Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations Slave Dog

It was dead calm this morning. With the circlator running the entire pond had a ripple on it.
When the circulator stopped the pond was smooth as glass.

I am surprized that a 1/2 hp circulator could cause water movement on five acres of water!

Its physics at its best. You remember old Newton - right.

Newton's Laws of Motion:

I. Every object in a state of uniform motion tends to remain in that state of motion unless an external force is applied to it.

II. "Law of Inertia". The relationship between an object's mass m, its acceleration a, and the applied force F is F = ma. Acceleration and force are vectors (as indicated by their symbols being displayed in slant bold font); in this law the direction of the force vector is the same as the direction of the acceleration vector.

III. For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.

This law is exemplified by what happens if we step off a boat onto the bank of a lake: as we move in the direction of the shore, the boat tends to move in the opposite direction (leaving us facedown in the water, if we aren't careful!).

Or :

First law

An object at rest will remain at rest unless acted upon by an external and unbalanced force . An object in motion will remain in motion unless acted upon by an external and unbalanced force.

Second law
The rate of change of the momentum of a body is directly proportional to the net force acting on it, and the direction of the change in momentum takes place in the direction of the net force.

Third law
To every action (force applied) there is an equal but opposite reaction (equal force applied in the opposite direction).

ewest - I can tell that you were lying in wait, hoping to spring your physics lesson on an unsuspecting pond guy.

I envision a Bass lurking in the shadows hoping suck in a nice fat crawdad, thinking similiarly.

Perhaps you have begun to think like a Bass? :p

LOL I guess all us predators are the same right -- you to. :p :p

Any way he can work LAW into the conversation, he will. Hey, I know those laws of physics(especially the one about stepping out of a boat), maybe I'm closer to being an attorney than I thought. :rolleyes:

I forgot law # 3 a few times and almost ended up face down in the water.

BM how much water is in the pond after the rain. Fish still there I hope.

EW, hoping not to kill this thread, but...will find out next weekend. Going for several days. Really didnt wish for the 2nd rain. Ruined my plans for cleanup of the shallows, but I'm flexible. Got a new larger chainsaw to cleanup the Katrina downed trees. Always plenty to do.

Now back to the main topic...horizontal winter aeration. Sorry Bremer Pond...it was such a focused discussion. As Sunil says 'tough audience'.

That water movement will save your fish someday. This "ripple" increases the surface air/water interface tremendously. It also prevents you from having a protein scum on the surface that prevents diffusion of oxygen into the water. Amazing, isn't it?

Bruce nailed it. I wish I would have had the "ripple effect" this summer before I lost some nice fish to a DO crash. If I am home during the next DO crash, I am ready this time. Just hope it was my first and last.

Normally if you are prepared, the mishap never occurs, huh?

Bruce whats this protein scum you referred too look like? I have a scum that forms on the surface of the pond that has a green tint to it with bubbles in it that goes away after a rain then reappears a few days later. I was thinking that it was some sort of algae, and i think cutrine plus was working on it.

Dwight,

When in full operation, do you think the ripple effect across the pond will result in a much larger ice-free area than anticipated?

Bruce,
In order to combat the protein scum effect, Dwight would have to run this unit during the summer right? Any thoughts on how often and how long he would need to do this? I see a "scum" build up on my little BG pond during the daytime in the dead of summer. After the diffusers run at night, the water looks fine by morning.

ewest – Law # 3, when violated on water is far better then the same violation committed on hardened water (ICE). I have experimented with that a few times over the years and can attest to that fact.

Burgermeister – The focus of a thread is never clear on PBF as predators are lurking in the shadows of very productive structure.

The pond scum that forms on the top of eutrophic ponds is a non-issue generally on a sunny day, because light penetration is allowing for photosynthesis. The only time it is a significant issue is during the wee hours of the morning when it's been calm all night and plants are respiring. This can be the summer kiss 'o' death for your fish. Early morning summer fish kills are devastating when they happen.

No wind, no photosynthesis (respiration), lots of B.O.D. and pond scum can wipe out all of your hard work in about 30 minutes.

So, in answer to the question, you could theoretically run the circulator from 3 a.m. to 7 a.m. all summer and early fall to help your chances of keeping your fish population healthy.

Russ – Since I have the timer/temperature controller I can adjust the ice free area as needed. I have a feeling that during a two week cold snap where the temperature remains below zero during the day and into the teens and twenties below zero at night the ice free area will be relatively small, even running 24 hours a day.

From Bruce Condello experience, I may find that the timer/temperature controller is a handy item all year long.

There are very large ripples on the pond tonight. The anemometer just registered 52 mph out of the northwest!

Sometime put some fathead minnows in a styro cooler. When they use up the oxygen they'll start "piping" at the surface. Now take your finger, dip it in the water and start to circulate the water. Every time you do that you'll save the fish for another ten minutes. Using a Kasco circulator is the same concept on a grand scale.

Circulator Update-

We have had temperatures in the low to mid teens during the night and cold days too. With the circulator running for only 2 hours from 6AM-8AM the ice freezes over completely during the night. When the circulator kicks on at 6AM the water movement melts the ice in front of the circulator and the opening then spreads out to and along the shoreline in both directions.

I have included some photos so you can see what I am rambling on about. The photos were taken after the circulator had run for nearly the full two hours.

Circulator looking south:


Circulator looking east:


Circulator looking west:


Why does this interest me? Am I the only one? Did my brain overheat when I was a baby due to lack of cooling air circulation causing a circulation fixation?

"Why does this interest me? Am I the only one? Did my brain overheat when I was a baby due to lack of cooling air circulation causing a circulation fixation?"

Naw, Dwight. You're just a freak. Live with it.

I'm a freak too, I guess. My circulator is of great interest to me, because once I started using it I never had any more fish die.

Keep the photos coming, Dwight. Just remember that those blades are sharp. Keep the furball whellchock clear of those babies, for his own good.

It never dawned on me to keep ice clear by just running it in the morning. I assumed that it would eventually ice up to a point that it wouldn't function. Now I'm rethinking that notion.

Furhead wheel chock Bruce. Don't worry about him the pirates have him. :p

Sunil – What was that story about a pot calling a kettle a freak, or something like that? :p

Bruce Condello -

We are in for a heat wave the next few days (50s) , so I imagine all the ice will be gone, temporarily.

I will be adjusting the circulator, experimenting with both timing and length of running time during the winter.

More later, as they say…….

Dwight, I think the saying "takes one to know one" has a certain pertinence here.

Ewest –

A Doctor said, “furball whellchock”

An Attorney said, “furhead wheel chock”

Either way, the pirates are locked behind the bars and under the braces until……

:rolleyes: