Improving Your Farm Pond Using Aerators And Fountains

Ask any pond owner, and particularly those with large ponds about aeration and you’ll get various answers. Some may not have used it and others would swear by it’s benefits. For those that have ever lost fish due to low oxygen levels in the water, aeration is really a no brainer.

There seems to be however a lot of confusion regarding the true benefits of the various aerators and fountains that can be purchased today. In this article we’ll attempt to clarify the differences between a pond aerator and a pond fountain. Both are useful, but they are best applied to particular ponds to get the best results.

In the broadest sense of the word, aeration or aerating, at least the way we’re going to define it here, is the use of either a bottom dwelling aeration kit which may be powered by wind or electric power, or some type of surface fountain or bubbling device.

A typical pond fountain, which is often the most preferred addition for many pond owners is very good for improving the aesthetic qualities of a pond. Cascading streams of water shoot up into the air and create various forms and patterns that are very pleasing.

Fountains do create and improve some circulation in a pond as water is pulled up from underneath and propelled upwards. As the water droplets and spray falls back to the water, it agitates the surface of the pond which helps to improve the transfer of dissolved oxygen (DO) into the pond.

An alternative to working on the surface is to use a submerged aeration kit that works very effectively to force air into the water. The air comes from a pump which sits on the shore. This is then pushed through a tube which then forces the air through a diffuser. Some may look like a plate and others may use tubes but regardless of the design all of them have very fine holes punched in a rubber membrane. This configuration creates a column of very fine bubbles rising from the bottom.

This action adds some oxygen directly into the water, but more importantly the mass of air bubbles rapidly rise to the surface of the pond and create agitation at the surface. A circulatory pattern which goes up, across the top of the pond, and then back down to the bottom is also increased.

So regardless of the method used, the main aeration always takes place at the surface of the pond. More agitation is often a bit better but along with increasing circulation the pond get’s a double benefit.

With all of that said, to sum up the differences between fountains and aerators, the most direct difference is in how much of the pond is affected by the actions that the units produce. Aerators improve oxygenation throughout much of the pond, top, bottom, and in between. Fountains on the other hand, work mostly near the surface and improve conditions there, but they don’t help as much at greater depths.

Submerged aerator is very good for most ponds, although they benefit deeper ponds more. They create circulation and improved oxygen throughout the entire pond body which is very helpful. In many deep ponds, oxygen can get very low at the bottom and aeration is a viable remedy for that.

So if you have a shallow pond, you may consider using a pond fountain or a shallow water aeration system. For deeper ponds you may choose to use a fountain for improving the appearance of a pond but for it’s overall health, a submerged pond aerator would be best.

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