I Think I Killed all the Fish in Our Pond when I Installed a Pond Aeration System - 100% My Fault
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 30 ก.ย. 2024
- We bought an EasyPro Pond Aerator system for our pond about 2 years ago, and we are finally installing it. But I didn't follow the directions and I may have killed all my fish.
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Evan, I wish I had sent a message last week before this happened to you, because I have experience with pond aeration and I believe I know what happened. I live on a 1 acre pond which had a die off ten years ago after a very cold winter. Since then I have been aerating and have had no more dieoffs. The reason fish die like that is because you put your aerators in the deepest part of your lake. Normally there is a thermocline between the surface and the bottom of a pond or lake and in the summer or winter the fish can swim up or down to find a temperature they like. The water at the bottom is where the fish can go when the temperature is high, like the 100 degrees you said you had. The same is true in reverse in the winter where the bottom is warmer than the surface, and again the fish can find a temperature they like. By putting the aerators in the deepest part of the lake you disrupted the thermocline and the fish had nowhere to go to avoid the hot water. I have found it is best to place the aerators no deeper than 1/3rd of the maximum depth, and they should all be at about the same depth so they will be pumping against the same pressure, which is why some of your aerators were not producing bubbles. Also bluegills are more sensitive to temperature than bass, so they die first.
On the plus side trust me when I say that not all of the fish are dead, and they will rebound quickly when conditions are right.
My wife and I love your channel and look forward to the next installment
Makes sense. Good explanation.
During the summer it’s less about temperature actually affecting the fish and more that it creates and anaerobic zone toward the bottom where they can’t live. During winter you are spot on.
You are correct. We have 4 farm ponds on our place and have been using windmill aeration for about 15 years. You are correct. Plus, I noticed when the first diffuser went in, the rope was hooked on the side. When it got to the bottom, it could have easily flipped upside down.. the air bubble turbulence would dig it into the muck and fill the water with anaerobic black goop.
The lower level below the thermocline will have little or no oxygen. The bubbles will cause the oxygen poor water to mix with the better water and cause the fish kill
You probably still have fish and they will rebound quickly
Been there got that tee shirt
Good luck
This same thing can happen after water temps have gotten warm and a cold snap with a lot of cold water runoff to the pond. We call this “turning over”. I’m sorry for your loss my friend!
It took balls to record this and if you had not, nobody would have ever known. Don't beat yourself up because you are only human. I can only speak for myself, but after watching all your video's, I know you are sincere and honest person. You can make the pond better than it was before. Hello from Texas!
That’s one of the reasons I watch them. They show what really happens and not just the good things. Life always throw us curve balls. We just have to keep stepping up to the plate again.
Accurate statement
Agreed! Evan is truthful and honest. Sorry for your loss Evan.
We all make mistakes in our life then we can either fix the issues we can or not some don't and that's why we are in the situation that this country is in
Thank you for sharing you hard learned lesson. I’ve wanted to put aeration in my pond. I know now to be very careful.
It takes a honest man to admit a mistake That’s why we watch your channel I know you’ll make the pond better
I totally agree with you
He
Trust and believe that those fish didn’t die in vane. I just had my aerator installed TODAY and watching your video just saved the lives of my fish! Thank you for posting this because this takes courage to allow others to learn from your experience.
I have a degree in pond management. Get about 30 (up to 50) grass carp (white Tripoid Amur). They will eat your vegetation and you will keep it under control year after year. Yes they will also eat filamentous algea (although liturature may say otherwise),
Aerator is good, you just mixed the “dead zone” aberobic bacteria into the upper areas where fish live (oxygen is abundant enough to carry fish). To start an old pond on aeration you need to do it in the spring when water is 39 degrees. This is called spring overturn. Water is heaviest at 4 deg C. So when surface water is also 4deg C, it doesn’t stratify and aerator can be turned on
If you have a degree in pond management, you should know how to spell Triploid.
@@markcorleydick
@@markcorley Or did he just forgot a letter? Can it be, or would it destroy your small smartass-world? And "triploid" starts with a small letter, bigmouth!
You don't need a degree in pond management 😅. It's useless, unless you want to become researcher.
