Four steps for maintaining a healthier and cleaner large pond or lake.
Aeration
Aeration in a pond provides many benefits. A well-aerated pond will have less algae growth. It will also reduce odors caused by anaerobic conditions. There are many ways to help aerate any pond. Waterfalls or commonly used floating fountains will provide some aeration. However, to truly maximize your aeration a bottom aeration is best. These operate with an air compressor located at the pond edge pushing air to diffusers at the lake bottom. As the air column rises it increases the dissolved oxygen levels of the water and also disrupts stratification. Stratification occurs when the deep water is undisturbed. The deep areas become severely lacking in oxygen. Decaying organics produce toxins. If you have ever been swimming in a lake, you probably have noticed a level where the water suddenly gets much colder. This is the thermocline. When the thermocline is broken, the bottom toxins are released. When this happens suddenly in a lake where the toxicity has grown, it can result in massive fish kills. With lake bed aeration stratification should not occur and there will be no thermocline.
Bacterial Treatments
Natural bacteria such as is contained in products such as Microbe Lift PBL or Typhoon Pond Clarifier are extremely beneficial. The bacteria break down muck and sludge and reduce the nutrient load in the water, thus reducing algae and aquatic weeds. Reduced sludge levels greatly improve water quality with the lake water. The bacteria will also greatly reduce odors from the pond. Neglected water features may benefit from the stronger Typhoon Sludge Remover. All these bacteria are aerobic which means their effectiveness is limited in a pond that is not well aerated.
Pond Dye
Pond dye simply limits the sunlight penetrating the water, thereby reducing growth of algae and aquatic weeds. Many people also just like the more reflective appearance of the water when pond dye is used. Pond dye is available in either blue or black .
Phytofiltration
This is natural plant filtration to remove nutrients in the water. There are many ways to add plant life to an earth-bottom pond. The use of floating islands allows easier control of growth and will utilize more nutrients than plants that are planted into the soil. Many types of plants can be planted in the floating islands. They can use many aquatic plants, marginal plants, and normal terrestrial plants. Hibiscus is a plant that does well in floating islands and is excellent for nutrient reduction. We also like Water Willow and Water Snowball. There are countless other plants that will help reduce nutrient and improve the beauty of the water feature.
