Winter is coming, are your fish ready?

Pond & Lake Q & A

Recently, someone asked me a fantastic question regarding winter aeration and if it can “super-cool” your pond in the winter, possibly causing harm to your fish. I had one of our expert Fisheries Biologists, Justin McLeod, answer this question. Below are some easy solutions that he suggests to ensure a fish-safe winter for those of you in the colder climates. – Jason Blake, The Pond Guy®

Winter aeration (bubblers) can be very important in areas where ponds can freeze over. Along the Northern US border and into Canada, mid-winter temperatures dip well below freezing for prolonged amounts of time. This can put your fish into jeopardy if the pond freezes completely over. To answer your question regarding “Super-Cooling your pond, extremely cold surface temperatures cause ponds to stratify in the opposite way of the summer. Because water is most dense at 39 degrees Fahrenheit, the water beneath the winter thermocline stays around that 39 degree mark, while the water above the thermocline drops down near the 32 degree mark. This is a small difference, but it could mean life or death to a fish.

A “super-cooled” condition is created generally when surface aeration (fountains, High Volume Surface aerators, or really anything pump or pushing water into the atmosphere) is used during winter months. “Super-Cooling” happens when the colder water on the top is circulated to the bottom, leaving no warmer water refuge for the fish. Although it is uncommon to see “Super-Cooling” with sub-surface aeration (bottom bubblers), there have been instances when it has happened. With that said, I would never let this stop me from operating my aerator in the winter – my fish are just too important to me!

Here are some tips to make sure you get the most out of your aeration system and possibly avoid the chance of “Super-Cooling”:

1. If you have multiple diffuser plates, it is ok to run only 50% of your diffusers. Even though the mixing power of your system is decreased, it will still add oxygen to the pond and allow gases to escape out through the hole it creates in the ice. Note: You only need 10% of your water surface open in the winter for gas exchange.

2. If your pond is extremely small (1/8 acre or less), you may want to move your plate(s) out from the deepest area into a shallower spot. This will leave room for fish to winter in the deeper water.

POND TALK: What do you do to prepare your lake fish for winter?

If your pond looks cloudy like this, then this article is for you!

Pond & Lake Q & A

Q: How do I prevent my pond from clouding up when it rains? – Dave in Missouri

A; When the skies cloud up and the rain starts to fall, it’s almost a guarantee that your farm pond or lake will cloud up, too. Muddy runoff, along with nutrients like grass clippings, twigs, trees, livestock waste, yard and farm fertilizers drain into the water, feeding the dreaded algae and triggering a bloom. Before you know it, your pristine pond turns into a cloudy green mess.

With some preventative steps, however, this can be avoided. Try these tips to keep your pond clean and clear when the rain starts falling:

Install a pond-wide aeration system: By churning and roiling the water in your lake with a Pond Aeration System, the sediment and debris disperses throughout the water column, allowing the beneficial bacteria, like those found in PondClear®, to consume it and get rid of it. The aeration system also breathes life-giving oxygen into the water, which your fish and pond inhabitants will appreciate!

Create a fertilizer-free ring around the pond: Sure, some fertilizer may make its way into your pond, especially if it’s on a farm or near livestock, but if you establish a perimeter around the pond that you leave fertilizer-free, it will cut down on the nutrient load going into the water and feeding the algae. You can also try using organic or low-phosphorus fertilizers.

Boost your beneficial bacteria: When you know rainfall is in the forecast, add some natural beneficial bacteria, in anticipation of the storm. The bacteria will become established and ready to gobble through nitrates, breaking down fish waste, leaves and other organics that accumulate in the pond and naturally improving the water clarity.

Don’t despair when the skies turn stormy. With some planning, you can have a pristine pond all year long despite what the weather forecaster predicts!

POND TALK: What do you do to prevent cloudy water in your pond or lake when it rains?

No Algae Here!

Pond & Lake Q & A

Q: How do I control floating and bottom-growing algae in my lake? – Tom in New York

A: Whether it’s floating or submerged, algae can turn a lake into a green mess in no time. It’s unsightly, it’s sometimes stinky and in extreme cases, it can cause a fish kill. The good news is that algae can be controlled no matter what time of year. It starts with controlling the population and ends with a long-term management plan.

Before we dive in, it’s important to understand the difference between algae and weeds. The term “algae” refers to a wide range of single and multi-celled organisms that live in the water and metabolize carbon dioxide into oxygen via photosynthesis, just like plants. They differ from plants or weeds in that they don’t have true leaves, roots or stems.

In lakes and ponds, the most common varieties of algae include: Green floating algae that creates a “pea soup” appearance; Chara or Stonewort, which are a bottom-growing, seaweed-looking type that can be mistaken for weeds, and string or filamentous algae, which are actually long strings of algae connected together.

Sometimes, pond and lake owners may mistake duckweed for floating algae, but if you look very closely, you’ll find that it’s actually duckweed or watermeal. Check out this blog entry to learn more about controlling this invasive weed.

Population Check

If your pond is coated in pea soup or the bottom is carpeted in Chara or string algae, you can knock back the population with a chemical herbicide like Algae Defense®. It provides quick results and it’s formulated to get a pond under control – especially during the hot summer months. Do not use if your pond or lake is stocked with koi or goldfish. If your pond has trout, check your carbonate hardness with a water hardness test kit, like the Laguna® Quick Dip Multi-Test Strips, and make sure the carbonate hardness is above 50 parts per million (ppm) before using Algae Defense®.

Long-Term Strategy

Algae Defense® by Pond Logic® will solve a crisis, but to keep your pond or lake looking clean and clear, you’ll need to be proactive and develop a plan to manage the algae. The most successful approach centers on cutting off the algae’s food supply – nutrients.

Nutrients can come from a wide variety of sources, like grass clippings, twigs, trees, fish waste, yard and farm fertilizers and runoff. As these nutrients break down, they produce ammonia, which triggers the nitrogen cycle. Nitrifying bacteria surround the ammonia, turning it into nitrites and then into nitrates (nutrients) – which then feed the algae.

So, how do you reduce the nutrients in your pond?
Try these tips:

That green gunk can be controlled in your pond or lake. It just takes a little planning and some proactive management. When you see the results, it’ll be worth it!

POND TALK: When was your worst algae bloom and how did you control it?

Airmax® Aeration

Pond & Lake Q & A

Q: Why is it important to aerate my lake during the summer? – Eric in Texas

A: Though the hottest days of summer are nearly behind us, your pond or lake still needs proper aeration – especially as we approach fall, when temperatures shift and your pond water will turn over. An aerated pond is a healthy pond, and a healthy pond is one you’ll enjoy all year long.

Why Aerate?

Ponds and lakes go through two stages of life: Stage 1, when the pond has just been excavated and Stage 2, when the pond has had a chance to become established. During Stage 1, which may only last a year, the pond is virtually nutrient-free. It has little or no leaf and plant debris, the fish have produced little waste and the environment has leached almost nothing into the water. It’s like the honeymoon stage of your pond – all the beauty with little maintenance.

After a season or two, the pond enters into Stage 2. Nutrients, like leaves, plants, fish waste and plant fertilizers, build up in the pond. You’ll start to see large amounts of algae and weed growth. Under the surface, the water column becomes murky with debris; at the bottom of the pond, muck will start to develop. This decomposing organic waste adds even more nutrients to the water – which can cause even more algae and weed growth. Talk about a vicious cycle!

At the same time, all those decomposing nutrients create a rise in toxic gas levels. Ammonia and nitrites build up in the water while the oxygen level plummets, especially in the deeper depths of the pond. Because ponds without aeration can become thermally stratified, the toxic gases created on the bottom build up in the cool water underneath. A change in temperature, a heavy rain or sometimes even high winds can turn the water over allowing the toxic, oxygen-deprived water at the bottom to mix into the top layer leaving your fish without oxygen and causing a fish kill.