@@markcorleydick comment...
Thanks for not being too proud to show your mistakes. Happen all the time, live and learn.
Sorry for your troubles. The thing that makes your videos so genuine is your willingness to show the failures as prominently as the successes. As hard as you two work I have no doubt your pond will come back better than ever. Pulling for you.
So sorry Evan. I know how hard y’all have worked to make a beautiful, healthy pond. Hang in there. We all learn by our mistakes, and all make them as well.
Hello! We at EasyPro Pond Products wanted to reach out and say how sorry we are about your fish dying. We also wanted to say thank you for purchasing our products and addressing the unfortunate issue you experienced so openly and honestly. You are not the first pond owner to have experienced this, and as several other commenters have mentioned, your video will help prevent others from going through what quite honestly is often a heartbreaking experience. You have a beautiful pond and we hope that the aeration system will continue to improve the health of the pond and your fish for your family to enjoy for years to come.
Your company should really consider helping with the expense of this. Yes, the poor guy admints HONESTLY that it was his mistake but with the heat issue and all the work he put in to fixing that and educating your customers seems to me should give him some favor with your company. I realize you can't do this for every customer and you probably worry about creating a presidents , but wouldn't this be a great opertuinity for you to advertise your products by helping him out. Especially, with his honestly and 136K subscibers with 825K views of this video in just 11 months. I have a 3+ acre pond that is close to 15 years old. I am battling some of the same issues (too high of phosphorus cusing algae goroth). I'm not sure about adding aeratration but for sure I need to start adding phosphorus reduction this year and next to hopefully help during the summer months. I do worry about causing a fish kill like this with either option (aeration and/or phosphorus reduction). Please, PLEASE consider helping him recover some, if not all, of the expense.
@@DamonDawsonit's not the company's fault and I know this creator is an honest man, he wouldn't let them pay for his mistakes.
@@DamonDawson I have an easy pro aeration system. The directions very clearly tell you how to start up the system to avoid killing fish. This guy did not follow the directions. Good for him for owning up to it, but if he would’ve followed instructions, it would not have happened. It’s not a fault of the manufacturer, at all.
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How's it their fault he didn't follow instructions properly???
I commend you for publishing this to help others. Many of us have fallen victim to not following the directions. It never would have occurred to me that this would happen. I have a pond, so this is important to me. Thank you!
Mistakes can happen at anytime😢 but thats life, and life goes on! U guys are doing a fantastic job no matter what🤩🤩 amazing videos as allways🤩
Well it doesnt when they die. Lol.
We had a problem like this years ago. You need to get with a pond management company. We worked with our local farm bureau who helped us get in contact with pond management company. They were great they tested everything and gave us a five step plan. It took two years but ever since our five pond is great and looks wonderful. Good luck and do not give up.
I don’t have any pond but I wish you could share the five step plan that you got from the pond management company so others can benefit too.
@@sieng8 I agree, tell us the Steps they recommended.
@@sieng8 My guess is that the local pond conditions will need to be assessed. Variations like surrounding soil, runoff, size, depth, latitude, et cetera would call for different solutions.
The ducks are one of his biggest problems.
You did it right
The number of fish you can potentially save by sharing this mistake is inumerable! Thank you so much.
Absolute respect for filming this, I doubt anyone would film an accidental genocide. Keep your head up, you will bounce back. Sorry for your loss and thank you for sharing your experience with us.
Another sad thing about this is how incredibly easy it is to sustainably harvest the duckweed, since it floats on the surface in a very thin layer. It can be pulled (or pushed) into a small area, and then drug up out of the pond in mass quantities. Duckweed makes an awesome nutrient dense mulch for flower or vegetable beds that retains moisture during dry spells. I used to stretch a parachute cord across a canal shaped pond I managed, and used that to pull an old pontoon boat further up the pond. I then turned the pontoon sideways, and pulled it back slowly toward the dock. The duckweed piled up so thick at the dock that I could lift it out with a pitchfork. Along cord/cable of pool floats, with a weighted netting /chicken wire/fencing suspended below it could be looped around a large area, and again pull mass amounts of duckweed into a small area where it can be easily removed . . . and then used. A partially submerged trailer could be filled, and then pulled up out of the pond, or it could even be pumped. I had to harvest all of mine by hand, but it was so valuable as a mulch, that I didn't mind. I would fill 15 to 20 gallon landscape pots, and leave them sitting on the dock to drain. When I went to load them onto my utility vehicle, they were much lighter, after draining most of the water.
