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/

"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


Natural ponds are far different from ornamental ponds that are dug and kept
in peoples yards. Where in nature have you seen a 1200 gal pond with a
dozen koi in it? If such a pond does have fish, they are most likely
extremely small, minnow sized fish.

The ponds most of us have, far more fish, then a pond of it's size can
naturally sustain. In nature, ponds do not have liners or concrete bottoms,
they have dirt, so all the excess waste gets soaked into the dirt, aquatic
plants along the shores grow in the dirt and happily eat up all the waste.

People don't like having ponds with a few inches of muck sitting on the
bottom, keeping only one fish or covering the entire pond with aquatic
plants, so we have to resort to artificial means of keeping the pond
healthy.

Filters, either mechanical, biological or veggie. Water circulators, either
water pumps or air pumps. Partial water changes, and of course regular
feedings.

Sameer

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

"Snooze" wrote in message
arthlink.net...

"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


Natural ponds are far different from ornamental ponds that are dug and
kept
in peoples yards. Where in nature have you seen a 1200 gal pond with a
dozen koi in it? If such a pond does have fish, they are most likely
extremely small, minnow sized fish.

The ponds most of us have, far more fish, then a pond of it's size can
naturally sustain. In nature, ponds do not have liners or concrete
bottoms,
they have dirt, so all the excess waste gets soaked into the dirt, aquatic
plants along the shores grow in the dirt and happily eat up all the waste.

People don't like having ponds with a few inches of muck sitting on the
bottom, keeping only one fish or covering the entire pond with aquatic
plants, so we have to resort to artificial means of keeping the pond
healthy.

Filters, either mechanical, biological or veggie. Water circulators,
either
water pumps or air pumps. Partial water changes, and of course regular
feedings.

My answer would be the airstone, or some other aeration is necessary
depending on fish load for night time hours. In a heavily planted pond, the
plants, especially varieties like Anacharis will dumps lots of O into the
water, but at night, they will use the O up. For the cost of an airstone, or
a t-fitting to redirect some water to splash on a rock, you almost can't not
do it.

BV.

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.

Lee

"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 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 understand, Andrew. And I prefer to keep the O2 in my water at saturation,
not "less than". A spray bar on the water return to your pond would help
with the pond's O2 levels; the spray bar to your filter is excellent for
keeping the biobugs happy, but may not do too much for the fish once the
water gets back to the pond. Even the folks running the Nexus filters - who
positively BOIL the filter media with air - still run supplemental aeration
in the pond itself. However, if you have a low stocking rate, you won't need
additional aeration at all. It's just that most of us push the envelop, if
not down-right STUFF it. All fish benefit from O2 saturation. It's just that
most don't get it. For instance, well water has almost NO oxygen, and it
must be introduced via degassing. Water from the tap is low in O2 after it's
been pushed through miles of pipe. Further (at least in my instance), if
your area is subject to power outages, if the water is at O2 saturation,
your fish will not get into distress as rapidly as they would if
supplemental aeration had not been used.

I'm really not trying to twist anyone's arm he as in most things, if you
don't like it and don't want it, don't use it. No big deal (except maybe to
the fish). But if your pond is lightly stocked, it's not as important.

Lee

"Andrew Burgess" wrote in message
...
"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.

How big is your pond (surface area and gallons)? How deep is the water?
Where do you live, i.e., do you have to deal with freezing water? What is
the temp of your water during the summer? How many fish do you have and how
big are they? What kind of fish, goldies or koi (the reason is in the growth
rate and eventual size)? It's not a simple answer, like "one 12" air
stone". But then again, ANY helps!

Lee

"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.
"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.

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.

And I prefer to keep the O2 in my water at saturation,
not "less than".

Agreed 100 %. O2 is one of these things you can never overdose.

Lots of plants / morning / thunderstorm impending / some decaying mulm...
one would be amazed how much O2 levels can drop in just a few hours. Fish
need O2 more than they need water so to speak.

But !: (big but) Do not buy cheap air pumps as they will fail very soon.
The good ones are more expensive than you'd expect (IMHO)

Learned this the hard way.

Theo