Pond Care Going Green

In the last several months, we have started to hear from a lot of pond owners of various types; retention ponds, golf course ponds, municipal ponds, back yard ponds, shared pond/lake associations, campground ponds, fish hatcheries and so on.

The two things they all have in common are that they are pond owners and that they are becoming much more environmentally conscious and aware. All of these groups are looking for alternative ways to keep their ponds clean and healthy rather than by the use of pond chemicals.

Preventative methods of pond care are becoming of much greater interest to pond owners opposed to reactive ways of cleaning up a pond once it becomes algae invested and stagnant. To quote one pond owner “I much prefer the thought of swimming in or eating something that comes from a pond that has not been treated with toxic chemicals.”

There are four main items that can help in keeping your pond clean, they are listed below in priority of effectiveness;

• Pond Aeration – the process of dissolving oxygen into water in order to increase the levels of oxygen in the pond.
• Pond Conditioners – these are non-toxic environmentally friendly pond additives that with the combination of aeration can greatly assist in keeping the pond healthy and clean.
• Pond Wildlife – add certain fish that will eat up such things as plankton and mosquito larvae – grass carp is one fish that is fairly hardy and survives in hot and cold water zones.
• Pond Edges – try to build up the edges of your pond so that run off from fertilizers and other organic matter does not makes its way into your pond during heavy rainfalls. This additional injection of organic matter is difficult for ponds to digest.

© 2006, Pond Owner Magazine.
www.pondowner.com

Pond Ice is Nice

The idea of keeping a pond frozen over in the winter so that the family and friends can skate and have hockey games sounds great and is a lot of fun.

We have fond memories of skating in the backyard, with the house lights on the rink, playing hockey all evening long. Then coming in for a hot cup of cocoa and sitting by the fire to warm up and thaw out our frost bitten toes and cheeks.

Pond ice can be a lot of fun but it also can be very dangerous and some items need to be considered before you go skating on your pond. The thickness of the ice needs to be measured before going skating to ensure that you do not crack the ice and fall through. They say that the ice should be at least 6 inches thick before you go on it, however, I would never go on ice that wasn’t at least a foot deep myself. Even at 1 ft deep, I would still only skate on the sides of the pond where the water is shallow. Watch for large cracks in the ice that may crack even further and create a whole into the water. Make sure that you also have a life saving reach and assist device or buoy close to the water’s edge in case some one does fall into the ice.

Many of winter’s drowning are attributed to people or animals falling in through the ice before it is frozen over. Be careful around ponds that have frozen over, they may have an aeration system installed which keeps an area of the pond open all winter long.

If ice-skating is not your idea of fun and fishing is, then perhaps you may want to keep a section of your pond open for fishing. To do this the easy way, simply keep your aeration system on all winter long. It will keep both a area of your pond open and it will also maintain it with a healthy level of oxygen. Keeping your fish healthy and your pond water clean.

Make sure that if you do aerate your pond in the winter, which is by the way recommended in order to keep it healthy and clean, then put large warning signs around the ponds edge indicating to people that you have a pond aeration system in operation and that areas of the pond are thin and open. You may also want to put a snow fence around the area of the pond that is open.

© 2006, Pond Owner Magazine.
www.pondowner.com

Why Aerating Your Pond In Fall is a Must

Many pond owners that we are speaking with do not currently have a pond aeration system installed in their ponds. They appear busy gathering information on the various solutions that are available on the market for an investment when next spring arrives. Researching the best solution is a great thing to do – but don’t delay installing a pond aeration system – do it now and here is why…

Autumn brings falling leaves

Foliage, animal waste and other organic matter sinks to the bottom of the pond and it requires oxygen to speed up the decomposition process of this matter.

First snowflakes fall and freezing temperatures arrive

Freezing occurs on the surface of the pond and limits the amount of oxygen flow throughout the water source – which inhibits the decomposition process.

Deep winter arrives and pond covers in snow

There is no sunshine getting into the water to shine on the aquatic vegetation that in turn can create oxygen for the pond. The already depleted oxygen levels continue to decrease and the fish start to lack oxygen (potential fish kill) – the pond bottom is increasing its sludge levels and the pond is becoming unhealthier by the month.

Spring arrives and the pond needs help

The pond it lacking oxygen and is full of organic matter – ideal growing conditions for algae and other sources of unwanted aquatic vegetation as the water temperatures start to heat up. A loss of fish can also be visible due to lack of oxygen in the pond.

To prevent this happening to your pond, install and run an aeration system all winter long. There are even windmill aeration systems that operate 365 days a year – in the heat and cold – tested in the far northern Canadian provinces. They are used to keep ponds up there, open all winter long and provide oxygen to the fish.

