There are very few pond retailers who have the accumulated wisdom of the people on
this list. There is nothing in the pond as important as good aeration, not even the
filter. In the north because even if the water ices over the aerator puts oxygen into
the water and oxidizes toxins. In the south when the heat of the pond increases
there is less dissolved oxygen and everything in the pond needs oxygen, the biobugs,
the plants, the fish. Getting enough oxygen into your water especially cause it is
so small is going to be a real problem, hang it up if you have an algae bloom.
Aeration does more than just put air into the water, it moves the water column from
the bottom to the top which turns it over. No regular waterfall is going to do that.
Aeration also moves other (toxic) gases in the water up and out.
You dont have to buy a huge air pump, but get something adequate and at least 4 large
airstones. I like sintered glass from aquatic ecosystems cause they can be cleaned
with muriatic acid and go on and on.
Now with my big air pumps ... well they are running quite a distance away from my
ponds and are not really heard .. a PVC line brings it to the ponds and the stones
are below the surface and really roil the water. I have 2- 12inchers in my 1600
gallon pond that is 3' deep and has no filter. I run 1- 12 inch in my koi pond at
our new house.
Ingrid

"Jackytar" wrote:
I'm exploring the idea of adding an aerator, as was recommended by some contributors here, but I get conflicting information.
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.