Adding Oxygen to my pond..Help

[DD DDD]

I have a 300 gallon pond. The filter and pump is 1800gph which is way
overkill. My problem is Sometimes I want it quiet by the pond so I can
just look at my creatures without them flowing around from the strong
current the pump makes. I can slow down the filter a little but it says
no more than 2/3 . And if I shut it off to long I kill the bio filter
bacteria. I guess my problem is I just need plenty of oxygen so my fish
are happy. When I shut off the pump for a hour or so they just get lazy
and seem to need oxygen. I was told a airpump puts no air at all in the
pond , that it just makes rolling water that adds oxygen. Is this true?
The airpump must put some oxygen in. I have 3 small turtles in the pond
also and they hate the rapid moving water. I have the 1 1/2 inch outlet
hose on a rock that makes it like a waterfall and the fish are lively
and love it. So cant I just add a few air stones or air bubbler when the
pump is off for about 1-2 hours? I lost 1 turtle already because the
flow is to much. I cant put a fountain in either. Help

[~ jan JJsPond.us]

On Fri, 20 May 2005 22:25:04 -0500, (DD DDD) wrote:

>I have a 300 gallon pond. The filter and pump is 1800gph which is way
>overkill. My problem is Sometimes I want it quiet by the pond so I can
>just look at my creatures without them flowing around from the strong
>current the pump makes. I can slow down the filter a little but it says
>no more than 2/3 . And if I shut it off to long I kill the bio filter
>bacteria. I guess my problem is I just need plenty of oxygen so my fish
>are happy. When I shut off the pump for a hour or so they just get lazy
>and seem to need oxygen. I was told a airpump puts no air at all in the
>pond , that it just makes rolling water that adds oxygen. Is this true?
>The airpump must put some oxygen in. I have 3 small turtles in the pond
>also and they hate the rapid moving water. I have the 1 1/2 inch outlet
>hose on a rock that makes it like a waterfall and the fish are lively
>and love it. So cant I just add a few air stones or air bubbler when the
>pump is off for about 1-2 hours? I lost 1 turtle already because the
>flow is to much. I cant put a fountain in either. Help

How about making the pond bigger? ~ jan

~Power to the Porg, Flow On!~

[Reel McKoi]

"DD DDD" > wrote in message
...
> I have a 300 gallon pond. The filter and pump is 1800gph which is way
> overkill. My problem is Sometimes I want it quiet by the pond so I can
> just look at my creatures without them flowing around from the strong
> current the pump makes. I can slow down the filter a little but it says
> no more than 2/3 .

** I believe you need a less powerful pump on such a small pond. They would
be unable to rest. I would think they would become exhausted after some
time....

And if I shut it off to long I kill the bio filter
> bacteria. I guess my problem is I just need plenty of oxygen so my fish
> are happy. When I shut off the pump for a hour or so they just get lazy
> and seem to need oxygen.

** They may be exhausted and just resting.

I was told a airpump puts no air at all in the
> pond , that it just makes rolling water that adds oxygen. Is this true?

** Yes. Most of my fry pools have an air stone and no filters yet.

> The airpump must put some oxygen in. I have 3 small turtles in the pond
> also and they hate the rapid moving water.

> I have the 1 1/2 inch outlet
> hose on a rock that makes it like a waterfall and the fish are lively
> and love it. So cant I just add a few air stones or air bubbler when the
> pump is off for about 1-2 hours? I lost 1 turtle already because the
> flow is to much. I cant put a fountain in either. Help

