Blog - BioRemedy

What are the advantages of a solar pond aerator?

Have you considered a solar pond aerator for your lake or pond? A lake or pond aerator is an essential piece of equipment that helps to keep fresh water bodies ecologically healthy and looking aesthetically pleasing. Ponds or lakes that are out of control are often filled with algae and weeds with cloud or scummy water that creates a rotten smell and a breeding ground for mosquitoes.

A lake or pond aerator keeps water bodies healthy

Apart from the lack of aesthetics, these unhealthy water bodies can have a significant impact on local wildlife, which is a shame because it’s very easy to bring them back to full health. Installing a pond or lake aerator is one of the best solutions for keeping water bodies fresh and clean and they can turn around an unhealthy pond very quickly.

A lake or pond aerator circulates air throughout the water column, preventing the water from stagnating and improving the water quality, leading to less algae, nuisance bacteria and mosquitoes. One of the problems however, is accessing electricity to power the lake or pond aerator, as not everyone has a handy electrical socket in the paddock!

Installing a power supply far from any dwellings can be expensive and ultimately impractical, but without an aerator your pond or lake will soon become stagnant and unhealthy.

A solar pond aerator keeps the environment healthy

The solution is to install a solar pond aerator that works just as well as more traditionally powered aerators, but doesn’t require electrical power. This immediately cuts down on your expenses, because instead of paying for electrical cables to be run out to the pond or lake, all you need to purchase is the lake aerator and a solar panel.

You also don’t need to pay to operate the aerator, because it runs on solar power. Of course, the obvious question is – what happens on cloudy days and at night?

From a strategic point of view, you need to install the solar panel on top of a post positioned to receive as much sunlight as possible all day long. If you want to take it up a level you can also install solar batteries, which will power your pond or lake aerator whenever the light levels drop below 20%. However, even without these batteries, your solar pond aerator should provide enough aeration for around 14 hours each day, which is usually sufficient to keep a waterbody healthy and clean.

Since a solar pond aerator saves you money and keeps your pond clean, as well as being environmentally friendly, it’s definitely worth considering if your pond or lake is stagnant and full of algae.

For more information on installing a solar pond aerator on your property, call us on 07 3889 8250 or send us an email.

Tips on reducing pond algae and keeping your outdoor fish pond healthy

Regardless of the size of your fish pond, whether it’s a small outdoor pond in your back garden or a large stocked dam on your property, keeping it healthy and free from pond algae is essential. This is an ongoing process, however with a good pond cleaner, the right pond pumps and our quick tips below, you shouldn’t have any problems maintaining a healthy outdoor pond.

Clean your pond: If you find that the water in your pond is green or dark in colour and there is a layer of ‘muck’ on the bottom, then you might need to drain it and give it a good clean. In this case you will need to use a good strong pond pump to remove all the water (after catching the fish and keeping them safe). On the other hand, if there is just a small amount of natural debris that is easily removed using a simple pond cleaner (such as a net) and the water is nice and clear, then a quick clean might be all that is needed. If you do need to drain your pond to give it a good clean, it’s always best to do it during the cooler months, as warm weather will stir up the bacteria in your pond, causing it to look green, before it all settles down again.

Fix any leaks: A slow leak can seriously affect the health of your pond and your fish, particularly if you are always topping it up with tap water from the town supply. This tap water upsets the entire balance of your pond, so fixing any leaks is a sensible idea to the long-term health of your pond.

Check pond pumps: These are the heart of your pond, removing debris and keeping the water clean and healthy. If you don’t check your pond pumps, skimmer baskets and filters regularly, the entire system can back up with debris. A weekly check will keep your pumps operating smoothly and your pond looking clean, healthy and free from pond algae.

Control pond algae: Removing pond algae by hand is ideal in small backyard ponds and you might not need the addition of a chemical pond cleaner. Larger dams however, might require more mechanical or chemical solutions due to the increased volume of water. It’s also a good idea to regularly top up the healthy bacteria and plants in your pond, as these compete with the algae for nutrients, reducing the amount of pond algae you have to remove.

To find out about our lake & pond remediation services, contact us on 07 3889 8250 or send us an email.

