More For Your Money: How Your Decorative Fountain Can Improve The Health Of Your Pond

By John Woolington, Director of Engineering, Toba Fountains

Aeration allows the water to be circulated from bottom to top throughout the body of water. The outcome of combining an aeration system with treatments of natural bacteria will create a healthy water feature free from algae, odors and insect breeding.

Modern life can make homeowners feel isolated from nature, especially those that live and work in big city and have to spend hours in traffic morning and night.

More and more people lately, are trying to combat that feeling of isolation by turning their homes into an oasis – a refuge from the stresses of their workday. They do their research, hire a landscape professional and spend varying amounts of money on creating a beautiful natural environment that includes trees, shrubs, flowers and often some water feature. There is something special about a pool or pond in a yard that helps to tie all of the landscaping together. The illusion is now complete – and the homeowners are transported to a remote tropical paradise.

Installation

Installing an aerating fountain into a stagnant water feature is an effective solution to improving circulation. Due to the fact that high amounts of nutrients are always entering ponds, it is not highly unlikely that the water will become discolored and potentially deadly to fish. Another effect of these circumstances is an increase in the aging of a pond and a failing water filtration system. A fountain will increase the flow of dissolved oxygen, which will also serve to rid the pond of mosquitoes. They are also fairly low in cost to run and maintain.

When learning about water features it is important to complete all of your homework on how ponds need oxygen to stay healthy. Aeration of the pond is simply the addition of micro-air bubbles into the water to create oxygen within the water feature.

Choices

In order to choose the right type of aeration for a water feature the size and depth of the body of water must first be measured. If the feature has various depths use the deepest point as a reference. The depth of the pond may alter the assembly of the aeration system so it is important to account for all of the varying factors. These more complex water features may require more than one type of aeration, although it is often best to limit the amount of addition fixture for aesthetic purposes.

Consider the shape of the water feature before choosing the type of aeration to install. A pond or lake with a circular shape and a single deep area may be simpler to aerate than an irregular shaped pond with variations in depth and slope.

Creation

Therefore, we begin by adding a small waterfall at one end of the pond for both aesthetics and also to help circulate and aerate the water. Plants and algae add oxygen to the water by photosynthesis?EUR??,,????'??+oxygen that the fish need to survive.

The pond is then monitored for a season or two and the determination is made that during the summer months when the water is warm, the fish don?EUR??,,????'???t thrive as well and their waste doesn?EUR??,,????'???t seem to biodegrade, as it should.

Once installed, aerating fountains are fairly easy to maintain, although they may need to be wiped down occasionally. The water level also needs to be kept consistent in order to prevent any possible damage to the pump.

This is partially due to the fact that when the water is warm, it cannot hold much oxygen. Also the metabolic rates of the fish increase when the water is warm. In many parts of the country, summer time is accompanied by extended weeks of overcast skies and still air, which reduces the natural photosynthesis of plants and circulation of the water.

Consequently, conditions may develop which remove oxygen from water faster than natural processes can replace it. When this occurs, emergency or supplemental aeration may be required to bring oxygen back up to tolerable (3-5 mg/l) or safe (5 mg/l or greater) levels.

One of Toba’s fountains, pictured above, has the ability to pump approximately 1800 GPH of water, which can be adjusted to properly suit the size of the water feature. Otterbine Barebo, Inc. recommends using a 2HP unit per surface acre of water in order to maintain a healthy pond ecosystem.

Fountains

The answer may be adding a fountain to the landscape. Fountains are efficient aerators, drawing water from the pond and spraying it into the air, which both cools and adds oxygen to the water. When the water returns to the pond, it is now cooler and sinks to the bottom of the pond where the oxygen level is typically the lowest. Not only do you get the wonderful benefit of the fountain display together with the soothing sound of the water, you get the bonus of improving the oxygen level of the pond.

Some pond owners want compressor systems installed that feed underwater bubblers. These are also effective in creating circulation and adding oxygen to the bottom layers of the pond bioscape. Others choose a fountain for the dual benefit of a beautiful display with the bonus of improved aeration of circulation. Depending on the size of the pond, several methods for maintaining a healthy ecosystem may be chosen.