Give your pond the extra help it needs to stay healthy during the winter months. Pond aeration systems are not a summer activity. Aerating your pond is a 365-day a year pond care process.

© 2006, Pond Owner Magazine.
www.pondowner.com

Pond Chemicals Can Be Dangerous

Today we were speaking with a pond owner who is extremely excited about his big stream, he calls it. He loves the fact that he can live in such a beautify area and still be close to work.

He is a new pond of owner of just six months and so he really did not know the potential dangers that ponds could pose. During the summer months he saw some algae growing in the pond and so he decided to treat it with a pond chemical. Well, he treated it alright and he ended up breathing in some of the copper sulphate that he used to treat it with. This fellow ended up being rushed to the hospital and was on a respirator for almost a week.

Pond Chemicals can be vary dangerous and if one decides to use them on his pond then one needs to read the instructions closely and be careful not to breath in any of the chemicals. Perhaps before treating a pond with a highly toxic pond chemical we should look at alternative ways to clean up algae and maintain a healthy pond.

Perhaps an aeration system can help – studies have shown that effectively aerating your pond can reduce algae and the chances of it by up to 80%.

There are also pond conditioners that are now being offered on the market. They use natural bacteria and enzymes to treat their ponds. A pond conditioner combined with pond aeration or with a windmill aeration system is an ideal combination to ensure the healthy of your pond and avoid the use of dangerous pond chemicals.

Pond owners need to take care when using pond chemicals and need to look at environmentally friendly alternatives to these types of short-term solutions.

Our water is a precious resource and the less chemicals that we put in them the better it is for us and our environment.

© 2006, Pond Owner Magazine.
www.pondowner.com

Preparing Your Pond For Winter

For many of us that live in the colder areas of North America the Fall is a time to prepare for the upcoming winter months.

For pond owners that means that we need to prepare our ponds and the wild life that live inside them for the cold winter months ahead.

Many pond owners are not aware that they should be considering some options for keeping a section of their pond open during the winter months. By doing this the pond can release its toxic gases such as ammonia into the atmosphere so that it does not kill off the fish.

Many pond owners chop holes in their ice with tractors or axes to let their ponds vent out any toxic gases. Others do nothing and are shocked in the Spring when they see the unhealthiness of their pond. There is a simpler and more effective way for you to consider and it also has other benefits.

Bottom up pond aeration is and aeration process that works all winter long – pumping oxygen into your water at the bottom of the pond to the surface. It keeps a section of your pond open for your pond to vent and it also provides a much needed supply of oxygen to your wildlife.

Pond aeration also helps in the decomposition process of any organic matter such as leaves and animal waste which otherwise does not get the levels of oxygen needed to decompose so can sit at the bottom of your pond and build up sludge levels.

Koenders Windmills and its marketing arm Outdoor Water Solutions Inc. as well as Superior Windmills have windmill aerations systems that aerate ponds from the bottom up and are built to work 365 days a year. With very little to no maintenance it’s a must consideration if you are a pond owner in colder climate zones.

© 2006, Pond Owner Magazine.
www.pondowner.com

Keeping Retention Ponds Clean

Both Construction companies who build retention ponds and retention pond owners are turning to windmills that aerate water as a means to manage and maintain the cleanliness of their ponds.

Retention ponds are important for they ensure that flash floods do not occur in areas that have large amounts of concrete and cannot adequately absorb water caused by heavy rainstorms as quickly as needed to prevent flooding.

Retention ponds usually become foul smelling, pollution filled messes and regulation to ensure that these ponds do not become health hazards is being reviewed in many states. Companies are now being asked by their communities to keep retention ponds cleaner and less odorous. Many are not only dirty, but they are becoming toxic sewage lagoons and its upsetting the local residents.

Pressure is being put on shopping mall and industrial park owners to do something about cleaning up these pools of pollution. One cost effective solution in doing this is by installing windmills that aerate retention ponds.

Koenders Windmills has created a Uni-pole Windmill aeration system. It’s a windmill that sits up 25 Ft off the ground and compresses air into an airline when the wind blows the windmill. It works in as low as 3 MPH winds and can aerate up to a 4 acre retention ponds. The average size of these ponds range from 1/2 acre to usually 2 acre – ideal sizes for these types of solutions.

Koenders Uni-Pole looks nice and is design to reduce any risk of vandalism against the equipment. The windmill pond aeration systems work by burning off the excess organic matter and pollutants that are normally responsible for stagnating the retention ponds.

© 2006, Pond Owner Magazine.
www.pondowner.com