Effective algae control in lakes and ponds

Algae control in lakes and ponds is an essential part of maintaining the integrity and the health of all freshwater bodies, whether it’s a natural water hole on your land or a large ornamental lake on a golf course. Of course, you can remove some of the larger string or filamentous algae by hand using nets, but this is labour intensive and time consuming, although it’s a good first step.

A much better strategy for algae control in lakes and ponds is to use a chemical algae remover that doesn’t harm the wildlife in and around the water or to use a lake aerator for long-term control.

Using a chemical algae control in lakes and ponds

If you have algae growing on vertical or horizontal surfaces that can be easily removed by scrubbing, then that’s a good first step in controlling the growth of 11d. Often however, the water body is far too large for hand scrubbing to be an efficient method of controlling the growth of algae and you need to opt for a chemical algae remover.

If you can remove any filamentous or string algae with nets, that’s also a good first option, as well as netting any dead matter that has accumulated in the water. You are then free to apply your chemical algae remover to remove the remaining overgrowth of algae in your lake or pond.

Using a lake aerator or algae control in lakes and ponds

Using a chemical algae remover is only a stop gap and is a short-term measure that really needs to be backed up with a lake aerator for successful long term maintenance. A good lake aerator is an environmentally friendly way to control algae in lakes and ponds, as it increases the amount of oxygen in the water column.

A lake aerator also increases the number of enzymes that are needed to breakdown dead organic matter and gives a boost to the good biologicals that naturally compete with algae for nutrients and oxygen in the water. A lake or pond that is well aerated will provide a balanced environment to wildlife, be aesthetically pleasing, and will require fewer applications of a chemical algae remover.

If you require professional algae control in lakes or ponds on your property, call BioRemedy on 07 3889 8250 or send us an email.

Do you really need a lake or pond aerator?

If you have an open body of freshwater on your land, then it’s likely that you will need some form of lake or pond aerator installed. Without a pond aerator pump, the water quality can become compromised over time, reducing the health of the fish life and water quality, whilst the algae will thrive.

What does a pond or lake aerator do?

A pond aerator pump literally aerates the water column of ponds and lakes. In essence, it mixes the water throughout the depth of the pond or lake, preventing stratification that can lead to fish deaths and an overabundance of algae.

Stratification is a natural process in ponds and lakes where the water column is differentiated into layers, characterised by warm water with low oxygen levels and colder water with higher oxygen temperatures. A pond aerator pump destratifies the entire water body, ensuring both an even temperature and sufficient oxygenation throughout the water column. Destratifying large bodies of water can be a big challenge to environmental managers who have to constantly fight a pond or lake’s natural drive towards stratification.

In general, there are three practical benefits to using a pond or lake aerator for farmers and environmental managers:

Increased fish health: Most fish require a certain amount of dissolved oxygen to survive, which is why one of the biggest causes of fish kills are low oxygen levels. When a pond or lake is stratified, the fish cannot inhabit the whole water column, instead they need to remain in the layers that are adequately oxygenated. If you have a deeper layer of oxygen deficient water in the pond and the water body suddenly turns over (a natural occurrence in autumn) this can be enough to create large fish kills as the oxygen deficient water overwhelms the thinner oxygenated surface layer.

Installing a lake or pond aerator however, destratifies the water column, preventing the formation of a bottom oxygen deficient layer, and ensuring the health of the fish.

Improved water quality: Water that is deficient in oxygen causes bacteria that live in this type of environment to flourish, releasing hydrogen sulphide, ammonia, methane and carbon dioxide, killing not only the good bacteria, but also the fish. Water quality is compromised, and the pond or lake rapidly moves towards an unhealthy state. A pond or lake aerator will increase the oxygen levels throughout the water body, improving the water quality and resulting in a healthier and cleaner pond.

Reduced pond algae: A pond aerator pump will also mix algae spores throughout the water column, reducing the amount of time the spores spend in the warm sunlit surface layers, and slowing their growth cycle accordingly. Increased oxygen levels can also cause a shift in the type of algae that grows in ponds, from the problematical blue green algae to the less problematical green algae.

For lake and pond remediation, contact BioRemedy on 07 3889 8250 or send us an email.