Lake Aeration Reviews

A pond is a living and breathing thing when you take a close look at it. This means that it needs oxygen to thrive and survive, just like we do. Getting the proper oxygen levels can prove to be quite a difficult task, even for a lake. They can often struggle to do this on their own and need a bit of help along the way. This is where lake and pond aeration systems come into play, and aeration has never been as easy to accomplish as it is today.

If you ever see your lake becoming filled with algae that are killing off plants and animals, or maybe the fish just aren't biting anymore, lake aeration is possibly the key to getting your old lake back. Water quality is positively affected by the amount of dissolved oxygen that gets put through the ecosystem. Aeration products work to incorporate oxygen back into the water and boost the water quality back to where it needs to be.

A sound aeration system will bring the lake or pond back to life and give it the breath of fresh air it truly needs. The fishermen and the fish themselves will be forever grateful for the aeration system in place, as they all need it to keep doing what they're doing in the water they love doing it in.

What is Lake Aeration?

In short, a lake aeration system brings more oxygen into the lake to help that water ecosystem thrive. There are loads of different ways to get proper aeration of the water of a lake or pond, and you have probably seen many of them in action without ever knowing what they are. A cabinet unit near a pond or lake is often a good sign that these lakes and ponds are being taken care of in the best way possible for aeration management.

An aerator for ponds or a lake can come in several different forms to correctly get the air into the water. Every aerator will work off a power source, generally with a cabinet unit that houses the pump system. From here, the compressor pumps air through tubing to reach the aerator, where either a fountain or a diffuser is located. The diffuser unit is where the air will come out, creating dissolved oxygen bubbles that rise and spread through the aquatic system.

One form of water aerator is a floating fountain. Floating fountains (or surface lake aeration fountains) are commonplace in ponds or lakes around businesses, as they have a great aesthetic appeal that adds to the property where water bodies tend to be on the shallow side. The oxygenation happens when the water from the fountain comes splashing back down to the pond. The water tension is broken and submerged gases escape the ecosystem. These are the perfect aeration systems for shallower water or lakes as they infuse dissolved oxygen into the water's upper levels.

There are submerged aeration systems for large ponds and lakes of a greater depth that can improve the water quality from down below the surface. A compressor onshore pumps air to the bubble diffusers at the bottom of the lake. The oxygen from those bubbles will rise and mix itself with the surface water and atmospheric oxygen. From there, it sinks back to the bottom and creates a vertical mixing system that increases dissolved oxygen levels in the entire pond or lake system.

If you have ever seen a solar panel by a pond or lake and been confused about its presence, chances are good it is powering a submersed aeration system. These solar-powered options are becoming more popular as the push for eco-friendly possibilities continues to be on the rise. Combine solar with an aeration system, and you are significantly helping local and global ecosystems. Solar is capable of bringing a power supply to your aerator at a low cost. The best power supply can provide the right amount of energy and have the capacity to run aerators on a long term basis.

Why do you aerate a lake?

In the sea, animal movement is the key to this mixing and oxygenation that the systems need to survive. However, lakes and ponds do not have whales breaching and bringing in that outside air needed so desperately. To get the proper amounts of oxygen infused into the lake or pond, we must give it a little bit of help. With the use of an appropriate aeration system, problems like eutrophication can be easily avoided.

Eutrophication occurs when there is a failure to mix the sediment and water in a lake or pond system. Nutrient levels become too high, and plants will take over the lake. When plants become too heavily populated, fish will no longer have the oxygen they need to breathe and continue living. Aeration systems help to bring balance back into the system so that everyone can live and enjoy the lake.

A pond or lake that is missing an aeration system will end up becoming oxygen-deprived. This will lead to the release of gas and metals from underwater flora. This additional gas and metal wrecks the water quality, making it difficult for anything to survive. The oxygen that moves through the pond or lake due to an aeration system helps stabilize the pH and alkalinity and eliminate unwanted CO2.

If you fail to aerate a pond or lake, it will only lead to more maintenance issues. Without an aeration system in the lake, unwanted algae will proliferate, which will change the pH and overall water quality. Expensive dredging and algaecide treatments are just two examples of the costs that ponds and lakes need without proper management and installation of a lake aeration system.

Can you aerate a pond too much?

Too much pond or lake aeration can, unfortunately, lead to other problems. Just like the plant and animal life in the system, there is a balance to everything. Here the balance is easily fixed by timers housed in units near the lake and ponds that turn the aerators on and off for a well-balanced supply of aeration. If you notice the fountains in ponds near you, the aerators are not always running. This can make the cost of an aerator lower, as well as giving the best ecosystem services to lakes, ponds, and any water systems.

If you were to run the aeration system at all times, the pond or lake could become turbid. Turbid bodies of water are characterized by the unattractive murky waters made from a high density of suspended sediment. Aeration systems mix the sediment on the floor of the lakes and ponds and over-mix them. There needs to be a period of time where things are allowed to settle to avoid turbidity.

We will often dream of crystal clear waters when reality shows us that life in lakes needs sediment in addition to the proper oxygen levels. The oxygen diffusers, water pumps, and a fountain's force help move the sediment around, not allowing it to stay sedentary. The efficient movement of water in a lake comes from an aerator's good design that can prevent over-saturation of the water.

Year after year, the sediment will increase without proper management. The level of management does not need to be high, however. Fountains and other lake aeration systems often will run themselves day and night without any help. A one-time setup of the product can make the water quality what it is meant to be, with the right amount of sediment, at a low cost.

Conclusion

Whether you are a small landowner or a manager for fish and wildlife services, pond and lake aeration systems must be informed about and have in place. Since these exist in nature without maintenance, we figure that they can do the same own backyard. Runoff and other human and non-human influences have made it, so we need to help these bodies of water with a lake aeration system to keep them healthy.

These products can be intimidating as the cost can seem quite high. When you put this cost up against the cost of treating the water in the lake every year, it starts to seem incredibly affordable. Air is something that we all need and can't live without. While we don't personally need a diffuser and hundreds of feet of tubing running across our surface, we still can get to the bottom of what is best for the aeration of a lake.

Even in nature, the land will eventually take back a pond or lake left alone for too long. Fish will die off, and algae will come in to eventually form land again. It isn't something that will happen in your lifetime, but the start of it is. That start can easily be avoided by installing a simple, quality, lake aeration system to help keep everything healthy and easily enjoyed.

For proper Lake & Pond Aeration, contact an expert today for a free estimate at 855-790-7265