Has the weather gotten you down this winter?  For most of the country who hasn't been plagued with drought, we've had more than our fair share of cold weather and snow.  Even as I write this, it's snowing.  Will it ever stop?

All of cold weather has not only done a lot of damage to various parts of the country and will cost Americans billions of dollars, but the freezing temperatures also can have a huge detrimental effect on your pond and the life within it.

The million dollar question is - do you have an aerator in your pond? 

An aerator is the cheapest, most effective way to keep an area of the pond from freezing over solid.  When the air diffuser is properly placed, it can provide enough surface agitation to prevent the water from freezing over solid. 

Why is this so important?

Because you want an exit hole at the pond's surface to allow toxic gases that can build up in the pond to escape.  At the same time, it provides an entrance hole for oxygen to enter.  If you don't provide this hole, every single living creature can die from those toxic gases building up and no oxygen entering.  This can be an incredible very stinky mess in the spring when the ice thaws with all of your dead fish floating on the pond's surface.  If you don't scoop them out and get rid of them (they can make great fertilizer), then they'll, at some point, sink to the bottom and provide more food for algae to grow besides harmful parasites, bacteria, fungus, etc.  It will be a nasty, nasty mess and can cost you a WHOLE LOT MORE than what an aerator would cost.

Aerators are also cheaper than using a pump because it's cheaper to push air than water.  Also, pump tubing would freeze and build back pressure and burn out your pump - which no warranty will cover.  In addition, having a pond aerator is also cheaper than using a pond deicer because the electricity to run a deicer can be more expensive than an aerator and it still doesn't put oxygen in the deepest part of the pond where the fish are at. 

So, do yourself a favor and make sure you have a pond aerator installed this winter.  They can last you for years and provide you year-round aeration. 

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