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#1
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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 |
#2
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Is a Air Pump necessary?
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/ |
#3
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Is a Air Pump necessary?
"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 |
#4
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Is a Air Pump necessary?
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 |
#5
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Is a Air Pump necessary?
"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. |
#6
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Is a Air Pump necessary?
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 |
#7
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Is a Air Pump necessary?
"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. |
#8
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Is a Air Pump necessary?
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. |
#9
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Is a Air Pump necessary?
"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. |
#10
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Is a Air Pump necessary?
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. |
#11
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Is a Air Pump necessary?
"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. |
#12
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Is a Air Pump necessary?
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. |
#13
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Is a Air Pump necessary?
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. |
#14
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Is a Air Pump necessary?
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. |
#15
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Is a Air Pump necessary?
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 |
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