4 Major Threats to Your Pond and How to Fix Them
There is no greater satisfaction than sipping a glass of fresh juice, sitting next to your pond on a sunny afternoon. Imagine watching butterflies hop across the water body as you listen to the sounds of water refilling the pond. This is the tranquility of a healthy backyard pond. Unfortunately, there are common issues facing fish ponds and you need to know the best ways to tackle them.
Oxygen Depletion
The ultimate balance of aquatic life majorly depends on oxygen levels. Luckily, it is possible to restore an oxygen-rich underwater environment with systems available at Living Water Aeration. You will need trained personnel to help you fix a windmill aerator, floating fountain, submersed diffused aerators, or solar aeration systems. Listen carefully to the suggestions of an expert to successfully infuse oxygen into the garden pond.
Pond aeration eliminates undesirable signs of stratified and stagnant water bodies. It also cleans out the odors and cloudiness. Above all, good aeration reduces the volume of accumulated sediments at the very bottom of the pond. This prevents toxic algae blooms thereby promoting a good habitat for fish. When the water seems brown and cloudy, it might also be a sign of a defective water pump and filtration mechanism. Avoid this by cleaning the pond filters regularly. Always dismantle the foam filters when washing. Hose down the cartridge filters using a strong water current.
Poor Water Quality
A healthy pond needs quality water for long term sustainability. How often do you test the water quality of the pool of water in the backyard? You need multi-test kits to see all the water changes that may hint at the current issues facing your garden dam. Poor water quality predisposes fish to bacteria and parasites. Too much toxicity can lead to stress, illnesses, and death eventually. No matter the age or species of fish, take the responsibility of maintaining good water quality to enjoy these aquatics for years. Pond water tests should look into such aspects as total dissolved solids, E-coli bacteria, nitrate-nitrogen balance, phosphorus, alkalinity, pH, hardness, dissolved oxygen, and temperature, among others. High amounts of chlorine and chloramines are deadly to fish. Use the right water-testing kits to keep them to safe levels.
Various factors can throw pond water out of balance e.g., bacteria levels and fish population. To maintain a good aquatic balance, monitor the levels of fertilizers in your farm and mitigate runoffs. Apply the recommended amount of fertilizer at the right time using the right methods. Use non-phosphorous fertilizers on your gardens to control the toxic blue-green algae that depend on phosphorus for growth. Another line of defense is buffering the pod border with trees, shrubs, and flowers. These plants help to soak up nutrients that would easily run into the pond. Vegetation around the pond helps to control soil erosion in addition to inhibiting entry by wildlife and unwanted waste. You can also filter out nutrients using a sedimentation pond- a shallow pool located at the inlet. It allows nutrients to settle before flowing into the main pool.
Toxic Algae
Too many algae mean that the aquatic plants are diminished. So, there is nothing to stop algae from depleting nutrients and oxygen. Normally, when water is exposed to too much sunlight, algae start multiplying rapidly. Adding shading light can help to control the growth of algae underwater. Toxic algae jeopardize aquatic life when it dies, leaving behind too much organic matter floating on water. The condition is quite unsightly and reduces the true beauty of a lake. The situation becomes severe when it uses up the available oxygen during decomposition. This means that every living thing that survives on oxygen underwater is threatened. Before taking any control measure, first, identify the type of algae and let a professional technician handle the job. Professionals can use selective herbicides, aeration treatments, or mechanical removal without chemicals. Certain aquatic plants like eelgrass and duckweed are naturally oxygenating. They are useful in mitigating the excessive growth of algae.
Some of the most adverse impacts are hardness and salinity because they hamper the effectiveness of treatments for controlling weed and algae. Chemical resistance can permanently change your pond. Watch out for floods, large debris, newly introduced well water, discharge from nearby construction, and fertilizer application.
Unhealthy Floating Plants
When you notice the water lily plant growing excessively then dying, it means there is an insufficient amount of nutrients in the water. Or the water balance is completely off. You should remove the dead leaves from the surface to reduce the amount of dead matter. Start a nutrient management strategy immediately to restore your lake. But get to know first what nutrients are lacking and which ones are in excess.
Use a pond skimmer to get rid of debris or a pond net to skim sticks and dead leaves. If these organic matters descend to the bottom, they start to decay hence depleting oxygen. Decaying matter plus fish waste can spike the levels of ammonia in the water. If you do not address the problem right away, your fish start jumping out of the water. Use an ammonium neutralizer to keep the water clean and healthy.
Why A Windmill is the Best Solution
Naturally, algae thrive in stagnant water. The installation of windmill aerators can help to clear the algae issue fast. A windmill is environmentally-friendly and doesn’t rely on sunlight like solar-based aerators. So, a windmill can be used 24 hours a day without extra interventions. Unlike other pond aeration systems that require pumps to move water, windmills infuse oxygen into the pond’s bottom. You will see small bubbles working to circulate stagnant water at the bottom and bringing it to the surface. Aeration coupled with circulation is the utmost source of high-quality pond water.
Successful pond management starts with the basic knowledge of the prevailing conditions through effective water-testing data. With the correct data at hand, you can design a restoration program tailored to the exact needs of the garden pond. This approach guarantees long-term sustainability of ecological balance. Many pond issues are related to poor aeration and water quality. To avoid these threats, learn how to maintain a healthy pond ecosystem before hiring someone to fix them. If you need eco-friendly and low-maintenance pond installations, let the experts do the work for you. They have the best pond aeration kits including windmill systems to get your project on track.