Q & A Of The Day

Winter Aeration Tips For Large Ponds

In todays Q & A Of The Day a question came in from Holly who’s using an aerator in her pond throughout the winter. It seems that the compressor running this system is making some odd noises. Almost like an exhalation of air every 5 to 10 seconds and it just started a week or so ago. The system has been running great for months and this is unusual.

Answer: Thanks for the question and email Holly. While your situation with the aerator is not normal in the sense of the word, it may not be unusual at all. This reaction by the compressor represents some form of blocking or kinking in the airline and the added back pressure is being released from time to time by the compressor system.

Since it’s winter, it’s most likely some type of ice build up rather than a kink in the airline. Some condensation can form in the line form time to time an may freeze a bit. To remedy the situation it’s recommended to pour 1-2 tablespoons of isopropyl alcohol into the airline and let it melt what’s in there. Most likely this will open things up again.

Most of the aeration packages you’ll find today are very simple to operate and require very little maintenance. Compressors are designed to run continuously for years with trouble free service and most of them certainly do. This doesn’t mean you won’t run into problems with the from time to time, and the obvious signs of problems usually show up as a change in the sound coming from the device (usually you should hear a light humming) or a drop in air volume being pushed through the diffuser. Should either of these things change it’s probably a good idea to contact the retailer or supplier that you bought the unit from to get some ideas on what to do. If needed, repair kits are available for some models.

Since we’re talking about winter aeration in this article I wanted to remind you of a few suggestions that may help get better results in your pond. Unlike summer aeration, where oxygen is often lower in the pond water, and for best results you would place the aerator diffuser in the deepest part of the pond, in winter you actually want to move the diffuser to shallower water.

The primary reason most people use an aerator in the winter is to keep a segment of the ice open so that oxygen can be exchanged into the pond and any gases, including some toxic ones, can be released into the air. This process get’s restricted when ice covers a pond entirely. An aerator often has the power, through the release of air bubbles, to keep a part of the surface ice free and they can do so fairly affordably.

If you have a multi diffuser system, it’s often fine to just use one of them during the winter and turn the others off. The same benefit can be gained from one, rather than all of them.

Most pond owners find aerators to be relatively trouble free, and particularly when they’re compared to surface fountains. Fountains, as you may recall, pull water up from underneath and shoot it into the air. This often draws debris, algae, and other things into the device and it can plug them up. Since an aerator actually pushes air out of the diffuser, and this is coming from a land based pump, you generally won’t run into any problems of clogging and restriction. In really muddy bottom ponds, you may want to ensure that some gunk and debris isn’t covering the system, but it’s often easy enough to pull these up and check things over once a year. If any rubber membrane needs to be replace, those parts are readily available and easy to install.

Choosing A Pond Skimmer

by Mark

Bob sent in this pond question recently. “I have been doing some research on pond skimmers. I see some of these products say they are good for 1000 gallons. I don’t understand what the gallons of a pond have to do with surface skimming. I would think size of the pond surface should be the consideration when trying to find the right size of skimmer. Am I missing something?”

Answer: Bob, thanks for the great question.

A pond skimmer, for those that may not know, are devices that are installed in smaller ponds, usually on the opposite side of a water fall that capture and trap unwanted material that enters the pond. They can help keep leaves, paper, or just about anything else from settling into the pond. Inside the skimmer is a chamber or basin wither a capture and filtering screen. It can be looked at as something of a prefilter which can help protect a true pond filter from getting a lot of gunk in it.

Pond skimmers are one of those things that not every single small pond owner will need, but they sure can be a time saver when it comes to keeping a pond clean. A skimmer won’t necessarily capture every bit of material that falls into the pond. Particularly heavy or poor floating stuff may sink too fast to end up in the device, but for lighter, floating debris, a skimmer can be a great tool to have.

So now on to Bob’s question.

In a nutshell, it makes sense in terms of your point about the surface size being the key issue but let me suggest why other factors are also important to consider. There are several things I would think about when choosing a skimmer to fit my needs.

First, regardless of the size of the pond (and I say this within reason) if your pond get’s a lot of debris a bit bigger skimmer will handle this load better and you may not have to clean it out as frequently. The maintenance routine, to me, is important because some folks don’t like to work on their pond every day and some may only have time on the weekends as an example.

