5 reasons to keep your garden pond aerated

Many people decide to build ponds in their gardens. After all, these seemingly simple water features add an extra angle and can bring life to an otherwise empty space.

But ponds can’t just be built and left. They need to be “healthy” to flourish and that’s where aeration comes in. Remember, only a certain amount of oxygen diffuses naturally into your pond through its surface and that’s why you should give it a helping hand by adding a pump to add more oxygen.

So if your existing pond looks like it’s seen better days or you’re considering building one, you should read on to find out why you should keep your water aerated and healthy.

1. Reduced pond muck

Aeration reduces the amount of muck that builds up in your pond. Not that muck is necessarily a bad thing. It’s mainly just nutrients that have built up and accumulated at the bottom. However, muck and other decomposing debris don’t look good and can give off a nasty odour.

2. Improved water quality

Nutrients can also get suspended mid-water in your pond, which has the effect of making it look murky. Again, while this isn’t necessarily bad, it doesn’t make your pond look particularly nice. Clear ponds are much better for observing fish and don’t promote algae growth as much as ponds that are full of nutrients.

3. Vital for your fish

Fish need a certain amount of oxygen in the water to survive. Not enough and they will perish. The same goes for beneficial bacteria, but not enough of those little guys and your pond will go into an anaerobic state. Anaerobic bacteria produce carbon dioxide and hydrogen sulphide when digesting organic material, which may give your pond a rotten egg smell.

4. Eliminates the thermocline

The thermocline is a thin layer found in ponds and other large bodies of water in which temperature changes more rapidly with depth than it does in the layers above or below. Aeration circulates and mixes the oxygen-starved, cooler water with the warmer, oxygen-rich water, resulting in a more uniform pond temperature.

5. No need for a de-icer in the winter

Organic debris will build up during the winter while your fish and filtration system are dormant. The gases released can become trapped under ice and degrade the health of your pond. While heaters and de-icers can melt a hole in the ice to provide much-needed ventilation, they cannot help circulate gases like an aeration system can.