The supplementary ventilation can be an advantage for fish ponds, says Scott Jones, specialist for small pollution enhancement at the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff. Improvements in the chemical and biological conditions of the pond can increase the fish populations and extend the lifespan of the pond.
“Although ventilation is most common, it could be too eager to trigger your new ventilation system from the summer jump to trigger a disaster,” he said.
The most common types of ventilation types used in fish ponds are diffusers, floating vertical pumps and wells. Brunnen is more about aesthetics and delivers limited ventilation and water circulation, said Jones.
“Vertical pumps provide good ventilation and a certain circulation of flat waters,” he said. “Diffuse ventilation is generally preferred, especially in ponds that are deeper than about 8 feet because they provide good ventilation and good circulation. They also do more than harassed.”
In summer, ponds develop different thermal layers. Usually only the shallow layer, the epilimnion, keeps a high dissolved oxygen content, said Jones. The deeper layers, which, due to the density differences between warmer and cooler layers, cannot mix with the surface, gradually lose oxygen in summer.
“In many ponds, the deepest, coolest layer, the hypolimnion, can run completely out of dissolved oxygen until the middle to late summer,” he said. “In autumn, when the surface water temperatures begin with the agreement with lower water temperatures, the ponds can mix again throughout. This period is referred to as sales.”
Ponds that are deep or highly productive (those that produce dense plankton flowers) can have a low dissolved oxygen in sales, which can lead to fisholes. Diffuse ventilation systems prevent these thermal layers from circulating through continuously, said Jones. As long as a diffuse ventilation with a really large size is continuously guided through the warm season, do not develop thermal layers, and the pond will not experience sales.
“A cruel irony of some pond owners who install a diffuse ventilation in summer is that they can accidentally trigger sales that leads to catastrophic fishing kills overnight,” he said. “The same mechanism that prevents thermal layers from developing will break if a diffuser is activated after the thermal layers have developed.”
In the middle to late summer is the most dangerous time to activate a diffuse ventilator for the first time, but it is advisable to carefully start it regardless of the season, said Jones. The boot-up process recommended by many manufacturers is said to gradually mix the pond over a week to prevent a sudden shock on the system. Start with just 30 minutes on the first day, twice the term every day until the system continues 24 hours a day.
“Arkansa's ponds benefit the most from continuously operating a diffuse ventilation system all year round,” he said. “Remember to create the annual maintenance of your compressors, as recommended by the manufacturer, to get optimal performance and lifespan.”
If you do not want to operate your air ventilation all year round, you can complete the system in the cooler months of November to February with less negative effects than if you have done this in the warmer months, Jones said. If you only want to run your system during the highest periods in the oxygen requirement, you may save the system for 12 hours every day for 12 hours for electricity.
“If you intend to only operate the ventilation overnight, it is advisable to increase the initial volume of the system to ensure that the entire pond volume is mixed at least once during your shorter ventilation time,” he said.
Further information on the ventilation of fish ponds is available from Scott Jones at (870) 575-8185 or [email protected].
Debbie Archer is an extension tenant for communication at the University of Arkansas at the Pine Bluff School of Agriculture, Fisheries and Human Sciences.