As winter gives way to spring and the nicer weather is just around the corner lots of you will soon be starting up your ponds fully. You may be asking yourself if you need to add an aerator to add oxygen to your pond?

An air pump (also sometimes known as an oxygenator or aerator), is an integral part of most modern ponds. The bacteria contained within pond filters are there to keep your pond healthy and remove toxins from the pond water. However these bacteria use a lot of oxygen! Oxygen is also required and consumed by fish and plants. A pond with insufficient oxygen levels will not be able to support as much pond life and can soon stagnate. What’s more, in the summer, dissolved oxygen in the pond will be less, as warmer water does not contain as much oxygen as cooler pond water. The higher metabolic rate of your fish during the warmer period can also add to aeration problems.

Spring and Summer Aeration

As well as moving around the pond water and helping to boost the oxygen level in water molecules, aeration in the warmer months of spring and summer can be beneficial for the following reasons:

• An Air Pump will help to circulate pond water in areas where filtration might not quite reach. Filtration systems tend to move only the top of the water column, not the bottom. Aeration devices however work from the bottom up, helping to circulate the water and increase dissolved oxygen levels throughout the pond.
• A point to remember is that keeping oxygen distributed throughout the water column is a much more efficient way of introducing extra oxygen to the pond than using a water feature, waterfall, spitter or stream.
• An air pump will provide a bubbly pond surface that fish may like to frolic in or hide beneath to use as camouflage.
• Aeration stirs up debris from the pond bottom allowing it to be filtered out or broken down by beneficial bacteria. If that debris was allowed to build up it will decompose over time and would release harmful gases as decomposition takes place.
• Increased oxygen circulation will help beneficial bacteria to thrive and flourish. This is because higher oxygen levels will stimulate and increase amounts of natural aerobic bacteria living in your pond. More beneficial bacteria means more efficient filtration.

Adding aeration will always definitely benefit your pond no matter what the season. If you want to create a balanced ecosystem ensuring healthier fish and plants, it really is best to keep your pond system aerated.