakes in my state are crystal clear due to their superior water sources.

I am also going to dig the entry area of the pond very deep.....and am going to line the area that the water enters with large rocks/boulders to allow the water to cascade a bit more and oxygenate more readily. There is a narrow entry area that I could really line nicely with rocks and leave shallow...then it could drop into a deep pool. Worst case scenario when it gets really hot is that we would know EXACTLY where to send the fishermen for the best fishing...deep and cool entry area.

Thanks guys,