Great idea. I was thinking the same thing.
You can also get fish that love eating it
That was exactly what I was thinking! Duckweed is high protein, too - it makes excellent feed for chickens and pigs! He should just add pigs to the menu, and ditch the aerator....
Yes, this is rather the advice we got. Firstly, not to get too worked up about the duck weed. It doesn't look great but isn't really harmful. And secondly that to reduce nutrient levels you need to remove something that hold some of those nutrients - and the duck weed is the obvious candidate being easy to skim off.
This year, probably in part due to the very overcast weather, we have had no duck weed at all.
Sorry about your setback. Our pond is in 40 plus years old too. I’ve run 4 double Vertex pods on our 2.5 acre pond for 15 years. We started slow and upon startup the stink was pretty bad. We followed the startup procedure to a “T” and we still lost a couple of fish, not on your level of loss. I start our air stations once the water temp reaches 50 degrees F in the Spring and run them 24/7 until November when water temps fall. Stuff happens. You’ll be surprised how your existing fish will rebound. Be patient, you’ll have bigger fish since the fish competition is reduced. You still have live fish. Don’t give up. I noticed your pump station doesn’t have a cooling fan. Our Vertex system has a fan integrated into the cabinet. You might want to install a cooling fan in your cabinet. Starting a new air system in this heat reduces the cooling thermaclime for the fish to cool off. Don’t be so hard on yourself, it’s going to be okay. Pondboss Forum helped me through the years. We love your channel, keep your head facing the wind and carry on!
Agreed , the heat was also a big problem. We raise tilapia and have had similar issues . Thanks for being honest and forthright with your vids.
Thank you for sharing your experience. We have a lot of duck weed & will probably be adding a fountain. Hopefully you can use all of these fish for creating fertilizer.
The garden will thrive for several years now 👍
I think what you experienced was what is known as summer fish kill. Actually, installing the pumps during the peak of duckweed (middle of summer) is the problem. Older ponds (and lakes) suffer from oxygen starvation in the summer. The bottom layer of the water column near the muck bottom has little oxygen because it is consumed by plant decomposition (bacteria). The top of the water column near the surface also has very little oxygen because the duck weed and algae blooms consume it. What you are left with is a sometimes thin layer of oxygenated water in the middle where most of the fish hang out. When you disturb the water column vertically by adding bubbles, you mix the layers. What you end up with is not enough oxygen for the fish to live. This can happen naturally in a very heavy rainfall where the runoff disturbs the water column. That is a natural summer Fishkill. Winter would be a better time to try again.
There is also something known as a winter Fishkill. It has a different mechanism. The bottom of the water column is cooler than the top of the water column in the summertime. That temperature differential gives the water columns stability. In the winter time if the temperature of the water in the water column is all the same from top to bottom it can create an instability. In such a situation the water column can actually roll over and mix by itself.
Be careful to not move deep water to shallow because it will allow the entire lake to freeze solid. Only aerate shallow water... this will keep the entire lake liquid for the winter.
Nailed it.
This is why the pros use a paddle wheel... I plan to be a pro one day so its all part of the learning path I suppose..
This is heartbreaking. A few thoughts to consider. You placed aeration at the bottom in the sludge mulm zone, this is anaerobic zone, no oxygen. As you disturb this area you release hydrogen sulfide into the water column and this is toxic/detrimental to oxygen loving organisms like beneficial bacteria and of course, fish. If you monitored water quality levels you may have seen this happen chemically. You suddenly infiltrated organic materials into the water column, some of these are toxic and the waste can further challenge the system. The idea is adding oxygen to the water will support more fast growing beneficial aerobic(oxygen loving) bacteria that breakdown waste. If you kept aeration closer to the surface and did not disrupt the mulm zone you may have not started this process. Another thing depending on your water hardness or lack of, the PH may have suddenly rose as CO2 is degassed and that further stressed your fish. I’d love to Hear your updates. Getting O2 into the water column with release of sulfides and organics is likely best approach initially. Hard one to predict.
