Do I need Aerator, and if so, how big?

[mario]

Some of my fish have died.
I think it was because the pond froze over and I didn't make the 'gas' holes frequently enough, or large enough.
I have since bough the 100W deicer, and now I have a nice 12-14" hole for the gasses to escape.
I also read about the oxygen depletion and am wondering if that's part of my problem with fish dying.

I'm willing to purchase an aerator if I need one, just trying to be cost aware.

If you tell me that I really need an Aerator because my waterfall isn't running in the winter, can you tell me if my ~3000Gal pond really needs a $300 Aerator, or if I can get away with a smaller one, like the $70 one I linked below?
http://www.westernpond.com/ap20aerator.html?gclid=CP6JmJrK5K0CFcUZQgodQiUmoA

If there are ones that you're using and you like them, please let me know.
I don't want to cheapen out and buy one that will be either insufficient in size/power, won't last long, or will be a power hog.
I'm OK with spending the money if it's justified... you know what I mean.

 

[addy1]

So sorry you have lost your fish.

I don't have a heater for mine.

This is the one I use in the summer, it puts out a ton of air. I bought a larger one for the winter, my pond is around 11-10k gallons, and we froze hard last winter. But I think the smaller one would have done well.

Here are three different ones of the same type I bought. We did not see any noticeable difference in our electrical bill.

http://www.ebay.com/...=item416119d63e
http://www.ebay.com/...=item3cc1a531e8
http://www.ebay.com/...=item415dc1dad0

Did you check your water, i.e the water tests. See if something has gotten out of wack in the water.

This is the one I bought for winter use, cost around 8 dollars a month to run, based on our electricity cost.

http://www.google.co...ved=0CGgQ8wIwAQ

 

[sissy]

You can just use a pump in the middle to aerate the water.Like addy said test your water.If you have a petco near you they have a nice 4 gang aerator for around 28 dollars and it says for fish tanks but I have been using it for my pond for 4 years now as long as it is protected from the weather but still get the air the pump needs it is fine .I got a bigger aerator this past summer but still like that one .It comes with tubing and air stones for that price and makes a great starter air pump .Do you have any rotting matter on the bottom of the pond .First you need to test the water .liquid test kits are not expensive .I buy mine from pet mountain 19 dollars

 

[Mmathis]

When you guys say "aerator," do you mean an air pump, like what you use in an aquarium for air stones? Or is this a different piece of equipment altogether? And if it's the same, are there some that are rated for outdoor use? I thought about aerating my pond, but this is not something I've looked into yet. Just curious...

 

[koiguy1969]

An aerater (air pump and stone) is typically cheaper to run on the power use. and necessary or not, is always a plus. in the colder months oxygen is usually not a problem due to the fact that colder water naturally holds more oxygen. i'm not familiar with your fishload, but usually its not an issue unless overstocked. excessive muck on the floor of pond will create toxic gases and if there was an extended period of your pond being froze over without a way to allow those gases to escape...fish kills are more likely. like i said earlier aerators are always a plus....oxygen rich water is healthier water for the fish and an added plus is it helps hinder algea growth as well in the warmer months, being more effective on the dreaded green water single cell algeas.

 

[sissy]

aerator air pump mostly mean the same thing just think it comes down to how much you want to type .They pump air into the water some have bladders and some don't ,some work on a piston .A bladder in a air pump has to replaced once in a while just because of wear and tear and similar to how a bladder works on a well storage tank .Some can use air stones and some use long weighted hose and can bubble up from the bottom .Air pumps can range in price from low to high depends on how much you want to spend .You can always start off with a cheaper model and the budget affords you the extra you can go up in price ,thats what I did ,but hate to say I still like the cheaper one better .I have the piston pump and really am not that happy with the one i bought but I got it on sale for less than 40 dollars and is supposed to pump out 4.5 psi at 6 feet but to me it does not really pump out that much .The one from petco is a bladder type and seems to give a good amount of air and has worked fine .The one pump I bought has a foaming head with a venturi attachment .I did not know what the piece was for so had to ask on here .The part is in the one pic and then I use the pvc with holes drilled in it and the hose from the pump pumping water

