PONDS 101
The best thing you can add to your pond in the form of water treatments is beneficial bacteria for ponds. A regular maintenance dose of beneficial bacteria is important to ensure that the bacteria colonies grow to the maximum level. Bacteria require oxygen to thrive and aeration in the pond promotes an abundance of healthy bacteria colonies.
Bacteria can help digest the benthal layer, the "muck" at the bottom of the pond. Beneficial bacteria steal the nutrients from algae as they feed on the nutrients, fish waste, and sludge in the water. Continually adding beneficial bacteria to your pond will help keep it clean, clear and algae free.
Please check out these sites on Beneficial Bacteria for more information
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http://www.lochnesswatergardens.com/pondblog/beneficial-bacteria-make-good-pond-mates/
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https://theponddigger.com/beneficial-bacteria/
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http://www.aquascapeinc.com/products-water-treatments-pond-beneficial-bacteria
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Aeration is a very important element in a healthy pond. It allows dissolved oxygen to reach the plants, fish and beneficial bacteria. It helps reduce the amount of muck of the bottom of the pond. Beneficial bacteria cannot thrive without ample amounts of oxygen in the water. If a pond becomes oxygen deprived, bacteria will not flourish, and then muck, gases and metals build up and create water quality problems. Once an aeration system is installed, the water is circulated by the rising bubbles which churn up the sediments and muck on the bottom on the pond. Waterfalls or fountains displace water on the surface, where the oxygen is introduced to the water. Aeration is a great way to enhance water quality. Many of our clients who have installed aeration systems are amazed by the results!
More great sites about the benefits of aeration and aerators:
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Bog Ponds - gravel and plant filter systems
A Bog filter system is an excellent filtration system borrowed from Mother Nature. It is quite simple in its design and works very well. Bog filters work so well in fact, that they are being used for public natural swim ponds. Pond water is pumped from the skimmer or submerged pump to an upper separate pond, then slowly overflows down a stream, or over a waterfall, back into the lower pond. Bog filters work very well because of the large amount of filtration media, ( gravel, pea stone) that fills the upper bog pond. The gravel in the bog pond traps and holds organic matter that would normally settle at the bottom of the pond. This system uses mechanical and biological filtration. The pea stone, or gravel is a very efficient mechanical filtration media, and the bacteria and plants growing in the bog pond are the biological filtration. The gravel has a very large surface area that allows beneficial bacteria to colonize and it also traps and holds debris for the bacteria to feed on. Plants filter the water in this system with their roots and they do a great job of cleaning the water by absorbing nutrients.
Please check out these websites on Bog Pond Filters...
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http://www.pondtrademag.com/bog-gravel-filtration-water-cleaned-by-mother-nature/
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http://www.watergardengems.com
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