Sounds realistic
Hey, Ev, the fact that you feel so bad about what you did (and it was an accident, you didn't mean for this to happen), says volumes about your character. My guess is that many more fish survived than you think, but your plan to re-stock and re-store them will re-vitalized your pond, and all will be made right again. You have succeeded in educating the rest of us, and you will still leave a positive legacy (pond-wise :). God is all good, all the time, and He reads the heart. I wish I lived closer to you, because you are someone I'm sure I'd love being a neighbor of / to. : )
Sorry to hear about your fish kill in the pond. Your mistake was placing the aerators in the deeper part of the pond as in warm weather, ponds will stratify with lower dissolved oxygen in the bottom of the pond in deeper zones. The remains of decomposition bacteria locks up ammonia in the sediments. Most likely, the aeration stirred up the low dissolved oxygen water and released ammonia back into the water column. The right way to aerate would have been in the shallowest water of the pond starting out with only 5 minutes per day. And if you wanting to reduce the duckweed, there are chemicals that will eradicate it and not harm fish. However, youaren't the first person to do this. Contact a good pond management and they'll get you back on track. Also, you can check out Bamabass, another TH-cam site outlining pond management from a new pond standpoint. Good luck and don't feel bad. It's fixable.
Good advice on the fountain, but I would keep the duckweed as it feeds ducks, and fish, poisoning it would be terrible for the wildlife.
Who are you seeking advice from on pond management? Usually there are experts available to survey your pond health and give detail "expert" advice on how to manage the health of the pond to avoid the kind of mistake that will take perhaps years to remedy.
This video will save millions of fish for other pond owners in the future. My heart hurts for you. There's not a worse feeling than killing something by accident. Keep your head up brother!!
It will work best if you share this video to alert others.
The video can only reach so many people before the attention goes down.
...you were able to educate so many ... bet your pond's fish will re-populate in time as well ...
This had to be a tough video to make. But I'm sure that everyone watching this agrees that your honesty and humility have you standing about 10 feet tall and larger than life in our eyes.
Thanks for keeping it real. I saw the 'green pond' in the background in the previous video and wondered about it. Bummed about your disappointment but I've seen you overcome obstacles over and over again. You'll get this figured out and resolved. Love your channel. God bless
The aerators along with the really hot weather may have caused the pond to turn over. That’s when the water layers mix and cause fish die off. It happens on its own during really hot weather. The aerator’s may just be a coincidence.
Agreed. Also doesn’t duckweed suck up O2 which could kill the fish. Might not be your fault Evan.
I was thinking the same thing. Ponds here in ohio "turn over" all the time. Usually August
That and methane saturation!
@@neil1786 Doesn’t algae suck up oxygen when it turns golden or white?
It might be that there is not enough native aquatic plants in his pond.
Having only one type of plant leaves imbalances.
Thanks for posting this gut-wrenching video. In the long run, this video will save millions of fish. I hope and pray for you guys to have a speedy recovery of lively fish.
You're the Jim Jones of fish.😢
I’d probably recommend making a weighted raised platform for the air diffusers to sit on two or three foot out of the sludge off the bottom of the pond. Something with spiked feet that would sink into the soft bottom of the pond & still leave it a foot or two above the sludge floor beneath it. You would eliminate a tone of nutrient from stirring up off the floor.
Oh man, I'm so sorry. Don't beat yourself up. Mistakes happen. We all make them, and you have shared your experience i hopes that someone else maybe doesn't make the same mistake.
My wife had me start watching you years ago because I'd beat myself up so much for making a mistake during a project. You have always showed your mistakes, and then carried on to completion. Now I do the same, in huge part thanks to you! Thank you.
