I have a pond that is about .85 acres in total. It was an existing pond that I redid. I dug a new pond behind the old pond and connected the two. Attached is a drawing of the size of the pond, pictures of it when we built it, and current pictures now. I would like to add a good system for aeration to this. My first concern is the depth of the new addition and the pond being almost two ponds that connect together. The existing pond is about 8' deep and connects with a 32' gap that goes up to 4' deep at the connection point. The next concern is that the new pond basically has a huge hole in the middle that goes 25' deep. This was not my design but the pond guy I hired ran out of product and just dug a big hole in the middle to get more dirt to finish. Do I need two pumps since it is almost like having two ponds? Do I put a pump way down 25' in the bottom? Please make suggestions. I just finished my docks this weekend and would like to start aeration. I also put 45 pounds of minnows and 1000 1-3" BG so far. Thanks for the help in advance!!!
ps. In case you are wondering.... I ran a string line across the top of the pond banks and then measured from the string line to the bottom of the hole to get 25' deep.
Congratulations on your "new and improved" big pond!
There are lots of aeration experts (not me) on Pond Boss that can help out on your project. However, until they arrive, this is my non-expert advice.
Yes, I believe your shallow water "berm" between the two ponds will significantly restrict the water circulation between the two main bodies of water. Your aeration design should therefore probably treat your situation as essentially two separate ponds.
That being said, you should still probably have just one aeration pump. Air discharge lines are cheaper than electrical lines. One large air compressor and protection box or shed is cheaper than two small compressors.
Finally, no you do not need to circulate from the bottom of your 25' hole. That deep water will probably be most valuable as a thermal refuge during a hot Texas summer. The fish won't use the deep anoxic water, but having it there will keep your pond slightly cooler. (They may hang out near the boundary layer if they start to get some heat stress.)
The experts may recommend you circulate up from 12-14' depths? But don't take my advice - wait for an actual expert to drop in.
There are some excellent aeration threads in the archives. If you read a few of those, it may give you some ideas of a few more questions to ask that you need answered for your situation.
Good luck on turning your "new" pond into a good fishery and recreation spot!
I'm not sure why the photos will not go through. I tried again but still no luck. They are a .jdg format.
Thanks FishinRod. I will keep looking through some of the old threads. Just about everyting I have done with the pond has been from advice and knowledge learned on this forum.
