Why no ducks on my pond?

[wjmst]

I get a couple dozen mallards and a few wood ducks in. Seams after we started to aerate the pond a lot more wildlife seams to be there. I could do without the Geese though.

What type of aeration setup do you have?

 

[the old grind]

What I learned about aeration was late in my own game. I never thought a thriving pond would benefit much, until ... the last two winters taught me that if ice is 'sealed' tightly for months noxious gasses released from decomposition will poison fish, and yes that out-gassing continues all year long in any climate/region.

So what are the options? Electric will cost to run. I know a guy who has a windmill aerator that has worked well for >15yrs w/no maintenance. He attached a line to pull/replace the air-stone/diffuser annually and painted the tower to match his 'Gator'. IIRC it was a then-current version of this one:

http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200380037_200380037

 

[N80]

I think mine is too big to aerate.

 

[the old grind]

On 'too big', I've noticed that when adding dye (1 gal for 15-20 ac/ft) the dispersion is a good indicator of circulation. Surprising how quickly half a dozen 'blobs' scattered over my shallow & semi-weedy ~4 ac turns to a uniform blue in so few hours with little wind or sunlight helping to stir things up.

Note that aquarium 'bubblers' don't actually aerate as much as they circulate and mix, with 02 absorbed on the surface at a slower rate than bubbles rise. I gotta think this is a sit where some is better than none regardless of scale, and that maintaining open water is as important as any aspect. Anyone agree so far?

 

[murphy1244]

What type of aeration setup do you have?

I have 1 windmill air pump which I put close to the shore to keep the ice from forming so the wildlife can drink. 1 electric pump with 2 air stones that I run from April through November I got from Jones Fish.Jones Fish Hatcheries & Distributors, Inc.

 

[N80]

I gotta think this is a sit where some is better than none regardless of scale, and that maintaining open water is as important as any aspect. Anyone agree so far?

I agree that some is better than none, but would say that it is a matter of scale. A single device on 12 acres of pond might be better but unlikely to produce any meaningful results. And my pond is a very dynamic thing. It has a large surface area so the wind aerates it pretty sufficiently I'd guess. It has a basic level that it stays at most of the time but in a 6 month period it can go from a foot below normal to 15 feet above normal. That's not a typo. I've seen it 8-10 feet above normal at least once or twice a year. But then again, that is what it was made for (watershed control) and that is why the dam is so massive (150 yards long, 30 yards wide at least, 30 feet above normal pond level. When we had our big "1000 year flood" in October of 2015 the water was within 10 feet of the top of the dam and starting to go around the spillway. All of this is just to say that this one is sort of hard to "manage".

I have also been told that these watershed systems were made to silt in. And that is what is happening. The creek end has an ever enlarging sandbar which is growing trees and brush on it and most of the lake is quite shallow (6-10') other than the old creek channel and down toward the base of the dam which is quite deep.