 

[mario]

Thanks for replays.
You are all correct that I need to test my water.
The issue is that since my pond is iced over, I have no water flowing. Testing water at edge of the pond won't tell me what the rest of my pond's water condition is like.
I do agree that some info is better than none; however, once I find out that I have problem, X, Y or Z, then what?
I can drop my pump into the pond and manually circulate some water, but I was hoping that using air pump would cause enough of water movement to move the water throughout the pond (or at least most of the pond).

I do have a water testing kit, I'll try to break it out and test the water over the next few days.

Again, thanks for helping out.

 

[mario]

So sorry you have lost your fish. I don't have a heater for mine. This is the one I use in the summer, it puts out a ton of air. I bought a larger one for the winter, my pond is around 11-10k gallons, and we froze hard last winter. But I think the smaller one would have done well. Here are three different ones of the same type I bought. We did not see any noticeable difference in our electrical bill. http://www.ebay.com/...=item416119d63e http://www.ebay.com/...=item3cc1a531e8 http://www.ebay.com/...=item415dc1dad0 Did you check your water, i.e the water tests. See if something has gotten out of wack in the water. This is the one I bought for winter use, cost around 8 dollars a month to run, based on our electricity cost. http://www.google.co...ved=0CGgQ8wIwAQ

Thanks for your suggestions.
For my size pond, ~3000Gal, which pump would you go with?
Also, which air stone would you recommend? I've seen several listed on places like eBay, but other than stating a size, 5" for example, there is little to no specs as how much supplied air they can displace? How do I match the stone to pump, and should I put just one stone or would it be better to have 3, one at each end, and one in the middle?

Do you fishy people run your air pumps 24/7, or is this more in line with waterfalls that usually run 7-15 hours a day?

 

[addy1]

You could probably use the http://www.ebay.com/itm/COMMERCIAL-...438?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item416119d63e smaller one and it would do fine.

I tend to go bigger than needed.........lol

Air stones work, or an air disc (air stones from the pet store are cheap, you will need to change out off and on if they clog up)

I run mine 24/7 and last summer had an air stone mid, deep and other side of pond i.e. 3 places

 

[sissy]

In cooler temps the water is more oxygenated than any other time .Water falls and just a fountain head will help add more oxygen .The test will tell you everything .Addy I have the 55 watt one like that and hate to say but I'm really not happy with the amount of air it gives out .It says at 6 feet it gives out 4.5 psi well it does not for me and have not been happy with it since the day I got it .I got a pondmaster one at an auction the 60 one at least it says 60 on it and it works 10 times better .I paid 15 dollars for the pond master one with all the air lines and a bunch of air stones .Auction zip in NC had some great auctions .This was stuff from a sell out of a pet store .

 

[koiguy1969]

a filtered waterfall should run 24/7, not 7 - 15 hours a day.at least when the weather is warmer.. the beneficial bacteria can and likely will die off in that amount of down time. and yes a an air pump of adequate size will move water sufficiently under the ice. i would think a 40 watter should be good in your pond and economical for year round use.

 

[mario]

Thanks.
Any suggestions on specific air stones or disks?
I'm OK with any source including Fleabay

 

[koiguy1969]

i used discs.....they seem to have a better movement of water.....side note...ebay has some decent prices on some decent aerators.

 

[sissy]

Use the biggest airstone you can find and try to get it at a good price .I got my 2 inch ones from big als .com

 

[sissy]

Thats one of the sick fish I got so watch out when you get free fish .It seems he must have had it and a week after I got him from a neighbor that was moving this showed up and I had to treat him with salt and tetracycalene and it took 3 weeks to clear him up .Took an hour to catch the sucker in my pond , he was fast