A couple of days ago I posted a question about pond aeration and it was suggested that I use an airstone and a circulation pump. I check the web to see what to buy and came upon a pond pump with a fountain attachment. The pump would provide circulation and the fountain would provide aeration. Would this work? Or would it work if I used a submersible pump and had the outlet hose secured on the waterfall with the water falling about 15/18 inches into the pond to provide aeration?
Pond Aeration
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no. first off, that's water circulation and not injecting oxygen. Second, an air stone injects air at the deepest regions of the pond where the water is oxygen poor--a foutain only moves water at the very top.
Thanks KoiKeeper. That is the information I needed. I will go with the airstone and a circulating pump.
oldmarine
Married 32 years
So far I only have water circulation through the skimmer and boi-filter, and a heavely planted pond. The Shubunkins appear to be healthy, happy and content. Do I need more aeriation, and How would I know?
Question - wouldn't you want to turn this off, or at least move it off the bottom, in the winter? Otherwise you'd cause the cold water from up top to move down into the heavier, warmer water from the bottom and lower the water's temperature? Plus you'd be pumping cold outside air into the water?
Am I wrong?
Also, will just a regular large aquarium air pump work for this?
Am I wrong?
Also, will just a regular large aquarium air pump work for this?
No, in the winter you leave your aeration on. Mine is on 365 days per year. In winter, the air still serves to circulate in the same manner it does in the summer--especially important since the rest of your system (filter/etc.) is stopped. Plus, it serves to keep a hole open in the surface in case of a freeze and allow for gas exchange.
I don't know if a regular indoor aquarium would work. For one, they are not meant to be outdoors and in the elements such as moisture, dampness, very cold, very hot, etc. I have a Dolphin AV-50 on my pond. It's a workhorse. They make slighlty smaller models for those that have smaller ponds. Mine is probably too big for my pond and I could have gone with a smaller one, but I wanted to get that size in case I needed to set up an emergency hospital tank or nursery tank near my pond temporarily.
I don't know if a regular indoor aquarium would work. For one, they are not meant to be outdoors and in the elements such as moisture, dampness, very cold, very hot, etc. I have a Dolphin AV-50 on my pond. It's a workhorse. They make slighlty smaller models for those that have smaller ponds. Mine is probably too big for my pond and I could have gone with a smaller one, but I wanted to get that size in case I needed to set up an emergency hospital tank or nursery tank near my pond temporarily.
koikeepr, what zone do you live in?
My thought is, when it gets really cold out, that's when you'd want to turn it off. Water that is below 4 degrees celcius in temperature is less dense than water above 4 degrees celcius - that's why ice floats. So, at cold winter temps, the surface water is going to be colder than the water at the bottom of the pond. Cold water is more oxygen rich than warm water too. This is why fish go to the bottom of the pond in the winter.
If you have an airstone sitting at the bottom of the pond and running, it's going to circulate the water, mixing the water from different levels. This will lower the overall pond temperature.
I'm thinking moving the airstone up to the middle of the pond would work? Leaves the bottom level of water alone then, but still keeps a spot open in the top?
My thought is, when it gets really cold out, that's when you'd want to turn it off. Water that is below 4 degrees celcius in temperature is less dense than water above 4 degrees celcius - that's why ice floats. So, at cold winter temps, the surface water is going to be colder than the water at the bottom of the pond. Cold water is more oxygen rich than warm water too. This is why fish go to the bottom of the pond in the winter.
If you have an airstone sitting at the bottom of the pond and running, it's going to circulate the water, mixing the water from different levels. This will lower the overall pond temperature.
I'm thinking moving the airstone up to the middle of the pond would work? Leaves the bottom level of water alone then, but still keeps a spot open in the top?
i live in zone 6.
You could move the air stone up higher if you like, but I don't. As you can see from the photos in that link I sent, the water at the bottom is the most oxygen poor. Yes, technically you are mixing the water and it will simply all be more or less one temperature. I don't have a problem with that at all. It's probably two or three degrees you're worrying about---particularly in your zone 8a.
Again, if you're looking to just keep an air hole open, you can put that air stone wherever you like. I'm using it to do that and to keep up water/air circulation in the pond as well. Not sure why you'd want to miss out on the other half of the benefit, but that's up to you.
You could move the air stone up higher if you like, but I don't. As you can see from the photos in that link I sent, the water at the bottom is the most oxygen poor. Yes, technically you are mixing the water and it will simply all be more or less one temperature. I don't have a problem with that at all. It's probably two or three degrees you're worrying about---particularly in your zone 8a.
Again, if you're looking to just keep an air hole open, you can put that air stone wherever you like. I'm using it to do that and to keep up water/air circulation in the pond as well. Not sure why you'd want to miss out on the other half of the benefit, but that's up to you.
I have a related question - if running the airstone during the winter doesn't make a really significant difference to temperature, why turn off filtration?
Should I just leave my filter and pump running over the winter then? Obviously not run the waterfall, as it will cause evaporation and thus cooling, but what about just running the pump and filter in the main pond? I have a 2100gph pondmaster pump and a laguna powerflo max filter.
Should I just leave my filter and pump running over the winter then? Obviously not run the waterfall, as it will cause evaporation and thus cooling, but what about just running the pump and filter in the main pond? I have a 2100gph pondmaster pump and a laguna powerflo max filter.
You can leave it running if you like. Depending on where you live, there are folks who do. As I've said in another post, two years ago I decided to try that as an experiment. At the time I had a submersible pump instead of the external I have now. On the days with extreme cold and ice on top, the pump was not a happy camper, so I turned everything off. Most submersible pumps aren't really made to work in freezing cold water conditions. I guess you could say it would depend on the pump. For a lot of folks, they just don't want to deal with the hassle of keeping things going in the winter.
You do need to know that the good bacteria in the filter does die off in cold weather, too. So, you really won't be getting biological filtration, but just mechanical.
Tell me, are you afraid of turning off your system and just letting your pond go dormant a few months?
You do need to know that the good bacteria in the filter does die off in cold weather, too. So, you really won't be getting biological filtration, but just mechanical.
Tell me, are you afraid of turning off your system and just letting your pond go dormant a few months?
No matter what, you want the oxygen levels to be safe for your fish.
Not at all - I'd planned to turn everything off. Just trying to understand the logic behind leaving the airstone running versus leaving the filter running.
Ok, so the answer from that perspective (for me), is that the airstone isn't to replace filtration--because obvioiusly nothing can. In summer, and air pump is an addition/complement to filtration and in winter it's to tide you over while filtration isn't fully there. I hope that makes sense....
koiguy1969
GIGGETY-GIGGETY!!
for the small cost of running an air pump...its a big help and an additional peice of mind. the more oxygen in the water the better. from your fish to the bacteria that filters and cleans your water of toxins its beneficial... and your fish will enjoy playing in the stream of bubbles.