Is a Air Pump necessary?

I have read lots have natural ponds/VG filter no falls and they do not talk
of the need for an air pump/stone. How necessary is a air pump/air stone to
the health of the pond? Do you calculate size by gal with this type of pump
also. If not what would be a typical size for a pond, better yet, what do
you use? Joann

Joann wrote I have read lots have natural ponds/VG filter no falls and they
do not talk
of the need for an air pump/stone. How necessary is a air pump/air stone to
the health of the pond?

It all depends on the pond.

Our ornamental garden ponds usually suffer from way too many nutrients stuffed
into too small a space. The decomposition of these nutrients (fish poo,
decaying plant matter, etc.) uses up oxygen. And we love plants, so we stuff
lots of those in too. At night the plants stop making O2 and start consuming
it.

It is all a balancing act.

A good way to tell if your pond needs more 02 is to get up before the sun
rises. If you see fish gasping at the surface then adding an airstone would be
a good fix for them.

Low fish stocking is also a key to having an easy pond to manage.


k30a
yearly brother website posting
http://www.30acreimaging.com/

Joann wrote I have read lots have natural ponds/VG filter no falls and they
do not talk
of the need for an air pump/stone. How necessary is a air pump/air stone to
the health of the pond?

It all depends on the pond.

Our ornamental garden ponds usually suffer from way too many nutrients stuffed
into too small a space. The decomposition of these nutrients (fish poo,
decaying plant matter, etc.) uses up oxygen. And we love plants, so we stuff
lots of those in too. At night the plants stop making O2 and start consuming
it.

It is all a balancing act.

A good way to tell if your pond needs more 02 is to get up before the sun
rises. If you see fish gasping at the surface then adding an airstone would be
a good fix for them.

Low fish stocking is also a key to having an easy pond to manage.


k30a
yearly brother website posting
http://www.30acreimaging.com/

Unless your fish are hanging at the top of the water gasping you dont need
an airstone.

"FBCS" wrote in message
...
I have read lots have natural ponds/VG filter no falls and they do not
talk
of the need for an air pump/stone. How necessary is a air pump/air stone
to
the health of the pond? Do you calculate size by gal with this type of
pump
also. If not what would be a typical size for a pond, better yet, what do
you use? Joann

"Sam Hopkins" wrote in message
.. .
Unless your fish are hanging at the top of the water gasping you dont need
an airstone.

"FBCS" wrote in message
...
I have read lots have natural ponds/VG filter no falls and they do not
talk
of the need for an air pump/stone. How necessary is a air pump/air stone
to
the health of the pond? Do you calculate size by gal with this type of
pump
also. If not what would be a typical size for a pond, better yet, what
do
you use? Joann

Sam, I think scientifically this is probably true, but if someone is
strangling you, would you like them to stop now, or wait until you turn
blue? Either way you will probably live, but which is really better? It's
cheap and easy to aerate.

BV.

all "unnatural" ponds need aeration. any pond with pea soup is a ticking time bomb
when the temp heats up the water wont hold enough oxygen and the big fish start
dying. just leave a container of water around without aeration and it starts
stinking really bad. drop in an airstone and it sweetens right up. everything in
the pond except the nasty bacteria need air. using a UV to clear the pea soup does
not mean there is enough oxygen. Ingrid


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
List Manager: Puregold Goldfish List
http://puregold.aquaria.net/
www.drsolo.com
Solve the problem, dont waste energy finding who's to blame
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Unfortunately, I receive no money, gifts, discounts or other
compensation for all the damn work I do, nor for any of the
endorsements or recommendations I make.

"Lee Brouillet" writes:

I must (respectfully) disagree with you on this, Sam. By the time the fish
are hanging out on the surface or at the waterfall, they're STARVED for
oxygen, which is nearly too late. Why wait that long? They will grow better
and be much happier with adequate O2 in the water. Mother Nature pulls a
dirty trick on fish: in the summer, when they're the most active and
growing, she yanks the oxygen out of the water because it's warm. Think of
it like trying to run a marathon in Denver without training for it . . .
sorry, there's just not much O2 in the air up there G. Same thing: not
much O2 in warm water. Aeration is like filtration: you can't get too much.

There is a saturation point for oxygen dissolving in water.

For filtration I agree, just because if its twice as big it needs to be cleaned
half as often.

But you didn't answer the second part of my question. If airation w/
airstone is necessary what size and type do I look for. They do not hang at
the top, but they are in full sun most of the day and in only 18" of depth
until I can finish digging. They is a slight waterfall they love to play in
and swim against the flow.
"BenignVanilla" wrote in message
...
"Sam Hopkins" wrote in message
.. .
Unless your fish are hanging at the top of the water gasping you dont
need
an airstone.

"FBCS" wrote in message
...
I have read lots have natural ponds/VG filter no falls and they do not
talk
of the need for an air pump/stone. How necessary is a air pump/air
stone
to
the health of the pond? Do you calculate size by gal with this type of
pump
also. If not what would be a typical size for a pond, better yet, what
do
you use? Joann

Sam, I think scientifically this is probably true, but if someone is
strangling you, would you like them to stop now, or wait until you turn
blue? Either way you will probably live, but which is really better? It's
cheap and easy to aerate.

BV.

"FBCS" wrote in message
...
But you didn't answer the second part of my question. If airation w/
airstone is necessary what size and type do I look for. They do not hang
at
the top, but they are in full sun most of the day and in only 18" of depth
until I can finish digging. They is a slight waterfall they love to play
in
and swim against the flow.
snip

I am not sure of the correct answer. I can tell you that I aerate my pond
with a 300gph pump that is pumping up about 2.3 feet of head, and just
empties on a rock that splashes back to the pond. I dunno if that helps. I
have 3000 gallons.

BV.

I'll say this if you have absolutely no moving water in your pond you need
areation because the bacteria will form a surface layer of scum and start to
stink.

wrote in message
...
all "unnatural" ponds need aeration. any pond with pea soup is a ticking
time bomb
when the temp heats up the water wont hold enough oxygen and the big fish
start
dying. just leave a container of water around without aeration and it
starts
stinking really bad. drop in an airstone and it sweetens right up.
everything in
the pond except the nasty bacteria need air. using a UV to clear the pea
soup does
not mean there is enough oxygen. Ingrid


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
List Manager: Puregold Goldfish List
http://puregold.aquaria.net/
www.drsolo.com
Solve the problem, dont waste energy finding who's to blame
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Unfortunately, I receive no money, gifts, discounts or other
compensation for all the damn work I do, nor for any of the
endorsements or recommendations I make.