** Yes, use airstones. Make sure to cover the airpump unless it's the
outdoor type.
--
McKoi.... the frugal ponder...
EVERYONE: "Please check people's headers for forgeries
before flushing." :-) NAMES ARE BEING FORGED.
~~~ }<((((o> ~~~ }<{{{{o> ~~~ }<(((((o>

[Kathy]

You could add a diverter that would let you have both water going over the
rock and streight up as a flow with out the fountain effect. If you have a
bio filter, that would cut the force into thirds.The diverter would let you
cut the force going to each hose. Or down size one line to go to a spitter.
I have a 300 gallon with a big pump and I use diverters to run a waterfall,
the filter, and a spitter. It slows everything down to a workable speed.
Keeps all the fish and plants happy.I would never turn off my pump. It runs
24/7/365. Don't have turtles in the pond though, mine are western box and
live in the yard, and the pond is half above ground, so they don't get into
trouble. KathyAZ
"DD DDD" > wrote in message
...
>I have a 300 gallon pond. The filter and pump is 1800gph which is way
> overkill. My problem is Sometimes I want it quiet by the pond so I can
> just look at my creatures without them flowing around from the strong
> current the pump makes. I can slow down the filter a little but it says
> no more than 2/3 . And if I shut it off to long I kill the bio filter
> bacteria. I guess my problem is I just need plenty of oxygen so my fish
> are happy. When I shut off the pump for a hour or so they just get lazy
> and seem to need oxygen. I was told a airpump puts no air at all in the
> pond , that it just makes rolling water that adds oxygen. Is this true?
> The airpump must put some oxygen in. I have 3 small turtles in the pond
> also and they hate the rapid moving water. I have the 1 1/2 inch outlet
> hose on a rock that makes it like a waterfall and the fish are lively
> and love it. So cant I just add a few air stones or air bubbler when the
> pump is off for about 1-2 hours? I lost 1 turtle already because the
> flow is to much. I cant put a fountain in either. Help
>

[Snooze]

"DD DDD" > wrote in message
...
>I have a 300 gallon pond. The filter and pump is 1800gph which is way
> overkill. My problem is Sometimes I want it quiet by the pond so I can
> just look at my creatures without them flowing around from the strong
> current the pump makes. I can slow down the filter a little but it says
> no more than 2/3 . And if I shut it off to long I kill the bio filter
> bacteria. I guess my problem is I just need plenty of oxygen so my fish
> are happy. When I shut off the pump for a hour or so they just get lazy
> and seem to need oxygen. I was told a airpump puts no air at all in the
> pond , that it just makes rolling water that adds oxygen. Is this true?
> The airpump must put some oxygen in. I have 3 small turtles in the pond
> also and they hate the rapid moving water. I have the 1 1/2 inch outlet
> hose on a rock that makes it like a waterfall and the fish are lively
> and love it. So cant I just add a few air stones or air bubbler when the
> pump is off for about 1-2 hours? I lost 1 turtle already because the
> flow is to much. I cant put a fountain in either. Help

Your pump is better suited for a much larger pond, or for a higher
waterfall. In such a small pond, you can add an airpump, or a much smaller
pump. Something in the range of a 200 gph would probably suit your needs,
smaller then that, and the pumps are better suited for use indoor water
fountains. A smaller pump would also reduce your energy consumption.

A smaller pump will also draw less electricity.

You were told correctly, the oxygen to water exchange happens on the water's
surface. The surface area of an air bubble is so insignificant that it makes
almost no difference. If you had an airpump that always had 1000 air bubbles
of 1/32th of an inch in diameter in the water, it would only produce about
12 square inches of additional surface area.
0.03125 * 0.03125 * 4 * 3.14156 * 1000 = 12.27171875

The air pump on the other hand causes the water to circulate, bringing water
from the bottom of the pond to the surface where oxygen can dissolve into
the water.

-S

[Courageous]

>I have a 300 gallon pond. The filter and pump is 1800gph which is way
>overkill.

There are smaller pumps. For a pond your size, 150 to 300 GPH is
more like it. The MD2 is about $50.

http://www.aquaticeco.com/index.cfm/fuseaction/product.detail/iid/8804/cid/4016

If cost is an issue, you might compare the probable 180 WATTS to
the MD2's 25, and estimate how much money you'll be saving monthly.
Quite a lot, I expect. The pump will probably pay for itself in
about 2 months.

> So cant I just add a few air stones or air bubbler when the
>pump is off for about 1-2 hours?

Of course you can.

C//