Any experienced members have words of advice for summer heat?

[Moni_Pond]

Hi pond friends! I'm enjoying pond life tremendously all is going well. The pond seems healthy, and it is smooth sailing right now. I am just wondering, is there anything I should be looking out for or careful about as I am in my second day of over 100 degrees Fahrenheit, and have a couple more days of it to go. Luckily for this my pond is mostly shade, but I was just curious if there is anything I should be doing or checking on? I did take the water temperature today and it was around 82 degrees Fahrenheit, so quite a bit cooler than the air thank goodness!

Thanks in advance for any responses. I appreciate you!

 

[GBBUDD]

Your dissolved oxygen content will be lower than usual . warmer waters can't hold as much O2 in the water. So an extra air stone or two depending on its size, may be needed the size of your pond and size and quantity of fish. Or you can increase the current over your falls or streams. String algae may make an appearance some is almost always present, and healthy. Keep an eye on the temps but even if it shoots up don't return the favor and drastically cool it off to fast.

How old is your pond. I imagine your avatar is your pond , share some photos of it

 

[Moni_Pond]

Thank you. I

Your dissolved oxygen content will be lower than usual . warmer waters can't hold as much O2 in the water. So an extra air stone or two depending on its size, may be needed the size of your pond and size and quantity of fish. Or you can increase the current over your falls or streams. String algae may make an appearance some is almost always present, and healthy. Keep an eye on the temps but even if it shoots up don't return the favor and drastically cool it off to fast.

How old is your pond. I imagine your avatar is your pond , share some photos of it

Thank you very much for the advice! I inherited this pond with my home purchase two years ago, so I don't know the age of the pond. It is around 10,000 gallons. I have about 12 goldfish and five million baby roses red minnows (had only seven minnows a year ago haha). I have a pretty long (approx 100 feet) stream, but I haven't been running it for more than 8 hours a day or so due to the heat and evaporation, but perhaps I should reconsider. I have a waterfall with two pumps, but one is currently being repaired so only running one. All three pumps (waterfall has two, and stream one) are torpedo 10,000 gallon pumps, but I've only been leaving one running (the bog one) continuously. I'm also running a pretty powerful aerator.

Interesting about increasing current of streams. I don't think my pumps can be adjusted like that. I didn't realize that the current would affect oxygenating the water. I guess having the long stream may put a lot of oxygen in the water then. ??

Thank you again GBBUDD - I greatly appreciate your time and sharing experience.

 

[Mmathis]

One hundred percent agree about adding as much extra water movement as possible! I use an air pump with double air stones (it’s for ponds, but is not weather-proof, so I have it covered).

 

[poconojoe]

Agree with everything said.

Anything that disturbs or agitates the surface will help oxygenate your pond. For example, the output of a pump directed at the surface, a waterfall, a fountain, etc.

You can add some shade to your pond by using plants that cover the surface. Lillies, Water Hyacinths, Water Lettuce, Frogbit, etc.
You'll want to keep the coverage no higher than 60% of the water surface area though.

Some people go as far as hanging tarps or other material high up between trees to block the direct sunlight.

 

[Jhn]

Agree with everyone.

Leave all your pumps running to keep the water agitated and keep the oxygen levels up. If you have to add water for evap, so be it….you have a large pond, it’s going to take a lot of days of heat to drive the temp up to unsafe levels, unless you shut your pumps off.

Have a pond that gets full sun pretty much all day, and have yet to have any issues and around my area it can get up into the upper 90’s low 100’s for months. I never turn any of my pumps/aerators off.

 

[Moni_Pond]

Agree with everything said.

Anything that disturbs or agitates the surface will help oxygenate your pond. For example, the output of a pump directed at the surface, a waterfall, a fountain, etc.

You can add some shade to your pond by using plants that cover the surface. Lillies, Water Hyacinths, Water Lettuce, Frogbit, etc.
You'll want to keep the coverage no higher than 60% of the water surface area though.

Some people go as far as hanging tarps or other material high up between trees to block the direct sunlight.

Thank you! My pond is almost about 90% shade surrounded by large trees (not so fun in autumn). Normally I wish that I had more sun because I want my lilies to bloom, but in summer heat I suppose it is nice.

 

[Moni_Pond]

Agree with everyone.

Leave all your pumps running to keep the water agitated and keep the oxygen levels up. If you have to add water for evap, so be it….you have a large pond, it’s going to take a lot of days of heat to drive the temp up to unsafe levels, unless you shut your pumps off.

Have a pond that gets full sun pretty much all day, and have yet to have any issues and around my area it can get up into the upper 90’s low 100’s for months. I never turn any of my pumps/aerators off.

Thank you. I will get some more neutralizer for topping off and let the stream go day and night. I appreciate the advice.

 

[GBBUDD]

With ponds you should never shut down anything. But for the winters nap

 

[Moni_Pond]

With ponds you should never shut down anything. But for the winters nap

Last year we left the stream running nonstop, but this year we replaced the broken stream pump and it was so much more powerful that the evaporation seemed crazy. There was a leak that we repaired, but perhaps there is another small one somewhere I haven't located.

BTW, I just looked at your pond and I am so blown away. Your carnivorous bog is especially intriguing. I read in your showcase link that the carnivorous plant bog could survive winter. I am in the same hardiness zone and was not aware. I am just beginning to dabble with a pitcher plant and am learning. Thank you kindly for your time helping me today.

 

[GBBUDD]

Salll right, your welcome !

what state are you in ?

 

[Moni_Pond]

I am in St. Louis, Missouri, USA.

 

[GBBUDD]

Hope your staying cool just heard you folks are battling 100 degrees out there