Also keep in mind that a pond skimmer, while optional, is a very real part of the overall pond filtration system. These should always be best suited to the overall pond size if possible and I would also add that in terms of choosing something like a pond filter set up, fish loading will come into play here too.

Ideally the full pond volume of water should pass through the entire system at a recommended rate for effective filtration. Normally in ponds with fish you want the full gallon volume to circulate once per hour or so. So all of the components in this system must be able to handle this degree of volume…whether it’s the pump, biofilter, uv light, or skimmer.

Some skimmers, although not all, may actually hold the pump, and have some additional filtration capability other than a simple mesh screen to catch some of the larger bits of debris. A finer, or tighter screen will capture smaller bits of material and do more of the grunt work for you. However in doing so, it will also probably require more routine cleaning.

Like all the other components in a pond you primarily need to think about what your needs, wants, and demands will be on the skimmer and choose, as best you can according to that.

Fortunately most pond retailers have a good understanding of what will work best in most situations, so use their knowledge of the components should you need to in order to get the best fit for your pond.

Can Pond Algae Still Grow In The Winter?

by Mark

I’ll share a recent and common question that always comes in during the colder months of the year. This one is from Robert who has a small pond that he keeps open year round. He was somewhat surprised to find algae growing in the water, even with the pond being surrounding by snow and the temperatures are still quite cold. He asks if this is at all normal?

Answer: As odd as winter algae may sound, it’s really not unusual for small pond owners who may choose to keep their pond open all winter long. I remember as well that large ponds can be affected too. It was very early on in my pond management work and I visited a pond in early March that was completely covered in ice. However there was a very healthy algae bloom growing under the inch or two of ice. It was quite apparent that there was ample sunlight getting through to stimulate it, and the pond had historically had algae issues in the summer too so nutrient loading was quite high as well.

For small ponds it can still come down to an issue of nutrients and these, for the most part will run unchecked in cold weather. The normal bacterial systems such as a biofilter and active bacteria will either be shut down or go dormant in really cold temperatures. There are winter blends of bacteria but even the best of these will only work down to about 34 degrees and most “normal” bacteria will stop working below about 45 degrees.

The very healthy beneficial and desirable plants that you might use in summer time are also long gone from the pond, yet some sunlight and some degradation of organic elements in the pond can still continue on, albeit more slowly than in warm weather.

With all of these things combined, algae has a fairly free run and growing. Algae can be a very hardy, adaptable plant and there is often some kind of species of it that will survive in almost any environment. It’s one of the oldest plants known to be in existence today and something doesn’t live that long without having some unique qualities. Simply put, algae can grow, when other things may not function well.

To ease some of the concern, it should be kept in mind that algae isn’t necessarily a bad thing in every single instance. Fish may eat it from time to time and in small quantities it’s probably not anything to worry about. Once everything is operational again, meaning the pond’s filtration system, and the addition of aquatic plants, the algae most likely will go away on it’s own.

If you find algae troublesome in the winter time, applying a bit of hydrogen peroxide (3% solution) or a hydrogen peroxide based treatment like Algae-Off algaecide will usually kill it fairly quickly. This is one of the best ways to treat any algae growing on rocks and will help to avoid having to srub it off. If you find thicker string algae growing, it’s best to remove this by hand, or by mechanical extraction if possible. A pond-safe algae rake would likely do the trick.

Winter time pond algae may seem out of place in a world of white and ice but in fact, it can feel right at home in nearly any condition or environment. Fortunately there are answers to remedy a winter algae bloom if it’s necessary, and with a bit of patience, you may find the problem to be short-lived as the seasons begin to change.

Is My Pond Filter Too Small?

by Mark

Todays Q & A Of The Day comes from Susan who writes, “HELP! I think my filter is to small for my pond. I have a Laguna 2100 bio filter. My pond is in full sun it’s 23ft.long 20ft.wide and 3ft.deep. My pond is 3yrs. old and my water is still green and my ph is to high. I have used all kinds of chem.and solar salt. Nothing has changed. I can’t believe my koi are still happy and alive! Can you help?”

Answer: Thank you Susan for your question. Fish can certainly handle green water and if the pH is around 9.0 or below you’re probably ok there as well.
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