Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations circulating pond water

i installed a pump a few months ago to keep my pond full in these dry times. it is rated at 70 gallons per minute, but i am getting less than that because of lift and head pressure. it discharges into the pond via 2" pipe,and i would guess somewhere around 40-50 gpm. i choked it down to a 3/4" pipe and it will shoot a 25ft horizontal stream of water. would i gain any benefits if i ran a pipe out to the deeper parts and shot a stream underwater to kinda circulate the bad bottom water?
kasco makes a pump that circulates water. do any of you all have any experience with these type units vs aeration?

Scott,
At 40-50 GPM, your pond should be running over all the time or you have a serious leak. Are you running the pump continually?

oh no, it doesn't run constantly. i installed it a few months ago. i had been using a gas powered pump to keep it full, but of course that is too much trouble. once it was full, i would just run it ever so often. i would let the pond get a few inches low and then run it until it was topped off again. i shut the pump off on thanksgiving day and it hasn't ran since. i actually have removed it and stored it for the winter. i was just curious if i could route some pipe to the deeper part and use it to circulate the water and it be beneficial.

right now the pond is a few inches low. we had some rain, but not near enough to overcome the drought. my incoming stream is starting to flow some, just not enough to keep it full.

Scott,
It is good to have water available when needed. I don't have that luxury. My creek is barely flowing. I couldn't pump more than 5 minutes right now before pumping my creek pothole dry.
I don't think you would gain anything in winter by pumping to the deep areas of your pond. There should be oxygen there now, and the water might be warmer than the surface. From what I have read, there are no benefits to circulating deep water in the winter, and it might even be detrimental if the circulation caused the deep layers to become colder. Better to pump onto the surface in the winter.

sorry, i wasn't clear in the first post, i was actually thinking about next spring and summer. i have actually removed the pump for the winter. and yes, i am very lucky to have a nearby water source. i have a very nice stream that runs parallel to my dam. it was where i originally planned to build the pond, but nrcs said no because it was a blue line stream. we had a flood here about a year ago. after seeing all the water coming down that stream, i am glad i didnt build there. it would have been hard to contain that much water.

Probably, it is just more efficient to use aeration to do a similar thing, except aeration has the added benefit of far more efficient gas exchange to vent off SO2 and other gasses as a product of bacterial decay.
Imwas thinking of directing my incoming stream to the bottom, but it really doesn't run when I need it in the summer.

Scott, you could use a bell venturi to pull air into the water to oxygenate it before discharging lower in the pond. Aeration will move far more water per kilowatt.

the water that i am pumping into the pond is coming from a very good flowing stream. it twist and turns and flows over rocks. just how oxygenated can water be?

i will be running my pump during the dry/warm months. i figured the mixing of the water would really help, i just wasn't sure if i would be introducing enough fresh water and mixing to do any good.

Scott, I presumed you pumped in well water. I'd suggest pumping straight to your deepest point in the pond. I also hope you have a VERY fine mesh screen (500 micron or finer) filtering the inlet to keep unwanted plants and fish out of your pond.

i don't have much of an intake filter, just a foot valve for a well. the holes look to be 1/4" or less. there a gsf in the stream and it is kind of a concern. there are a few in my pond now. the little stream i used for my pond had a few in it when i back it up. i have caught a few while fishing off the dock. but very few. i do have lmb in the pond, so i don't think i'll have a problem with them.

the plants i am not sure about. i do have a little chara in the pond. i don't see anything in the stream that looks like chara, but who knows. i have already treated it with cutrine.

i have a plan for next year on how my intake/footvalve gets water from the creek. i have a piece of concrete well casing that i'd like to stand upright in the water. knock a few holes in to it near the bottom so water can enter. i know it wouldn't be 100% but i would think it should limit the chances of fish getting in.

it's sad my options are a really low pond or a chance of introducing something unwanted during this drought.