I've watched you make a ton of improvements to your place. The house the barn the pole barn all the livestock and fences. You have made one or two mistakes but nothing major I can think of. You admit your mistakes and you realise there may have been a better way. You are honest about all you do. This time it's a major issue and you are gutted, understandably. I feel for you, it's a heartbreaker. Remember the old saying, " Show me someone that has not made a mistake and I will show you someone that has not made anything. Take heart, you have made lots of stuff. God bless you both
And that's a teachable moment about how vulnurable nature is to human interference. Thank you for being honest about this, if this video prevents just one person from making the same mistake it was worth making!
I know it really sucks but thank you for showing this video you must know that you have helped so many other people not make the same mistake it is very difficult at times to talk about your shortcomings on a project but that's when so many people learn I am so sorry about your fish but I know it'll all come back better than it was nothing but respect for you and your family John from California have a blessed day
Im so sorry for what happened. I have 3 aquariums and I have learned over time that any adjustments you do need to be done very slowly, even adding 5 or 6 new medium sized fish to an established tank can decimate a lot of hard work because an established ecosystem is very finely balanced. Do you have any lilies in your pond? If not then they could be a good addition because they will suck the nutrients out of the water faster than duckweed and the duckweed will eventually die off. Some carp will eat a barn full of duckweed in days too. I have duckweed in two of my small tanks and I scoop it all out once a week and dump it in with my goldfish. I have 4 goldfish and they eat it all in a couple of hours. Carp also naturally stir up the bottom and keep it healthy, but do some research into the type of carp that you stock because some are seriously invasive. Mirror and Common Carp are gorgeous and they will give you a hella fight when hooked. I would keep away from Grass or Asian Carp.
Aeration will work very well eventually and keep testing your water before adding new fish. I really wish you great success in the future and I'll subscribe and hopefully see what happens. 🙏
I can hear it in your voice & it actually made me tear up. So sorry this happened to you Evan. I really enjoy watching your videos. Chin up. You'll get your fish populated again. 🙏
What a hard lesson to learn. That was such a beautifully pond stocked with some nice fish for you two to eat. My heart goes out to and I will be praying for you and your pond and hopefully you still have some fish left. God bless you guys.
You're a great man for showing this situation, good for you! This is what is all about, helping, rather than hiding and covering up you chose to bring it to light and help your fellows!
Try putting some Talapia or Sterile carp or Grass carp .... check with your DNR and they should be able to tell you how many and places to get them we .... again make sure there sterile because you don't want them breading
Call your local Co-Operative Extension office to see if they can test your water samples to make sure the water isnt’t toxic. Heavy metals and acid rain deposits.
I had a fish kill when I stocked pond for the first and found the problem was that when we excavated the pond down to the clay layer there were dormant roots in the clay when we exposed them they took all the oxygen out of the water and killed hundreds of fish I install a large submersible pump with a fountain head to add oxygen and overnight my fish quit dying . I know how devastating this is and I feel for. I'm sure your aware of the triploid grass carp that cannot reproduce. the hatchery I purchased mine from said no more than 15 per acre. Good Luck with your pond .
I knew I liked watching your channel. Now I know for sure that I love watching your channel. You are such an honest person, you were willing to put yourself out there, at what you had done, and share with everyone what happened. I am so sorry for the loss of all the fish, was a hard lesson to learn, I read a few of the comments below and it sounds as though their explanations might explain what happened or why. Hopefully it will help, in fixing it. It might take a year or two. Once again, your sharing has helped someone else who maybe didn't know, will now. Thank you for sharing and educating us. I could tell you were just sick about this, which shows that you are a good person. God bless you and help you get through this.
