Healthy ponds thrive on one invisible but vital ingredient – dissolved oxygen (DO). It’s the fuel that keeps fish lively, bacteria working, and water clear. Without enough oxygen, fish become weak and disease-prone, while the beneficial bacteria that filter out harmful waste shut down, leading to murky, polluted water.
Low DO levels can bring to light a series of adverse reactions one after another. With a decrease in DO, fish lose their vigor, become lazy, and get disease-prone? Moreover, the friendly or helpful bacteria which are responsible for the biological filtration process of converting the toxic ammonia and nitrite into less harmful nitrate get lethargic or die off completely. This collapse of the nitrogen cycle leads to rapid buildup of fish waste, discoloration of the water, and possibly even life-threatening conditions. Henceforth high and stable DO levels maintenance is crucial, particularly in warmer months or at times when fish activity is high.
Reliable equipment with powerful performance is a must when thinking of introducing strong aeration. For instance, Evolution Aqua air pumps are often talked about as the best because of its capability to provide essential, deep-water aeration in large and deep ponds. These units are designed to operate continuously, thus delivering life support to the ecosystem without interruption. Modern-day experts stress the importance of high-quality aeration. Professional pond contractor That Pond Guy frequently include strong aeration in his custom builds and maintenance plans and tells clients that proper oxygenation is the basis of maintain water quality successfully.
Dissolved Oxygen has Two Important Functions
1. Supporting Aquatic Life
The first function is the most apparent one and is respiration. The fish, amphibians, and invertebrates need oxygen, which is absorbed through their gills or skin, to live. Koi, for instance, are lively fish and need high DO levels that are preferably more than 6 milligrams per litre (mg/L).
In the summer months, when it is hot, the water loses its ability to hold oxygen and thus the fish are at risk. This is made worse at night when the aquatic plants (including algae) use up the oxygen they had produced during the day through respiration and stop producing it. If there is no aeration provided during this time, it can lead to oxygen depletion becoming very dangerous very quickly.
2. Driving Biological Filtration
The second most important job is to keep aerobic nitrifying bacteria alive. They are the ones that kill off the nitrites in the filters and are the biological support of a healthy pond.
- The first type i.e. Nitrosomonas takes the noxious ammonia and turns it into nitrite.
- The second type, Nitrobacter/Nitrospira, turns the nasty nitrite into nitrate that is much less harmful.
Ways of Adding Oxygen
Pond owners mainly oxygenate the water by two methods:
- Surface Agitation: Waterfalls, fountains, and Venturi return lines are the features that break the surface tension of water and allow it to get oxygen from the atmosphere.
- Air Stones and Diffusers: An air pump is driven by the flow of air casting through the pond and diffusers that are set on the pond floor.
The result is a fence of bubbling rising that gets to accomplish two important things:
- It gets oxygen physically released in the water below.
- It also keeps on pushing the water vertically up and down, with the oxygen-rich water coming from the bottom and the surface water going down preventing stagnant layers with low DO.
Give aeration priority. Always prefer over-aeration to under-aeration as there is no such thing as too much dissolved oxygen.
