Aeration question

[Pond skipper]

Hi all, I have been PONDering something. I made the waterfall in my pond because, well, it's a pond, it must have a waterfall. What's the point of it doesn't have a beautiful, cascading, music to my ears waterfall. Right? The bonus of course, that I never really thought about before researching the building of said pond, is that it provides a great amount of oxygenation to the water as it falls through the air. In my over all pond design my waterfall cascades down into a pea gravel bog garden. Once the newly oxygen rich water percolates through the bog garden it trickles back into the main pond and the cycle repeats. My question, is there really any appreciable amount of replenished oxygen left in the water by the time it comes out the other side of the bog garden? What do you guys think?

 

[RobAmy]

Along as you have surface water movement it will create oxygen. Sure your bog will use of some of it up but then the movement in the bog will still create more. However on deep ponds it is a good idea to have aeration come from the bottom and break the surface. This helps with gas exchange and oxygen. Waterfall drops alone will not circulate the bottom of a pond. On a side note just because there is a waterfall does not mean there is enough oxygen in a pond, algae growth, fish load etc can all have effects on oxygen levels. The more surface movement the better, it can be a stream, waterfall or just aeration alone. The more movement and turbulence the better.

 

[Pond skipper]

Along as you have surface water movement it will create oxygen. Sure your bog will use of some of it up but then the movement in the bog will still create more. However on deep ponds it is a good idea to have aeration come from the bottom and break the surface. This helps with gas exchange and oxygen. Waterfall drops alone will not circulate the bottom of a pond. On a side note just because there is a waterfall does not mean there is enough oxygen in a pond, algae growth, fish load etc can all have effects on oxygen levels. The more surface movement the better, it can be a stream, waterfall or just aeration alone. The more movement and turbulence the better.

Thanks for that.. yes I forgot to mention my pond is quite shallow at about 1.5-2' deep.. Waterfall pump cycles 1250gph I also have a second 800gph pump on the bottom of the pond just cycling water over the small wall that separates the bog from the main pond. I only have 8 goldfish and a couple of water hyacinth and almost no algae (pond is very shaded) From what you are saying it sounds to me like I've probably got enough aeration. Thanks again