Pond Boss Forums AERATION Should I aerate? will aeration hurt anything

Our pond is about 1/2acre spring fed(probably 1gal/min), 12'deep in middle shallow shore on south end, drop offs on north and east ends, and shallow bay 4' on west end. It currently has a good population of LM bass and Bluegill, and has sustained itself for at least 15 years. In the summer months we have to control the weeds otherwise they will cover the shorelines and sometime the algae will cover the surface of the pond. Water clarity in the summer is usually around 5-6ft.

My question is if a windmill for aeration will help our pond and if there will be any negative consequences to adding one. Will it also help with weeds and algae in the summer? And if it would help in the summer are there benefits in S,Wi to leaving it on all winter?

Thanks,
Aaron

Hello Aaron and welcome to Pond Boss. Hang on for some expert opinions.

Hey there dirtyedge ~ welcome to Pond Boss! A windmill would probably be adequate for your size pond. The main draw back to a windmill system is that there may not always be enough wind to keep the diffuser bubbling and those hot still summer days is when you need the aeration the most. If you don't get enough air, then your pond could become under-aerated and that could cause more problems. I believe Outdoor Water Solutions has an electric back up compressor in addition to the windmill, so you wouldn't have to worry about there not being enough wind. The bottom line is that an electric system is much more dependable. In the summer you would want the diffuser in the deepest location, but if you want to run it in the winter you'll need to relocate the diffuser to shallower water to prevent the water becoming too cold for the fish. There are many benefits to having a well aerated pond - just make sure you do your homework and read up ~ there is a ton of great information regarding aeration on this website.

A small economical electrical aeration system (DIY) for a pond will do a better job and cost less than a windmill. But if the pond is over 500 ft from a power source then a windmill becomes more attractive. Maybe search windmill on this forum site. Quite a bit has been discussed about them.

The only downside to putting an aerator in a small pond is if you normaly would want to ice fish the pond. The aerator might make all of the ice unsafe to walk on. But I feel that the positive things that an aerator will do for your pond will outweigh that one possible negative.

Well, this is my first post on this site, so please bear with me!

I think most people would agree that there are a lot of benefits to aeration, in both summer and winter. Using the wind for aeration can be very effective, especially if you don't have immediate access to electricity and does offer some long-term cost savings. If someone wants the benefits of both wind and electricity, we recently developed a controller that allows you to use both and it regulates the system for you. You can go to our website for more information.

John Redd
Outdoor Water Solutions
http://www.OutdoorWaterSolutions.com

Hello John and welcome to Pond Boss. Thanks for being a supporting vendor and congratulations on your first post!

Aaron,

These guys have pretty much covered everything. You also asked if an aeration system would help out with weeds and algae in the summer and the answer is "Yes", obviously every pond is different and the reasons for the proliferation of weeds algae can vary, however aerating a pond will assist you with these issues. Here is a link to an article on our websites blog:

(Lusk deleted the link....I don't know this company...will send "rules" email)

I hope you find this helpful.

I love aeration... made it possible for me to have Bass, Walleye, Bluegill etc. survive very cold winters in a pond with a max depth of 6 feet.

Happy birthday, Pottsy!

We aerate with a windmill (one acre pond) and it is great.
Only drawback for anyone with a pond is, if like me, you have geo loops in a pond--hindsight, I have learned since that is a big NO-NO!

Mark,

I was thinking about putting my loop in my pond. What is the drawback?

I have a loop in our pond...the only thing I can think of to aeration with a loop is that your are circulating the water and therefore your geothermal wouldn't be as effective. You want the cold water on the bottom in the summer and the warm water on the bottom in winter hence you defeat the layering wiht circulation and aeration. I don't aerate any of my three ponds and they are do fine but are spring fed and have large surface areas

Several folks here have geothermal loops in their pond. With any luck at all we will put one in our pond when we build our house on the property. It is my understanding that geothermal loops in ponds are fine but that you should not aerate the pond for the reason that JR1 explained.

A Plug for Vertex Waterfeatures System: I have had a Vertex System running 24/7 since December, 2006 and I just had Vertex rebuild the compressor. It has operated for THREE AND A HALF YEARS!!! 24/7 and not a minute of downtime. We were down to 16 degrees this winter here in Florida and had ice on the pond for the first time in the 25 years I have owned the pond. It is HOT here now and aeration is a must. Thanks to Sue Cruz and gang for a great product and service.

Hi, ronlutes, and welcome to the forum! Thanks for joining up and posting. Why don't you start a new thread and tell us about your pond and your management plans and goals with it. We love pictures, so maybe a few of those, too. Stick around and stay involved - it's the best way to really get to know what pondmeistering is all about and to get to know the great folks here!

Hello ronlutes and a second welcome to Pond Boss. It is always great to hear feedback about our Pond Boss advertisers. Bob Lusk carefully screens each and every vendor and is very protective (and rightly so) about our supporting vendors. Our vendors (notice how I said our? It's almost like I own the place) are constantly going the extra mile for us and supporting our vendors supports both this site and the magazine - the proverbial win-win come to life (is that deep or what?).

We're glad you found us, thanks for joining in and posting.

The aeration bench ventilation is what supports the potting mix and plants above the water tank. air gap necessary for the lower bench of aeration and water. Cracks and holes are too full to ensure the potting mix can not flow freely, and never be too saturated with water. practical standpoint, only water as it enters the surface of potting mix after planting, rainwater. Design allows currently about 1 / 2 all the rainwater to accumulate in the water tank before concluding with an additional overflow.

Huh????????????

Just an update for those of you with interest in pond loops. This has been quite a learning experience for me. As you recall, I had windmill aeration beforehand.
Two very important questions that installers should ask you:

1. Do you have an aerator? (Windmill or other)
2. Do you ever plan on aerating your pond?

If you answered YES to either question, then GEO LOOPS in your pond are NOT good. It has been proven and I don't want to get into a complicated issue here, but can cause your loops to float. One geo installer in my aftermath research for resolve told me, he personally would NEVER do pond loops, now I know why.

Jeff, This week I am finally having my pond loops done away with and my geo installation will be in the GROUND.