This is only our 2nd year owning the property so I don't have much of a seasonal temperature profile yet, but last year we took water temperatures for the first time in August and the surface temp was only 72. The small stream coming in was 60, so I figured we had a great set up for trout if that's how warm the water was in late summer, but obviously every year is different.
Last week, on June 16th (before aeration) the temp was 68-70 in the pond and 65 in the stream. I'm using a stream thermometer I drop in on a line and leave for 2 mins then pull out real quick and check. Probably not ideal..
Three days later on June 19th we took the temps before putting the aerator in and it had already naturally increased to 72-73 in the pond. It's been a hot last 2-3 weeks here and no rain.
The next day after running the aerator for 24hrs when we saw the fish all acting strange in the shallows we got temps of 78-80 all over the pond. So the aerator must have mixed up the water temperatures and raised temps, but I'm also concerned about the mixing gases from the new aerator contributing to stress the fish as people described here. That day was also the first time since we stocked (1 week ago) that we saw trout hanging below the culvert pipe.
I can't say for certain the pond was previously stratified as I didn't compare top/bottom temps, but after what happened with the temp increase I think it was.
My hope was turning off the aerator for 24-48 hours would allow the temps to drop back into the low-mid 70's but I don't know how fast it will drop or if it's just wishful thinking.. I will take more temps tomorrow.
The water clarity is very good, we had no major algae bloom at all, last year or this year yet. No green water. Some floating (kind of clear) scum on the surface, about a 30x30 area that moves around with the wind. I guess that could be the beginnings of algae bloom but it's not green or thick at all, more of a translucent film. I was hoping the aeration would help clear that out a little also. Our water is overall very clean which is another reason I was hopeful for the trout.
After going through this all and learning what I have here, I'm wondering if the aeration and mixing of the water will do more harm to the trout this time of year than letting it stratify again in hopes they survive in slightly cooler water at the bottom (although low in oxygen). Everything I read previously said adding air can only help a pond and the fish in it.. maybe I just did it too quickly and mixed it up too fast...
Hoping it can bounce back to a healthier level while slowly adding the aeration each night..
