Pond, Lake and fishery aeration
H2O Plants Aquatic and Environmental services are fully trained service engineers & sales agents for both Kasco and Otterbine the world leaders in pond & lake aeration equipement.
We were trained at the companies head quarters in Prescott, WI and Emmaus, PA, USA by the people who designed and build the units on a daily basis.
Everything in life needs oxygen so your pond or lake is no different. A few signs that your water quality is void of oxygen will be;
- dead or dying fish
- excess algae growth
- foul smelling water
- lots of surface insects.
The above factors will be detrimental to any water body and the people who use it. Most issues regarding lack of oxygen will become apparent in the summer months when the days are sunnier, air temps rise and so does your water temp.
Most oxygen in water is found in the top layer of the water, so when this warms up your dissolved oxygen levels will start to drop. Other issues which will create depleted oxygen supplies are nutrients levels in the pond or lake which can be dictated by run off from surrounding fields, silt on the bottom of the pond/lake and/or excessive aquatic vegetation growth which consumes oxygen when its being broken down.
The quickest way to eradicate the above is to add oxygen to the water via aeration. The art of aerating a water body by introducing oxygen in to the water column can be done in a few ways.
Surface aeration would be to introduce a floating aerating fountain that takes water from the top level of pond/lake and throws it into the air mixing it with oxygen that then falls back onto the waters surface introducing oxgen back into the water.
Diffused (coarse or fine bubble) aeration is where air is pumped from a land mounted pump or compressor via hose to diffusers (made from EPDM membrane or ceramic stone) that sit on the bottom of your pond or lake. The air that is pumped to the diffusers creates bubbles that go from the pond/lake bottom up to the surface creating mass circulation of the pond/lake water which helps to break up thermal stratification. By doing this it stimulates the aquatic life at the bottom which feed on organic matter. Adding extra oxygen to your water increases aerobic bacteria which helps to break down nutrients and organic waste in the water.
This oxygen rich water can also help to break down Fecal coliform which if present in large enough numbers the pond or lake could be shut down as a Public Health & Safety issue.
The type of location where aeration can be benefical for the water body would be Local authority park lakes, boating lakes, ponds/Lakes on housing developements, golf course water hazards, fishing ponds or lakes, attenuation ponds, effluent ponds, koi ponds, garden ponds or any other water body!
We can hire or supply & install a custom soultion for your pond or lake to make sure your water quality stays as it should be.
Should you wish to make a feature out of your fountain we can also do things like this!