Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations Pond Areation

Bill is spot on. There is a reason why I have an O2 meter with a 10 meter probe. It's interesting how O2 transference in pond water is so different between summer and winter. It has to do with the density of the water. It's not necessary to run the compressor 24'7 in the winter, but I do in my pond because I tend to forget and I am sort of pushing the biochemical demand in my pond.

The reason why I said put the winter diffuser/airstation about 20 feet away from shore is because you want the ice to be melted all the way to the shoreline so anything that goes swimming can get out of the water without having to climb up on the ice.

Probably 15 years ago, I almost lost my two Springer Spaniels when they went into the water after a Canada Goose with a broken wing and a Toulouse Goose that became friends and visited my pond one year. I let them out one day to go potty and the female Springer Spaniel brought the Toulouse Goose up to the house. The following week the temp dropped and it was -12°F with a 20 mph wind. I let them out to go potty and they heard the geese in the pond again. Long story short, after thinking that I'd die in the pond if I tried getting them out of the water, I was able to break the ice with a 20' extension ladder and they swam to shore. It took them 20 minutes in a hot shower to stop shivering. After that I moved the diffuser closer to shore so that would never happen again.

If anybody wants to read more about winter aeration, order the January/February 2015 Pond Boss Magazine. There is a winter aeration article in there.