Pond Aerators
Fountain aerator on the right--diffuser aerator on the left.
Use a pond aerator as a choice to oxygenate your pond. Proper aeration is vital to having a healthy pond, water garden or lake no matter what time of year it is. Use a pond aerator during hot weather to provide the necessary oxygen within the pond. Use a pond aerator during the winter to not only provide oxygen to the pond (and fish within it) but to also provide water movement at the surface to keep an area of the top of the pond from freezing. This opening in the ice allows for fresh oxygen to enter and an exit hole for toxic gases from decomposing organic matter in the pond to escape.
Choose the best aerator suited for your pond's needs. In addition to a proper size aerator, every pond needs beneficial bacteria to break down organic matter within the pond such as organic matter from decaying leaves, fish wastes, etc. Every established pond already has beneficial bacteria but benefits from adding more. By having a proper size aerator and adding beneficial bacteria, your pond will be much healthier, clearer, oxygenated and more enjoyable to you.)
Fountain aerators are a popular choice when a decorative aerator is desired. Fountains splash the surface of the pond and help control surface algae and duckweed, but do not aerate down to the bottom in deep ponds. Diffused aeration is the best way to go with deep ponds because the air diffuser lays on the bottom and you achieve total pond aeration from the bottom to the top regardless of depth. Oxygen then dissipates throughout the pond. They are also ideal for shallow ponds as once again, they provide total aeration throughout the pond and are also much more economical to run as it takes less energy to push air in a diffused aeration system than it does to push water through fountains (or pumps, for that matter).