The Solution

Many pond owners will turn to fountain aeration or surface aerators to churn the water. While fountains are aesthetically pleasing, they will only draw surface water, leaving the bottom of the pond uncirculated and doing nothing to eliminate toxic gases underneath.

A bottom bubbler, however, will circulate the entire water column from the bottom up and eliminate the thermal layers that form in the pond or lake. In a permanent state of motion, the action caused by the bubbler will continuously vent gasses and provide oxygen to the bottom sediments, allowing the beneficial bacteria to break down the toxic gasses and muck and give off a little oxygen in return.

The best option for a bottom bubbler is the Airmax® Aeration system. In combination with aerobic muck-eating bacteria, like MuckAway™ Pellets or PondClear™ Packets, the system can eliminate up to 5 inches of muck per year – and keep your pond or lake healthy no matter the season.

POND TALK: Why do you aerate your pond or lake?

Pond clarity results with MuckAway and PondClear

Pond & Lake Q & A

Q: What’s the difference between PondClear and MuckAway? – Barry in Oklahoma

A: We can summarize the difference between the two in one sentence: PondClear works to remove excess nutrients from the surface down; Muck Away works to remove excess nutrients from the bottom up. Seems simple – or is it?

In general, water clarity problems occur when excess amounts of rotting vegetation, leaves, twigs and fish waste accumulate in the pond or lake. These tiny particles are either suspended in the water column, or they settle to the bottom of the pond.

PondClear packets, which are made of beneficial bacteria, are designed to break down waste and suspended organics in the water column. Imagine thousands of hungry bacteria, which multiply every 20 to 40 minutes, swimming through your pond or lake and gobbling through the excess nutrients. After just a few weeks of use, chemical-free PondClear will begin to clear up your water and dissipate any lingering odors.

PondClear comes in easy-to-use, pre-measured water-soluble packets that you simply toss into your pond or lake every two weeks. One pail of PondClear will treat a quarter-acre pond for up to six months. It’s safe for use around horses, livestock, birds, fish, pets and wildlife.

MuckAway pellets, which are also made of beneficial bacteria, are designed to sink to the bottom of a pond or lake to digest the detritus, which are their natural food source. As the bacteria start to work, the muck will begin to break down, noxious odors will dissipate and the water clarity will improve. It’s great for spot-treating troublesome areas, like beaches and shorelines.

When used as directed, MuckAway will break down up to 5 inches of muck per year. One pail of MuckAway will treat up to 16,000 square feet of pond. It’s safe for use around horses, livestock, birds, fish, pets and wildlife, too.

Whether you use PondClear or MuckAway, be sure to use when water temperatures are above 50 degrees Fahrenheit. If you use an algaecide or herbicide treatment, wait at least three days before adding the beneficial bacteria.

POND TALK: What successes have you had with beneficial bacteria in your pond or lake?

Picture of a Pond.

Pond & Lake Q & A

Q: What can I do to keep my pond clear? – Kara of Florida

A: When I ask my service customers what their top three goals are for their pond, clear water is almost always at the top of the list. Clear water is aesthetically pleasing and is a sign that your pond is healthy and balanced. Across the board, your first step towards clean and clear water is to aerate.

Airmax Aeration keeps the water in motion, allowing it to stay oxygenated while venting toxic gasses and clearing the water. Beyond aeration, there are a few easy steps to follow to clear up that water:

Start by finding the source of the problem. Dip a clear glass of water out of your pond and begin the diagnosis. Match what you see to the following problem/solution.

• Pea Soup Colored Water: This is typically caused by a heavy bloom of planktonic algae. When treating for planktonic algae you must be very careful. Treating too big of an area at any one time could cause oxygen levels to deplete to a point where your fish could die. We highly recommend to have an aeration system running when treating for this type of algae. To help with this issue in the future, you must limit the nutrients that are entering the pond. Do this by limiting organics such as grass clippings, twigs, leaves, branches, etc. from entering the pond. Be careful of fertilizing around your pond as this too will cause algae blooms. Using Nutri-Defense will help bind any nutrients currently in the pond and begin using PondClear or MuckAway natural bacteria to help break down any organics that have already gotten into the pond. These bacteria work by eating any suspended nutrients and bottom muck in the pond to help keep your pond clean and clear.

