How to Aerate a Backyard Fish Pond

Should I aerate my koi pond?

Although you can oxygenate a backyard Koi pond with your waterfall pump, as many of us do, what happens if your waterfall pump stops working? A pond air pump for koi ponds will keep bubbles (oxygen) and water movement in the pond to keep your pond fish alive for many weeks!

A pond air pump benefits your pond and water in a couple different ways. First, koi pond air pumps work by circulating water. The small bubbles coming from the pond air stone actually bring water with them as the bubbles rise to the surface creating water lift and circulation. This brings the bottom low dissolved oxygen pond water up to the water surface where there is more oxygen. Adding more oxygen and movement to your pond water is especially important during the hot summer months or if you pond has a lot of fish in it.

These air pumps are also great as a emergency back up In the case of a submersible pond pump or external koi pond pump failure, air pump will save the day! Plug it into a different outlet/circuit from the main fish pond water pump if possible. This is because the most common problem with submersible koi pond pumps when they break is that they starting tripping the GFI outlet that they are plugged into. Having a air pump to rely on will keep your fish alive and well while you look into the main waterfall pump problem and allow to time to have one shipped to your home. Other uses for aeration pumps for your pond includes using them for a pond cleaning while your fish are in a holding tank. A pond air pump such as the Aquascape Pond Air 20, is a must for every backyard koi pond fish keeper!

A pond air pump can also be used during the winter months for those that turn off the main waterfall pump in areas where winters are more harsh. In this case, move the air stone up to a shallow edge in your pond that is about a foot deep. The bubbles will help to keep a small section of ice open in your pond. The circulation and bubbles created by the pump and air stone will also help with gas exchange since the majority of he pond may be covered in ice.

How to install air pumps

Pond air pumps or sometimes called pond aerators, are simple to install. Connect the tubing to the air pump and the other end to an air stone. Place the air pump near the pond edge, outside of the water, and place the weighted tubing and pond air stone in the pond anywhere you would like. It takes only minutes to install a system like this for small and medium sized koi ponds and water gardens with goldfish. Most pond air pumps will have one or two outputs for airline tubing.

What size air pump do you need for your fish pond?

Small ponds up to 10t x 12 , one air stone is perfect, for medium and larger ponds select a two outlet air pump or a valve to split off the air tubing. For larger or multiple ponds, the Aquascape Pro Air 60 can be split to run a few air stones to different ponds. Many of the pond air kits found online are already properly sized for the size and depth of the backyard fish pond. Maintenance of your pond air pump is very easy, clean off the air stone anytime you see a decrease in flow, typically a cleaning of the air stone is needed once per season. Your air pump made need the rubber diaphragms replaced about every 5 years. These air pump replacement parts are readily available and only takes minutes to replace.