I have a pond approx 3/4 of an acre and about 10 ft deep. It started to get a lot of grass in it this year so I put a sump pump down in it and made a fountain head for it.  It seems to be helping to clean the top 12 to 18 inches of the pond. I also put in some grass carp to help control the grass do I need to place the pump at the deepest part of the pond to get the best results?

Good move on adding the grass carp, better than using chemicals at least in my book. Just be careful not to over stock the grass carp. Use them to manage the weeds not eradicate the weeds. When the weeds are gone what will the grass carp eat? They could eat at the banks of the pond, cause corrosion or root up the bottom clouding up the pond.

You are started in the right direction by getting the water moving in the pond and yes pushing up from the deepest depth would be best. Don’t start running the pump full time from the deepest depth as there should be a start up procedure so we’re not pushing all the non oxygenated water and toxic gasses up and into where the fish are, just a little each day to help send the toxic gasses to atmosphere. Also check out Aerator startup.

I’m not too sure on the size of sump pump being used, how many gallons per hour it moves. But the goal is to turn the entire volume of water over once a day.

With a quick calculation on the pond size you have given and found approx. 1.9 million gallons of water in the pond, depending on what the slopes are and the shape of the pond. Moving water is more costly than moving air. Here’s an example of the AM30 bottom diffused aeration system, with the diffuser placed at the 10 depth. This aeration system can move 3,390 gallons of water per minute with air, turning over the entire pond volume twice a day so it could just be run 12 hours at night if you wish to. The compressor only a ¼ horse to pump the air required to turn over the complete volume of the pond.

Using a sump pump, for example a ¾ horse with 10 foot lift would provide 2700 gallons per hour of water movement. Adding the spray nozzle would choke the flow down some but even running at full bore for 24 hours would only provide 65,000 gallons of water movement using a ¾ horse sump pump.

Electricity is on the rise so by lowering the horse power to move water with air would be cheaper than moving water with water.  If you want to see a display above the water surface use an aerator fountain. These are designed to move a lot of water and the added benefit of splashing back into the pond can add oxygen as well, depending on the brand some can aerate up to 30” deep.

Related blog post and pages with even more information:

Pond Management

Winter Fish Kill

Summer Fish Kill

{ 0 comments }

The New Year is right around the corner and time for new resolutions, plans and to do list for the New Year. One of my goals for 2011 was to help more pond owners learn more about their pond and how to care for them, the big part is aeration. There are a couple pages, blog posts here and there on the website about aeration but to have one complete source to go to would be much easier.

Discover what is happening to our ponds over time and how we can even reverse this process, how much oxygen do the fish actually need and various ways that the pond can be aerated. Is one better than the other? Why does aeration work for some ponds and not work for others?

Find the answers in the” Consumer Aeration Report” plus a downloadable MP3 on pond management and follow up articles about pond management and maintenance.

Head over to Free Pond Education page and scroll down to the blue box.

Happy New Year!!! Be safe and have fun!

{ 0 comments }

It’s been a strange winter so far, warm, no ice and very little snow fall. Can’t really complain about that unless your a skier, plow snow or like snowmobiles. Sure the kids love the snow too for sled riding and snowball fights.

The weather has been weird all year with all the crazy storms and for a large portion of the country leaving a lack of snow fall, the ground is exposed. Even though it is saturated with the rain the wind has been pretty strong at times and the unusual storm will stir up.

With the wind as strong as it is at times it can dry the ground rather quickly and picking up leaves as it blows, dumping them in the pond. Some may sink pretty quick but other leaves will float for a while. These floating leaves, wind and excess rain can potentially create a mess and plug the over flow pipe in the pond. If the pipe has a screen we better check on this after each storm event. It doesn’t take much debris to plug up the screen.

Also check the emergency spillway to be sure it has not accumulated excess leaves or twigs which could affect the out flow  from all the rain. Winter? Never fear it will come, or next spring may last a long time. What do you think?

{ 0 comments }

Winter Pond Aeration is a little different from aerating the pond all summer long, in fact if you choose not to aerate during winter it is your option. Since aerating all summer long we have built up a bank of oxygen from top to bottom and expelled the toxic gasses building in the bottom of pond.

Why would we aerate during winter? Ice is generally no problem as the aquatic plants still receive sunlight and are able to stay alive to produce a small amount of oxygen. It’s when the snow covers the pond  problems do arise. Without sunlight the plants can’ live, they’ll die off, decay, creating more muck and toxic gasses at the bottom of the pond.
If the current aeration system is still running and the water temperature has dropped to  50 degrees. There is the option to turn off the system completely or shut down all but one diffuser and move one diffuser to the dock, deck, shelf or the aquatic plant area that you want to keep alive. This allows sunlight to the plants, toxic gasses to escape, and air to water oxygen transfer on the open water.

