How To Use A Pond Air Pump For Healthier Pond

You might not be aware of the fact that every living creature in your pond requires oxygen for it to stay alive. A too low oxygen concentration in the water will result in the death of not only the fish, but eventually also the 'good' bacteria and as well as the good algae and every plant in the pond. What follows below is a brief discussion of how you can use pond air pumps to rectify the situation.

How well your pond is aerated is largely determined by how easily oxygen can reach the water. A pond that's overpopulated with fish or where the fish is fed to often will develop an oxygen imbalance. A similar situation will develop if you allow large quantities of bad algae to form in the water. This will prevent oxygen from reaching the water and eventually your pond will no longer be able to provide enough oxygen for the plants and creatures living in it.

In nature nobody has to aerate a body of water - this happens automatically. It's only when the natural balance is disturbed by human interference that this process can no longer work. As mentioned before, such disturbance can take the form of introducing too many fish in a small body of water, or feeding them too often or too much. Once this has happened, nature can not rectify itself and the balance can only be restored by human interference.

You have no doubt noticed that the most likely time for the fish in your pond to die is on a very hot summers day when there's no wind either. This is because the water lacks enough oxygen. The problem can often be partly addressed by the installation of water features such as fountains and waterfalls. You can also bring in water plants to alleviate the situation. Reducing the fish population and not feeding them as often will also help. If all these measure don't solve your problem, your next step should be to buy an air pump.

Not all air pumps are alike. There are a large variety on the market nowadays and they all have their strong and weak points. It's very important that you read the manufacturer's instruction manual to ensure that the pump you buy is suitable for the type of pond you have. Some pumps are specially manufactured for shallow ponds and will not work well in a deep pond. All pumps have a maximum as far as the volume of water it can deal with per minute is concerned.

Owners of Koi ponds will already be aware that this type of fish require more cubic feet of water per fish than others. If you plan on building a Koi pond you should therefore take this into account and either introduce less fish or build a larger pond. The pump that you buy should be able to handle the larger volume of water involved. As a rule of thumb, ensure that your air pump can handle a minimum of 40lpm/1000 gallons of water.

Installing a diffuser at the bottom of your pond will certainly also help with better aeration. How this works is that it sets free air bubbles that rise slowly to the surface. In the process these bubbles set free oxygen in the water.

Pond air pumps do not only have a beneficial effect on the aeration of ponds. They also inhibit the development of what is generally referred to as 'bad' algae. The higher levels of oxygen resulting from the introduction of an air pump also has a direct benefit for the eco-system of your pond. In effect all plant and animal life in the water will benefit as a result of this.