Bocomo thanks for the link. Interesting stuff.
I have seen folks trying not to mix all the bottom water in summer to try to leave a cold refuge. I am trying to understand if it would work the same way in the winter. If I keep the diffusers shallow will it leave bottom water unmixed??
That is correct, the O2 will transfer a quite a number of feet below where the diffuser is placed, both summer and winter.
I have a client that wanted to keep trout alive all summer long. That's difficult to do without pumping 54°F well water into the pond to cool the water down below 70°F. It took us 3 years of experimentation, but this last summer he was able to keep Trout alive in his pond without adding much well water - just enough to keep up with evaporation.
1/2 acre pond, 25' deep in the deepest part. If I get off my keister this winter and scribble out how it was accomplished, I'll send it in to Bob for a PB Magazine article.
39°F water is the densest and sinks to the bottom of the pond. Warmer or colder water than that rises up to the surface. For cool water fish, if the temp drops too much below 39°F they are under stress and are easily affected by bacteria infections. Trout can live in colder water, but I'd like to see them in slightly warmer water than 33°F-37°F water temps. The other critters in the pond will appreciate the warmer winter water temps too.
MNfish knows how I did it if his memory cells are still working.
