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

I'm glad you got the trouble nailed and taken care of.
Early on there is something I did not take into consideration
- the fact that as the
fish grow they need more oxygen. I've
supplied that need with an air pump, air hose and air stones
from PetSmart. I have a 3,000 gallon pond (approx.) and
keep a large air stone going all spring, summer and fall.
In the winter I pull the air stone up to the surface and let
it bubble away.

This isn't the sum of the aeration I have in
my pond. Also have a veggie filter and a PF 3000 pressurized
filter gizmo. I don't have a bottom drain or a skimmer. They are
on the list of to do things.

Nedra

"Jackytar" wrote in message
...
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

"Jackytar" wrote:

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.

The waterfalls act as an aerator, and with a spitter, you shouldn't
need more than that. Ensure there is enough turnover in the pond,
through the water fall.

Forget the aerator! With two waterfalls and a peeing boy statue (Spitting turtle in your case) you have enough aeration! Just my humble ignorant opinion of course, worth what you paid me!

--
_______________________________________
"The difference between 'involvement' and 'commitment' is
like an eggs-and-ham breakfast:
The chicken was 'involved' - the pig was 'committed'."

http://community.webshots.com/user/godwino

"Jackytar" wrote in message ...
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

But John, wouldn't it depend on the size of the pump feeding
the falls... and the height of the falls? In my case, the waterfall
was not adequate... nor the spitters of which I have two. Include
in the mix, the Veggie Filter which has an additional waterfall fed by
a 500+ gph pump.
I stand by my recommendation. For $20 you can hardly go
wrong??

Nedra
http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Pines/4836
http://community.webshots.com/user/nedra118

"John Hines" wrote in message
...
"Jackytar" wrote:

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.

The waterfalls act as an aerator, and with a spitter, you shouldn't
need more than that. Ensure there is enough turnover in the pond,
through the water fall.

Nedra wrote:
But John, wouldn't it depend on the size of the pump feeding the
falls... and the height of the falls? In my case, the waterfall was
not adequate... nor the spitters of which I have two. Include in the
mix, the Veggie Filter which has an additional waterfall fed by a
500+ gph pump. I stand by my recommendation. For $20 you can hardly
go wrong??

Nedra http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Pines/4836
http://community.webshots.com/user/nedra118

"John Hines" wrote in message
...



Nedra is right unless the waterfalls are turning 2x the pond volume+
every hour they wont give enuough aeriation, IMHO

in my pond I run 2 TT's combined turning 3600 gph plus a waterfall
turnin another 3600 gph
--





John Rutz
Z5 New Mexico

good judgement comes from bad experience, and that comes from bad
judgement

see my pond at:

http://www.fuerjefe.com

"Jackytar" wrote in message ...
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

Two waterfalls and a spitter should add plenty O2 to the water. Not
knowing how "small" the pond is all that I can say is leave well
enough alone. The fish would be gasping at the top of the pond if you
needed to add aerator. It would help you if you had a few books by
Helen Nash to help you. Happy water gardening.


--

Jacky,

The airstones do two things, one increase oxygen and two cause movement of
bottom water upward to mix the stagnant water on the bottom with the aerated
top water. Do you need one? Look at your fish first thing in the morning.
Are they gasping in the waterfall? Or are they swimming around normal. The
oxygen level of most ponds is lowest at daybreak, since the algae and other
submerged plants have not been creating oxygen through photosynthesis but
consuming oxygen. So if the fish are going to show signs, it is first thing
in the morning. No gasping, normal swimming, then you have plenty of oxygen
in the water, for now. As water heats up over the summer, or the water goes
green, you will find the oxygen level drops even more. If you find fish
gasping, give the pond a pint of hydrogen peroxide and go buy a pump.
--
RichToyBox
http://www.geocities.com/richtoybox/pondintro.html


"Jackytar" wrote in message
...
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

RTB, this is exactly what they were doing before I took the measures
described above. At the time I didn't clue into what was going on. I don't
remember them behaving this way in the past 10 months, but the water is
definitely warmer now. The daytime temps are 90+ here in south Louisiana.
I'll keep a close eye on them, especially in the morning as you suggest.

Thanks,
Jacky

"RichToyBox" wrote in message
news:z_bCa.1053277$3D1.615023@sccrnsc01...
Jacky,

The airstones do two things, one increase oxygen and two cause movement of
bottom water upward to mix the stagnant water on the bottom with the
aerated
top water. Do you need one? Look at your fish first thing in the
morning.
Are they gasping in the waterfall? Or are they swimming around normal.
The
oxygen level of most ponds is lowest at daybreak, since the algae and
other
submerged plants have not been creating oxygen through photosynthesis but
consuming oxygen. So if the fish are going to show signs, it is first
thing
in the morning. No gasping, normal swimming, then you have plenty of
oxygen
in the water, for now. As water heats up over the summer, or the water
goes
green, you will find the oxygen level drops even more. If you find fish
gasping, give the pond a pint of hydrogen peroxide and go buy a pump.
--
RichToyBox
http://www.geocities.com/richtoybox/pondintro.html


"Jackytar" wrote in message
...
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

I don't know the gph rating of my pump but there is a LOT of water moving
over my falls. Both falls are no more than 12 or 14 inches high though. Doc
Johnson (koivet.com) wrote that generally speaking is you can hear your pond
gurgling from 10ft away then you should have enough aeration. I realize that
there are a lot of variables to consider, though. I'll be keeping a close
eye on the fishies from now on.

Thanks, Jacky


"John Hines" wrote in message
...
"Jackytar" wrote:

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.

The waterfalls act as an aerator, and with a spitter, you shouldn't
need more than that. Ensure there is enough turnover in the pond,
through the water fall.

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.