• Milky Gray or Chocolate Milk Colored Water: Most often this problem is caused by heavy runoff laden with silt and sediment. Aeration will typically take care of this problem within a week or two. If the problem persists, the soil in the water is probably clay. In this situation, apply a double dose of Nutri-Defense to try and help flocculate the suspended particulates.

• Stained Brown/Black Like Tea or Coffee Colored Water: This color water is usually a result of heavy leaf litter on the pond’s bottom. When leaves sit for long periods of time, they can release tannins into the water column causing brown/black colored water. Use a Lake Rake to rake out the bulk of the material, and follow up with MuckAway to help accelerate the decomposion of the remaining leaves. As always, we recommend to aerate.

The recurring theme that we see here is that aeration is key when trying to solve pond problems. In nearly every case, your pond will greatly benefit from the use of Airmax
Aeration. Aeration Systems will help create an environment for aerobic bacteria (like bacteria found in PondClear or MuckAway) to thrive. This aerobic bacteria will decompose organics at accelerated speeds and will help reduce the sediment at the pond’s bottom.

ClearPAC - Season-Long Pond Care in One Convenient Package

Q: Is there any one product that I can use to get my pond cleared up? I have tried numerous products from my local feed store with little to no success. Please help! – Jason of Indiana

A: One of the best ways to maintain your pond all year long is to get a ClearPAC. The ClearPAC is a collection of products that come in one package designed to make the maintenance of your pond as simple as possible. The following is a list of the products that are included within the ClearPAC and what their purposes are:

Algae Defense – The Algae Killer*: Algae Defense is an algaecide that once sprayed onto algae, within hours the algae is dead. It is very fast acting. If algae is present in your pond, we recommend using Algae Defense to kill off the algae before starting the rest of the package.

Pond-Clear – The Natural Bacteria: Pond-Clear is one of the best products used in the market today to help keep your pond clean and clear. These easy-to-use water soluble packets, once toss into the water, go to work immediately to breakdown muck, remove excess nutrients and eliminate noxious odors. Pond-Clear will naturally improve a pond’s water clarity by attacking suspended organic waste. This powerful bacteria can breakdown as much as 5 inches of muck per year! We recommend using Pond-Clear every two weeks throughout the season when water temperatures are above 55 degrees Fahrenheit.

Nature’s Blue – The Pond Dye: This super concentrated pond dye works great at giving your pond a long lasting natural blue color as well as filtering out sunlight. This quart is so concentrated that it is equal to many other pond dye gallons out on the market.

Nutri-Defense – The Eco-Enhancer: Nutri-Defense works to bind up excess nutrients and sinks them to the pond’s bottom to make them unavailable as a food source for algae. Nutri-Defense also helps stimulate the Pond-Clear natural bacteria. Once Nutri-Defense has settled the nutrients to the pond’s bottom, Pond-Clear goes to work to break them down further. Pond-Clear and Nutri-Defense are a fantastic “one-two punch” to keep your pond clean and clear.

The ClearPAC is a great way to keep your pond clean, clear and healthy all season. We always recommend to add an aeration system to help further enhance the performance of the ClearPAC. (Click here to read more about aeration). The ClearPAC comes in two different sizes, the 1/4 Acre ClearPAC and the 1/2 Acre ClearPAC. There is enough product to treat the ponds for up to 6 months!

*Algae Defense cannot be shipped to the following states: California, Connecticut, Maine, New Jersey, New York and Washington. Algae Defense will be omitted from orders going to these states.

Q: I know I need aeration in my pond, but I’m not sure what type of aerator is right for me? - Several Customers

A: We all know why ponds need some type of aeration system (If your not sure why ponds need aeration, read the article Aeration in the Summer Heat), but there are many types of aerators on the market from Bottom Bubblers to Fountains to Windmills. The type of aerator needed for a pond depends on a few factors.

