You will need to watch your fish both during the day and at night. During the day oxygen is produced by plants and algae. However, at night they rob the fish of their precious oxygen. This is the biggest reason you need to watch your fish at night rather than when you feed them during the day.
There are a few signs of a pond lacking in oxygen. Your fish will be hanging out at the top of the water. They will be very still. Another sign that is hard to miss would be a very bad odor coming from the pond. Usually this is from debris at the bottom that is decomposing and giving off gases. The third and also obvious sign is aggressive algae growth. If you see any of these signs you need to do something to add oxygen to your pond.
There will be oxygen when water and air come into contact. The greater the surface of your pond, the more oxygen you will have. Also, a spray of water will increase the surface that is exposed to the air. Several things impact the oxygen. Let's discuss those now.
1. Plants are great for filtration and create oxygen during the day. If they cover most of the pond surface you are depleting the amount of space that the air and water are able to come into contact. You may need to reduce the amount of plants in your pond.
2. Fish use and need the oxygen. If you have too many fish then they can't all get the oxygen they need. As a rule you can have 1 fish per 300 gallons of water.
3. Heat impacts the oxygen supply because hotter water holds less oxygen than colder water. Some shade in the summer is good for the pond and fish.
4. Algae, like plants, create oxygen during the day and use it at night. Some algae are good but make sure the pond surface isn't becoming covered with it.
5. Decomposing leaves and muck in the bottom of the pond must be cleaned out.
There are several things, in addition to the list above, to help with aeration. Here's a list for your use.
• Waterfalls and Cascading Fountains-these will help by circulating the deeper water and moving it to the surface. If you have one already you may want to add another one.
• Air Stones-install these at the bottom of the pond. They create a water column that will bring the bottom water to the surface.
• Bottom Drain with Air Stones-place the air stones on top of the drain. It will create a current to the drain. Not only will this help with aeration but will help with filtration and circulation.
• Filtration and Pump-make sure you have the correct size of equipment for the needs of your pond. Clean water can absorb more oxygen than dirty or stagnate water.
• Aeration Pump-it is especially useful in the summer when the water doesn't absorb as much oxygen. It is also a good backup if your main pump goes out.
• Spray Bar-this will stir up the surface of the pond. It can create strong currents to help with oxygen. This also gives the fish a current to swim in and help with growth.
Watch for the signs of a lack of oxygen. If the signs are there make sure you increase the amount of surface water interacting with air. This boils down to creating water movement, using the correct pond filtration and making sure all causes are addressed. In nature oxygen is received from rain and the wind creating water movement. We have to use other methods for our waterfall pond. Most methods create a pleasing look and sound in addition to helping with the oxygen level.
Vickie Talley
Knight Enterprises LLC
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Vickie_J_Talley