Need help on pond aeration

ShaleniFarm · May 3, 2006

Mike,
Just bite the bullet and get the sonar...... /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif
We tried everything and just wasted money. Put the Avast (sonar) in and it is gone. We have about a 2 acre pond. Now, just some Aquashade to keep it looking good.

My neighbor's pond is a little smaller, but already has the watermeal. We have none.

It was a tough feeling pouring that much $$$ out of a bottle, but at least it worked.

Have a good one,
Neil.

PineRidge · May 3, 2006

Neil was your watermeal kill immediate or did it take weeks, and how long now has your pond been watermeal free? Where did you purchase your Avast, and did you use the liquid or the granular?

I'm heading in your direction......

Bill_in_MI · May 3, 2006

I have been bubbling my pond (small....100 ft diameter) for about 15 years now. I use a small diaphram pump and the diffuser stones sunk in the middle. I run mine continusously year round because we do freeze in the winter and I have fish. I have replaced one diaphram and one complete pump over this time...pretty good I think. I find that the aeration helps a great deal with the odor and appearance of the water and or couse helps with the fish. I do have to treat for alge blooms and "duckweed" from time to time. I use liquid cutrine plus for the former and Sonar/Avast for the later. Nothing seemed to work on the duckweed except the later and I have tried it all...including net harvesting. My pond is "closed" to inflow/outflow. I find that one Sonar treatment can last a couple of years. I also use aquashade. The kill with Sonar takes a few to several days. If you have rooted plants, it will take them out too but it takes a couple of weeks. I find that they will not grow back that season. Fire away if I can help with any other questions. I was reluctant to use the chemicals at first...cost and otherwise. But using these has made the pond a landscape centerpiece where it used to be an eyesore of a stink hole. Now the grandkids have a great time catching fish as well.

Bill_in_MI · May 3, 2006

Meant to give you this url

http://www.stoneycreekequip.com/

I use their stuff and find their recommendations to be good.

sonofczechgun · May 3, 2006

I use a fountain from:

http://sugarcreekfountains.com/

for my catfish - since my wife wanted something pretty

But I remember reading a paper recommending to pump air to the bottom of the pond - just like room fish tanks use. Do a search on google for pond aeration paper and you will find it.

From what I recollect, the idea was to use a plastic pipe with many small holes in it on the bottom of the pond - connected to oilless air compressor. The fountain works only with the top foot or so of water and it is better to oxygenate from the bottom.

My $0.02 only

SPIKER · May 3, 2006

pineridge:

I forgot to tell you that what my ole boss uses is an old used up sump pump, it has a 10' hunk of PVC pipe on it, with a cap on top,. we took the cap, drilled about 10 1/16 holes in it in a flower/ patern around the top of the cap, this is set up in about 8~9' of water it sprays water up and out in a ring and runs almost 100% of the time, uses a bit more energy but sure makes a nice looking spray and creats lots of airiation along with stiring up the water, as it sets on the bottom, attached to a old cast iron grittle type plate we had laying around. (bolted fast to the pump, which sets flat on the bottom then, pumps the water up & sprays out pretty nice. & was a used one which the float stopped working on so we wired it to run directly off an outlet/plug (GFI even) we then also had a 24 hr timer, (used for watering lawns, and have that now running the pump so that it is ON daylight and off late at night, so that the water is warmed faster ion spring time it sprays up in warm temps, and shuts it off when it gets cooler. left it in the pond several winters even running it some /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

mark M

PineRidge · May 3, 2006

Thanks guys, lots of good information here. Pond Boss hasen't got anything over you guys... /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

ShaleniFarm · May 4, 2006

Mike,
(Sorry for the delay...)
1. It was fairly fast acting, < 3 weeks
2. Over 1 year watermeal free. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif
3. Bought online, midwest aquacare. Would not recommend.
4. Used liquid. 1 gallon.

Pond doesn't overflow, so I think the concentration is still good.

HTH.

Have a good one,
Neil.

fishman · May 4, 2006

Pineridge,

I'll hit the high points.

If you are aerating just to get rid of watermeal, I think your money would be better spent on Sonar. Stone vs. membrane diffusers is just a matter of preference, imho. I've used both and all of them are working just fine to the best of my knowledge.

Sonar, in the appropriate concentrations, will take about 6 weeks to really get duckweed/watermeal. It will work faster at higher concentrations, but if somebody's getting a kill measured in days with Sonar, they are exceeding the maximum allowable concentration by a large margin. Since the chemical is expensive, using only just enough makes a lot of sense.

You need to know the volume of your pond in acre feet, which can be estimated by measuring pond area and getting your average depth. You need to be reasonably sure you won't experience overflow during the treatment period. Also, clay vs. muck bottom has some influence on Sonar concentrations.

Sonar photodegrades, so it will be gone after several months, no matter what you do.

If you're concerned about how much to put in, SePro (who manufactures Sonar) has a test to determine concentration in your pond. Just put in a known amount of Sonar, take the sample, send it overnight ($40), and you'll get the results back in 2 days ($100). If you're treating a moderate sized pond, you could easily save that much in chemical costs because it will tell you exactly how much to put in to reach your desired concentration.

You can see from the favorable responses here that Sonar works very well.

If anybody wants to pm me re: Sonar questions, that is fine.

JJT · May 4, 2006

Eddie, A good rain storm pounds lots of air into the water. I have a fountain I use if it hasn't rained in a week. If time allows I'll be building a waterfall for our 1/4 acre pond this summer.