aeration

[Melott]

I currently have 2 aquaescape aerator discs in the shallow part of my pond. I’m thinking about adding 2 more disc and putting those at the bottom. So that would be 4 in total if I do that. Is that a good idea to do and have all year round or only in the summer? Or if the fish have been fine with how it’s been for over a year, should I just leave it be??? Help

 

[Mmathis]

@Melott Can you update us about your pond? You can never have too much aeration, during any season, but it’s going to be hard saying if you have too much or not. You are in the Southern US, right?

• How big is it, what kind of filtration do you have?
• Do you have fish and if so, how many and what kind?

 

[sissy]

depends on how cold your water gets in the winter .You live farther south than I do but this past winter was a hard one .I raised my airstones to with in 6 inch's from the top of the water

 

[carolinaguy]

We live down the street from you (figuratively) and run our two air pumps year around. Let’em run! Your fish will appreciate it.

 

[Melott]

Hello I have about a 60 gallon pond that gets full sunlight. So I get algae. I have 4 fan tail goldfish in there with a floating pond filter, with uv clarifier, and fountain. The 2 aeration disc and plants. I live I believe in zone 7 I’m at the top of SC by the boarder of Charlotte NC

 

[Lisak1]

Whoa! 60 gallons with two aigstones should be enough. I'm not sure I'd add any more! But are you sure this pond is 60 gallons? I'm not sure how a 60 gallon pond could have a "shallow part".

 

[carolinaguy]

If you shade your pond with something decorative, your problem will go away.

 

[Melott]

I believe so. The shallow part is two shelves at the ends. The pond is 18inches deep.

 

[Mmathis]

Please take a few pictures for us. Yeah, that sounds like it’s more than 60 gallons! That’s why I asked how big it was — 4 airstones in my 3000 gallon pond is totally different situation with a much smaller pond. Get a pond thermometer and see what the water temp. is.

 

[Mmathis]

We live down the street from you (figuratively) and run our two air pumps year around. Let’em run! Your fish will appreciate it.

LOL, in this tiny pond, 4 airstones might just turn the fish into flying fish!

 

[Melott]

Picture from last summer

 

[Melott]

Well can there be too much aeration in a pond?

 

[Mmathis]

Well can there be too much aeration in a pond?

Yes!

 

[Lisak1]

Well can there be too much aeration in a pond?

The simpler answer might be no - aeration at any level won't bother the pond itself. But if you have fish in the pond, they may get stressed and some pond plants (lilies for example) prefer stiller water. So in the sense of a complete pond, you can indeed have too much aeration. (As I always told my kids "too much" speaks for itself - too much is too much!)

 

[MitchM]

I agree with @sissy, @Mmathis and @Lisak1 , it is possible for a pond to have too much aeration (during the winter).
Aeration is excellent for providing circulation and equalizing gasses with the ambient air, when exposed to it.
I tried strong aeration this past winter in my 5 foot deep pond.
The result was ice formation between 3 and 4 feet deep because of the heat loss from aeration and my pond was still covered with ice for more than 5 months where no meaningful gas exchange took place.
You need to consider many factors when considering 4 season management for your pond.