Airmax Bottom Bubblers: An overwhelming majority of ponds fit into the category of Bottom Bubbler aeration. This system comes with a cabinet that sits on the shore. The cabinet houses an energy efficient air compressor. This compressor is then connected to a 4-stone diffuser plate(s) that sits on the bottom of the pond. This 4-stone diffuser creates medium sized bubbles that not only allow for adequate aeration, but also circulation. Many pond owners assume that since power is not located by the shore of their pond, that a Bottom Bubbler will not work. Just to clarify, a Bottom Bubbler can be placed up to 1,000 feet from the pond using direct burial airline. To select which sized Airmax Bottom Bubbler aeration system will work for you, click here to read about it in our online catalog.

Fountains: Fountains are a great aesthetic piece for any farm pond. Fountains rest on the surface of the pond, pull water from below and push it into the air to make a decorative spray pattern. Because of the way they are

designed, they will only pull water from about 6 feet down. When a pond is deeper than 6 feet it’s best to go with both a Fountain as well as a Bottom Bubbler to have adequate aeration. When the pond has a

depth of 6 feet or less then a fountain will act as both an aerator as well as a decorative piece. Please note: Depending on your pond’s size, you may need more than one Fountain to properly aerate.

Windmill: Windmills are primarily designed for decoration. If a pond is located where no power is available, then a windmill is really the only option to allow for some aeration. It is important to keep in mind that windmills only come with one stone and do not cover a large area. Also, they need constant wind

to have constant aeration. Windmills are available in 12′, 16′ and 20′ towers. Windmills do not provide continuous aeration and should not be used as a direct substitute for electrical powered continuous aeration systems.

Q: How do you get rid of leeches?
- Richard of Waterbury Center, VT

A: The “muck” at the bottom of your pond is a great breeding ground for leeches. So the absolute best way to get rid of them would be to get rid of the “muck”. Pond-Clear Natural Bacteria is the best way to do this. Pond-Clear will eat up to 5″ of “muck” per year!

Another thing you can do in the short term is trap them. To do so, do the following:

1.) Start with a coffee can with a plastic lid.

2.) Poke holes in the sides of the can with a nail. Holes should be 1/8 to 1/4 inch in size. The nail holes should leave a sharp burr on the inside of the can (approximately 50 holes).

3.) Put about 1/4 cup of raw meat in the can (ground beef, liver, chicken or turkey giblets are recommended).

4.) Put the lid on the can and submerge it completely in your pond. A rock placed on top of the can will prevent it from falling over and will help prevent snapping turtles from tampering with it.

5.) Check the trap a couple of times a week and remove the leeches. Keep the trap in the pond until the leech numbers decrease, or you no longer catch any leeches in the trap.

Q: My pond is approximately 1.5 acres and shaped like a horeshoe with a pennisula in the middle. I have clay soil and my pond is always murky. It is 7 years old and I am frustrated that I have stocked the pond and do not catch many fish. I want a clear pond without killing my fish. -Scott of Carl Junction, MO

A: Great question! There are many facets to this questions and also please note that a pond will never be as clear as a pool. If your pond is murky, the first question I would ask you is, “Do you have catfish or koi in your farm pond?” If the answer is “yes”, then thats the issue. Catfish and koi are known as “bottom dwellers” and will stir up the bottom of a pond and no matter how hard you try to settle it out, the catfish and koi will just keep stiring it up. If you do not have catfish or koi, then we have to dig a little deeper for find the answer. What I would do next is a glass jar test. Take a clear glass jar and fill it up with your pond’s water. Wait 24 hours and either two things will happen. One, the cloudiness settles and the water becomes clear or two, the water is green and nothing settles. If the water is green, than we have to treat for algae. See Algae Control. If the cloudiness settles at the bottom and the water is clear, then the cloudiness is caused by suspended particulates instead of algae. If this is the case, a double dose of Nutri-Defense will flocculate the particulates and a regular maintenance of Pond-Clear Packets will help maintain that clear water. Also, Nutri-Defense & Pond Clear are both Safe for people, pets, fish, livestock & Wildlife.