I just wanted to thank everybody for the good advice on my recent pond crisis. We had a dead koi, at least one distressed koi and a faint sewer smell to the water when we got in to do some maintenance. Folks here recognized it as an oxygen deficiency with resulting anaerobic breakdown of plant debris (which releases hydrogen sulfide gas... I'm learning!). Well, my fish are looking much healthier now and my pond smells mountain lake fresh. This was accomplished by a 50% water change w/dechlorinator, a cleaning out of all visible debris... I did find a rather large, dead, lilly root system under some planting medium in one corner of the pond... and by correcting a significantly decreased water flow over my water falls caused by a partially obstructed pump intake. I'm also treating the fish with formalin (sp?) for good measure. The cause of the crisis was my ignorance... no water changes in the 10 months since I purchased this home, failure to recognize the clogged pump in a timely matter, and no knowledge of oxygen-starved fish behavior.


I'm exploring the idea of adding an aerator, as was recommended by some contributors here, but I get conflicting information. First of all, the pond is 3 yrs old and the previous owner did not have a mechanical aerator. There are two waterfalls that make some noise, and today I'm adding a water spitter (which the previous owner did have). The pond seemed to be doing just fine with proper maintenance and no mechanical aerator, at least until this dunderhead took over. Secondly, the local pond retailer and "guru" doesn't even sell aerators. He says there are very few if any ponds in this area (south Louisiana) that has one. Thirdly, the pumps and airstones designed for outdoor use I'm seeing for sale on the internet are designed for *much* larger ponds (mine is approx 1000gal). So I'm wondering... is an aerator more of a "boost" to a small pond than a necessity? To be honest I would prefer not to have an aerator if it is one of those "might help, won't hurt" deals. It just means more unnatural looking equipment and noise, not to mention the expense.

Thanks,
Jacky