FlyFishingTrout
F
Joined: Apr 2020
Posts: 9
Ashville, NY, USA
Sorry to hijack.. I don’t know to start a new thread!. Am i crazy for wanting to put a waterfall disguised as a mini creek flowing into my 1/2 acre pond? I want to incread dissolved oxygen levels and maintain cool water temperatures. I want to stock trout for all season enjoyment. Any insight appreciated! Thank you!
I recall conversation when I was a teenager of a man in OK who built a swimming pool to look like a pond. It was nestled in some trees but was also situated some distance from power and the pump. It was cheaper to set up the pump and filter near the light pole at the cabin than to have electric brought to the pool. The irony was that after doing all this the pool was just to cold to swim in all summer long!
There was heat exchange with the ground on the long trip between the pump and the pond and in addition to some shading from trees, the pool was cooler than it would have otherwise been. I remember at the time wondering if he should try stocking trout in it just to see if they might survive. From time to time I think back on it also as a possible means to moderate temps in just any old pond in an effort to keep temps below 90 in the summer and above 60 in early winter. A pump would be very inefficient ... but an aeration? ... might be feasible.
In the scenario, piping is buried at an appropriate depth to exchange where the temperature tends to relatively stable year round. Aeration lifts water at the outlet of piping causing the water to flow through the piping to exchange the ponds heat with the ground. In principal, this would occur year round where heat exchanges from the ground to the pond in the winter. In the winter, the exchange creates a temperature sink that will be carried into the summer. In the summer heat exchanges from the pond to the ground. In the summer, the exchange will store heat in the ground. In principle, during the winter you remain ice free longer and "hopefully" in the summer the pond remains cool enough to support the trout.
A waterfall will add some oxygen but still may not save the trout. It depends on temperature and the saturation capacity of the water. The warmer the water gets ... the more oxygen the trout need to be dissolved in the water. At some temp the line is crossed. If you can keep the temperature down, nature will do the work of keeping oxygen levels higher. Also, one wants relatively infertile water for trout or at least water that is highly grazed by pond organisms. If the water is very green, the are also effects of night time respiration that you must consider.