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Why Do I Need A Solar Pond Aerator?
If you have a pond, you know that stagnant water can cause unwanted bacteria, pests, as well as illnesses that can harm your fish. Having a pond aerator is essential to keep circulation of water and air inside your pond. The more oxygen you have the better off your pond will look and also healthier your fish will be. A great option for an aerator is a solar pond aerator. These aerators are made up of solar panels that transform sunlight into electrical energy to power the aeration system. By using sunlight to power your pond aerator, you can minimize the use of environmental resources thus saving on electricity. Solar pond aerators are also a great option when you can’t run a cable from your power source to your pond. Solar pond aerators come in different sizes. The larger the solar panel, the more sunlight it can absorb and convert. Larger solar panels are able to emit and create higher amounts of electrical energy. It can, therefore, operate a more powerful and efficient aerator. Ponds with lots of direct sunlight will be ideal to power a solar pond aerator. There are several choices of solar pond aerators. Knowing the depth of your pond, size and also your sunlight conditions will help with choosing the most efficient solar pond aerator for your pond. Outdoor Water Solutions offers high quality pond & lake aerators (solar, electric & wind) and aeration windmill systems, fish feeders, fountains, and all natural pond care products. Please email or call us at 1-866-471-1614 and we can provide you with a detailed quote.
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What is Pond Muck?
Have you ever swum in a pond that smells bad, and when you get out you have black goo on your feet and legs? If your pond does not have aeration, chances are Muck has been accumulating on your pond bed since its inception. But what exactly is Muck? Muck’s physical appearance is often a blackish-brown slimy substance that will often time smell of sulfur or other pungent odors. Organic material of all kinds, such as grass clippings, droppings, dead organisms, and other forms of life will fall to the bottom and begin its transformation into this nasty smelling goo. Due to the anaerobic (no oxygen) nature of unaerated ponds, this organic material will slowly accumulate, all while leaching potent nutrients into the water column; nutrients that allow algae and other nuisance vegetation to thrive. In this way, Muck is a food source to all sorts of unwanted plants. Therefore over the years; ponds will get worse each season in regard to algae and other unwanted vegetation. Muck can also be a breeding ground for leeches, as they love to grow in it. This is just another reason on a long list of reasons to want to get rid of Muck if you have it or avoid getting it if you do not. If there is nothing in place that can negate the large quantities of nutrients that accumulate in the pond, you can be certain it will only get worse with time. And because the pond is anaerobic, the processes that could break down this muck cannot occur, as they are aerobic (require oxygen). Due to the anaerobicity, this oxygen free zone along the bottom of the pond will produce harmful bacteria and hydrogen sulfide. As a result, other living organisms in the pond can be harmed from the production of these byproducts. So, what can you do to proactively assure that you avoid Muck accumulation? Methods to Avoid Muck Accumulation: Bottom Diffused Aeration – With a bottom diffused aeration system, you ensure that your water column is completely destratified. That means that there is little change in temperature and oxygen concentration the deeper you go. This type of system will assure that oxygen is present where the Muck has settled, allowing beneficial aerobic bacteria in the water column to breakdown the Muck, in turn, lowering nutrient concentration in the water. Often, people will start to regain depth in their ponds just from this change, depending on how many years’ worth of Muck a pond has accumulated. Additionally, if you are applying an herbicide or algaecide when needed, you are simply masking the symptoms of an already sick pond, and even making it worse. If the pond does not have aeration, those dead plants and algae will simply sink to the bottom and begin leaching nutrients, repeating the cycle. Beneficial Microbes – The aerobic bacteria that breaks down the Muck can be supplemented in high concentrations to ensure breakdown of matter on the bottom of the pond. With oxygen present, these bacteria will deplete the nutrient load and mitigate the foul odor often produced by stagnant ponds. At Outdoor Water Solutions, we sell a dry proprietary Barley Straw Blend of 5 strains of Microbes specifically designed for ponds and lakes. The bacteria come in water soluble packs that are easy to apply and require no preparation. Due to its dry nature, we can fit 20-50x live bacteria in the package when compared to a liquid product. This high concentration ensures that the bacteria can cultivate and thrive in the water column long enough to do its job. Muck Pellets – Muck Pellets are similar in function to the Beneficial Microbes, but vary in application. These pellets are formulated to sink to the bottom and eat the Muck in a localized area, quickly and effectively, whereas the Beneficial Microbes cultivate in the water column, spanning across the entire pond. The benefit of Muck Pellets is that if there is a Dock, loading zone, swimming area, etc. in a pond that has been overtaken by Muck, Muck Pellets is the product to go with. Due to the trace mineral base and enzymes that are present, the bacteria are catalyzed to degrade Muck and nutrients from their surroundings. The bacteria that are in the pellets are high volume waste consumers, meaning they decompose large quantities of Muck at a fast rate. This one tool can be utilized with other solutions mentioned to give you the best chance to reduce the amount of organic material you have sitting on the bottom of your pond. Outdoor Water Solutions is one of the leading companies in the pond industry and sells a full line of pond microbes including the Lake & Pond Bacteria and the Lake & Pond Muck Pellets. We also have super concentrated blue dye and multiple aeration options including electric, solar and wind powered. Please email or call us at 1-866-471-1614 and we can provide you with a detailed quote.
Winterizing Your Pond or Lake
Well, it’s that time of year when fall is soon upon us, then the short cold days of winter. If you own or manage a pond or lake, then you’re probably not thinking too much about “winterizing” it. Nature will take just take its course until spring arrives. However there are a few things that you can do proactively if you want to get a head start on next year. 1. Keep aeration in place thru the winter months. Bottom diffused pond aeration helps to keep the water circulating eliminating fall turnover and fish kills. It can also help to prevent fish from dying under the ice if you live in areas where you have complete freeze over. Lastly aeration will give you a head start on algae control next spring by circulating oxygen rich water thru the whole pond which will increase the amount of beneficial aerobic bacteria present.If you don’t already have aeration in place, now would be a great time to install it, before the ground freezes up. There’s still ample time to build a windmill for energy efficient wind aeration or to set up an electric aerator with bottom diffused aeration. If you don’t already have aeration in place, now would be a great time to install it, before the ground freezes up. There’s still ample time to build a windmill for energy efficient wind aeration or to set up an electric aerator with bottom diffused aeration. 2. Use a pond dye or colorant – even over the winter months. Pond with Colorant and Aeration Most algae can grow on the bottom of a pond year around. Come February or March, it can really take off. Using a pond dye adds a nice color but also filters the sunlight, keeping it off of the bottom where most algae live and grow. Aquashade is a good choice as well as any of the other pond dye’s we carry. 3. Continue using beneficial aerobic bacteria until the water temperature drops to 50 degrees. In some parts of the country, you might use supplemental bacteria year around. In the Northern climates, it might be from April through November. The biggest benefit of adding supplemental bacteria is in breaking down the organic matter on the bottom and in reducing the amount of nutrients available to feed bacteria and aquatic vegetation. They are much more effective than anaerobic bacteria and really go to work if you have supplemental aeration. Pond with Aeration Keeping the Ice Open 4. Fall is the best time of the year to kill aquatic weeds like cattails. Why? Because they are actively taking sugars to the roots to store up energy for the winter. When you treat them in the fall, they take the herbicide directly to the roots giving you better control. Treating after a frost is fine as long as you have > 50% of the leaf surface that is still green. Shoreklear Plus is the product to use as it has an aquatic registration, so is safe to use around fish and ponds. SaveSave SaveSave