It's not necessary to have power at the pond for diffuser type aeration. How far is it to the pond from your nearest power outlet? You can run an airline several hundred feet if necessary.
My questions is--is it necessary to test the DO during the winter months, even cutting a hole in the ice to do so? Are the necessary numbers the same during the colder weather or is less DO required?
It wouldn't be a bad idea and as long as D.O reading stay above 5 ppms you're fine. However you need to test in deeper water too.
If you set up a diffuser system correctly there would be no need to test D.O.