When moving the diffuser for the sake of keeping an ice free area, position it at a place of half the depth of the pond. This will help prevent super cooling of the entire pond depth and the chance of hurting the fish cooling the water below what they can handle. Water Gardens and small Koi Ponds place the stone or rubber membrane diffuser on the shelf or ledge.

With algae, leaves and weeds that dye off decomposing and creating deadly gasses like carbon dioxide, ammonia and hydrogen sulfide are result of the decaying process which can over take the pond suffocating the fish, known as a winter fish kill. Preventing the gas build up in the pond during winter can be helped by keeping a hole in the ice allowing the gasses to escape. Keeping a hole in the ice can be expensive if using a heater or a water pump. But much less expensive in operating cost is an aerator using little electricity. It’s a lot cheaper to move air than it is to move water or generate heat.

{ 0 comments }

What should we do to our pond before the ice and snow starts to accumulate?

Looking at one item to prepare the pond for winter and benefit from next spring is weeding the pond, I know it sounds weird because we weed a garden not a pond.

Weeding the pond is simply removing the mass amount of plants that will die during winter and end up in the pond turning into nutrients, more muck build up and grow even more weeds next year.

Starting with emergent plants such as cattails, the best way is to cut below the water level. If the pond is still low from summer evaporation or slow leak this will be a little easier to cut rather than cutting under the water. The reason for cutting them below the water surface is to reduce the growth rate next year as they cannot consume oxygen being under the water surface. The most important part is to get the main stalk and seed pod out and away from the water.

Next are the submerged weeds which are below the surface of the water. These are weeds or plants rooted at the bottom growing up to the surface of the pond. While they can be a nuisance they do benefit the fish as cover for the little ones and places to hide for the big guys to ambush their prey. Submerged weeds will die off once the ice is covered with snow. Then fall to the bottom to become muck and nutrients for next year’s growth. Cutting them out and removing them will help to reduce nutrient, muck and toxic gas build up. Using a weed cutter and pond rake can be a little work out, but getting these plants and weeds out of the pond for the winter months is beneficial for the pond and fish.

Fall also means colorful trees and lots of leaves.  But once they drop they tend to find their way to the pond. Look for areas where the leaves pile up and sink in the pond, prevailing winds can help push these leaves to one side of the pond. Then rake them out and dispose of them. Water gardens and smaller Koi Ponds could be covered with netting to keep the leaves out.

Keeping as much plant life from dying or ending up in the pond before winter is the goal to reducing nutrients and more muck build up for next year. Take a Look at the video below.

Related articles:
How to Kill Cattails
Winter Fish Kill

{ 0 comments }

How to prevent a Winter fish kill

It’s never a good day when we walk to the pond only to see the fish gasping for air in the open water. Or worse yet is getting to the pond to see them all floating or already on the shoreline.

Why does a winter fish kill happen? During the summer months the pond does its best to accumulate oxygen by surface area contact, wave action to break surface tension and plants or weeds that produce a small amount of oxygen. All may be well for a while but even summer fish kills can happen.

Let’s stick with winter fish kill and why. Spring, summer and fall help to add oxygen to the pond but only as deep as it can. Below that during the warmer months there is a thermocline created, a barrier of sorts that separate the warm and cold water which could only be a few degrees different in temperature. The warm water having oxygen and the colder water has very little if any oxygen.

Now visualize a cross section of the pond with an imaginary line called the thermocline separating the warm and cold water. As winter approaches the pond water cools down, plants and fish also slow down their activities. All is good, for now, even when ice forms and covers the pond as sunlight can still penetrate the ice and keep the weeds and plants alive to produce a little oxygen. But then the snow starts to accumulate on the ice and blocks the sunlight letting any weeds or plants to die, sink to the bottom and decompose creating carbon dioxide, ammonia and hydrogen sulfide.

As the decaying process continues thru winter so does the amount of gasses build and push towards the surface. The fish need to move and stay above these gasses in the water with oxygen. If the pond fills with these gasses the fish will suffocate. That’ why we see them gasping for air at the surface.

How can we help save the fish in this time of need.  An aeration system designed  and calculated for the pond size and volume. During the warmer months the aeration is pushing up and out the bad gasses and allowing beneficial bacteria to the floor of the pond to help consume the muck and nutrients.  Properly sized aeration system should be able to turn over the entire pond volume at least once a day and be able to move water starting at the floor of the pond. Essentially building oxygen from top to bottom, stock piling and saturating for the long winter months.

