Pond Boss Forums INTRO New Forum Member Introduction Really new pond owner

Hey all. I just bought a home with a pond and I am struggling to learn the ropes. The pond isn't huge (approx. 40' x 100') and has a few ducks, a goose and apparently a ton of fish. It has a solar aerator that I got running a week ago, I don't know how long it was off. The water is a horrible shade of green and stinks like sewage. Now severL dead fish are popping up and many more are gulping at the top of the water.

Any thoughts on where to start correcting these problems? I would like to fix it before everything dies.

I am not an expert but have heard many times that u need to do a slow start up if your aeration hasn't been running. Your pond bottom was stratified. This bottom water contains toxic gas and zero dissolved oxygen. Do a search on the forum for "aeration start up" they say about 15 min run time the first day and double the time every day until it runs 24 hrs. Your fish are gulping to get oxygen and is a very bad sign. The threads you search should also tell you some corrective action that might save some of your fish.

Good luck and welcome to the forum you have found the right place to be when it comes to ponds.

From the litle I know, I would turn off the aerator for now. There are some good posts on how to ease into aeration. Hope you get it solved!

If you can run a surface aerator, that might save the fish. Bottom diffusers need to be started slowly. 15 min today, 30 tomorrow, etc.

It's critical to get something to add O2 to the surface water NOW, if the fish are piping at the surface. Even a trolling motor with the blades part way out of the water will help.

With the ducks and geese, I'll bet there is a LOT of poop on the bottom of the pond!

Guys - Would running a water pump with the nozzle spraying a fan of water on the surface work as a make-shift aerator? This might be a fast solution since small gas-powered pumps are available at most hardware stores. It would require frequent gas tank fill-ups, but it might provide the O2 needed quickly.

Rah, I think it would, and if it were sprayed in a mist, or coarse droplets and let fall back on the water it might gain even more O2. But, you'd lose a considerable amount to evaporation.

This diagram illustrates a make-shift system that might offer better efficiency with minimal evaporation issues. It uses the venturi-effect to induct air into a pump-generated flow of water. The discharge-point is subsurface - essentially providing some degree of aeration and vertical circulation. Care should be taken to avoid a dramatic upwelling of deeper stagnant water, which will depend on the discharge-depth and the initial duty-cycles.
Note: it is very important that the pipe-size beyond the venturi is as large or slighly larger than the pipe feeding into the venturi - since any back-pressure downstream of the venturi will force water upward through the air-induction pipe.