Pond owners love fountains for the calming sound of trickling water and the beautiful visual appeal. They also help move stagnant pond water, which is important for aeration. When choosing a fountain aeration system, it’s important to consider the size of your pond and its depth. Most aerators will state what size of the pond they are rated for.
Size and Shape of Your Pond
Many ponds are irregular in shape, and finding the right fountain for them can be tricky. A pond aerator provides the best option for irregularly shaped ponds because they don’t rely on surface movement like a fountain to circulate and aerate the water. Most pond aerators and fountains diffusers are placed under the water’s surface, and air bubbles are driven to the surface, releasing oxygen into the water column. The deeper an aerator is, the better it works because the water has more time to absorb the oxygen. To estimate your pond’s surface area, use the average length and width method, or calculate the volume of your pond by taking depth measurements spaced uniformly around the pond and adding them up.
Depth of Your Pond
The depth of your pond can impact how high a fountain can spray. If the water is too shallow, it may not be able to circulate adequately and will lack the necessary oxygen for the ecosystem. To calculate your pond depth, you can use an online calculator. It will ask for your pond’s length, width, and depth and then calculate how many gallons are there. Knowing how deep your pond is is important because it will determine the operating equipment you need for your aeration system. The more you know about your pond, the easier it will be to find the right fountain. Surface area and depth are the first things you should measure. A too-shallow pond will not be aerated correctly because the surface water cannot mix with the deeper water. A subsurface aeration system would be best for this type of pond.
Water Temperature
Water can absorb oxygen most efficiently when it is cooler. When warm, nutrient-rich surface water comes in contact with cool, oxygen-depleted bottom water, it creates thermoclines that can cause turnovers in the pond, leading to additional algae growth, odors, and fish kills. A fountain that mixes up the entire pond is one of the best solutions to avoid stratification and turnovers by agitating the whole body of water to ensure all the areas get proper circulation and oxygenation. However, if your pond is particularly deep or oddly shaped, it may not be possible for an elegant surface fountain to stir up enough of the water. For these situations, a sub-surface aeration system can be a great solution. These systems use a land-based compressor and pump to push air through the pond’s bottom diffusers. The diffusers have holes that spread out across a wide area, which helps to distribute the oxygen throughout the whole water body evenly.
Aeration Needs
The fountain’s bubbles increase oxygen transfer to the water at the surface. This is important because that’s where most water-walking insects (like mosquitoes) come into play. A fountain also helps break up the surface tension, facilitating gas exchange with the atmosphere. Usually, a compressor (or pump) is connected via airline to a diffuser at the pond’s bottom. The water is pumped through the diffuser, which creates a column of bubbles that rises to the surface and adds much-needed oxygen to the pond. This sub-surface aeration system works well for ponds with depths up to about 6-7 feet. However, deeper ponds may require additional diffusers. A fountain cannot adequately mix the deep, untouched, and oxygen-deprived waters with the shallower, more circulated water. A compressor-based diffuser aeration system is better for this situation.