But what to do when winter comes?  When the water temps’ hit 55 degrees we want to move one diffuser to half the depth of the pond to keep a hole in the ice allowing gasses to escape, keeping open water for sunlight to keep alive your wanted aquatic plants and water to air oxygen exchange. The diffuser can be placed under your deck, dock or other structure to keep it ice free and from being lift by the ice.

Do I really need to run the aeration system during winter? No, but only if you have been running the system all summer long building oxygen in the entire volume of the pond. If you have two or more diffusers only leave one operating after it has been placed at half the depth of the pond. (If the pond is 10’ deep, locate the diffuser at 5’ deep) This keeps from super cooling the pond and harming the fish.

One caution on aerating during winter is to make the commitment to leave it run 24/7. Running the compressor only at night or on and off during a day could be harmful for the compressor. They do generate heat, then with the cold, condensation will accumulate in the compressor when it is off, freezing temps’ will form ice and when the compressor comes on again is when damage could happen. The reason I said commitment is the electric bill on the larger systems. On the other hand there is hope using a small diaphragm aerator called the KoiAir 2, using very little electricity monthly while keeping that hole in the ice for toxic gasses to escape and saving your dock or deck from being lifted by the ice.

Other related article is summer fish kill

{ 0 comments }

What it is, what it does, questions and answers?

Pond dye is just that a dye to color the pond water with your choice of three different colors. Natures Blue which is blue you may have seen before, Black Dyemond is unique that gives the pond even more reflective properties, makes the pond look deeper than it is and a good choice if you have trees around the pond such as a golf course. Lastly is Twilight Blue, that is a mix of Natures Blue and Black Dyemond that gives a more natural colored look.

Why dye the pond? Adding dye to the pond will change the color from brown or green to your choice of color from above. More than just changing color is the shading property keeping the sunlight from penetrating the pond waters depths to reduce weed and algae growth. By blocking the sunlight we have taken away one source needed for algae and weed growth, which is photosynthesis. On with questions and answers.

Does it kill algae and weeds?

No, it does not directly kill algae or weeds. The dye “prevents” algae and weeds from growing. Without sunlight the weeds and algae cannot live.

Yes, if the dye is applied directly to the plant and allowed to dry, which blocks the sunlight until the next rain event

Does it stain? Yes it can when dumped directly from the concentrated quart bottle. Over time it will wear off if it’s on your skin or get to scrubbing if you want it off sooner.

No is the other answer. Once the dye is in the water and starts to disperse you can actually run your hand thru the dye and be safe. After the dye has dispersed throughout the pond the geese, ducks, dogs, fish even kids swimming will not turn blue.

Is it safe for the fish and other wildlife? This has a yes answer. The fish, geese and ducks have had no problems as with our boys who have been drinking out of the pond for three years since we have been using the pond dye.

Can it be use to hide my fish or Koi from predators? I have not even experimented with this as of yet because as you can see these Koi pretty good. So if a heron was nearby I believe he would see them.

How do you apply the pond dye and what is the prescription? Pond Dye comes in a one quart bottle that will dye a one acre pond. The label suggests one to two quarts per acre and here’s how and why. As the label says use one quart per acre starting in the spring as soon as the ice is off to prevent sunlight from entering and starting growth in the pond.  As spring moves on and getting close to summer temps’ start darkening the water to a quart and a half and use two quarts when summer is full on. If you have a ½ acre pond use a half quart and so on. The pond dye colors the water 4-6’ deep.

Shake the bottle good and pour a little in the pond in various spots until you’ve use the prescribed amount. Then wait 12-24 hours for the dye to disperse or to help speed up the process go back around the pond with a shovel or paddle and help stir up the water where the dye was applied. Start as soon as ice is gone and double the dosage when the pond temp reaches 55 degrees for added shading.

Pond dye can be a pond management tool as well after using the weed cutter and  pond rake to remove weeds or use after a chemical treatment to allow 20 % to 30% of the pond to have plants for fish habitat. Other uses can be use a de-icer, the concentrated dye will absorb sunlight to melt ice or thaw out a frozen aerator line at the water’s edge.

Note: Ponds with suspended particles such as algae blooms, suspended nutrients, and particles of clay and or turbidity will color a little differently. Also these particles will change color from sunrise to sunset depending on the particles and angle of the sun. Some species of weeds need very little sunlight to live and shallower water will see some algae. We cannot be rid of algae 100% it is a needed life support for the food chain and a healthy pond.

Rain events can wash or thin the dye as it leaves the pond, mostly during spring or heavy storms, re apply to keep the color. Expect about two months of color if no water leaves the pond.

Be sure to watch the video below…

Related articles on Pond Dyes and Pond Dye

See the pond dye specials or contact us for a case of 12 quote.

{ 0 comments }