Evan, I use the same system on a 1 acre pond. I'm adding a couple of observations for you and your readers. Firstly, the Duck idea sounds great in concept. I did the same thing but used 18" lengths of 1 1/2" PVC wire to the diffusers. Here's what happened the first spring thaw. Since the ice melts first around the shore line that leaves the 'floats' still frozen in the big sheet of ice on the rest of the pond. The wind moves the ice around and rips off the floats off. I used wire and fortunately it just broke the wires and left the diffusers in place. We both had the same great idea but it didn't play out for me. 'Just a heads up to all on that. Secondly, I took one look at those cabinets they sell and thought.., Oh Hell no! If there's one thing electrical things hate it's heat, dirt, and moisture. I built my own from plywood and installed it up on the wall of a run-in shed 4' off the ground so it's shaded at all times. But wait..., there's more! Notice that your pump pulls air from each end. Using plain old 6" stove pipe I plumbed them to draw fresh air from outside the box, then I cut long 2" wide slots near the top of the sides and rear of the box to allow heat to escape. Now, the pump isn't sucking in it's own heat and the heat it generates can escape from the cabinet. Plus, on the front door of the cabinet I installed a little 120v muffin fan right in front of the motor which is tied to a controller. If I recall correctly it's set to come on whenever the inside cabinet temp is over something like 80 deg. F. In 5 years of use I've never had my cab. temp go over the mid 90's. I forgot to mention, all the cabinet openings are covered with plain old window screen to keep the bees and spiders out. I also have my system on a timer so I can run it as much or little as I like depending on the season without having to keep throwing switches everyday. Anyway, sorry this is to long but it may be of help to someone. Cheers, Fred
Strange? That doesn’t make sense.
Aerators are more about water movement than aeration. With the idea being that they mix the water layers so the deepest water is brought to the surface. You should have started while the water was cold and a thermocline had not yet set up, or installed the airstone in shallow water and slowly moved deeper( 1 or 2 feet a day) to prevent the anoxic water from mixing too quickly. You likely released an incredible amount of nutrients as well with it being an old pond. Post from Acoursey
A Oct 2017, West Lafayette, IN from The Pond Boss Forum.
Agreed. By adding the aerator it was essentially the same as the lake turning over in the middle of summer mixing low O2 water into the system and killing the fish.
Wow that's a tough hit. Maybe you could at least use some of the dead fish to boost the compost pile. Definitely have to cover it to keep the stink down but it would make some mega good compost.
Don't beat yourself up too bad Evan. I would have done about the same thing trying to make the pond better and probably a lot of other folks would have too. But I will say if it killed the catfish, it probably got all fish because they can usually live in VERY muddy water. Anyway, we live and keep learning and try to do better next time around. Thanks for sharing and keep your chin up. 👍
It isn’t a mud issue. It’s a temperature and anaerobic water problem.
1:15 biggest mistake you can do is try to kill the thriving plants consuming the nutrients that are the symptom of your nutrient problem. Should have rigged a 3-6’ diameter floating wheel (could have battery rotation). Removing the plant 🌱that is thriving on the faulty nutrients will: remove the faulty nutrients while plant will continue to regenerate until problematic nutrient depletion
Scoop auger would have been more succinct mechanical description. Literally could put post hole digger inside 6” PVC tube flowing solids to land 24-7 (slots in PVC to pull water level suspense matter). Burst of new growth will continue faulty nutrient depletion until fixed ;-)
Mount PVC and auger high bc you would have 2-4 tons in a week.
Hydrogen Sulfide is what probably killed all of your fish, the reason they said to run it first for 15 minutes and then shut it off. You Moved the Hydrogen Sulfide that is produced anaerobically by the microbes in the muck, through the water column. It takes time for hydrogen sulfide to be released from the pond into the atmosphere. Now that you are aerating your pond, you have to allow the pond to re- establish the balance of aerobic and anaerobic biological processes again. That’s why they want you to turn on and off. Too much hydrogen sulfide is a poison to fish.
That's OK Evan. We all make mistakes. Now you can help others manage their ponds better.
Here's an option...Harvest the duckweed and feed it to your pigs/ chicken...Thats free food.
That would give more space for them to grow and eat up all those stuff that got disturbed by the aerator.
And yes...new stock is cool. More content to an extent!
I was thinking if you had two boats and a floating line, just pull the duckweed gradually off to one side. Gather, compost it. Huge volume of free high N plant matter.
Absolutely! I was wondering if someone would say this too. I'm off to skim a pond this weekend using a floating boom - pretty easy and as you say, it's a very quick way to both reduce the nitrogen content of the pond and transfer it where you want it.
@@sroberts605 The way that they harvest cranberries with water. Control the weed and skim it off. I feel so bad about this - like it was happening to my family.
Or 1 boat and the other side staked in the ground.
I'm just sick for you guys. Mistakes happen, but oh my goodness. As a pond owner myself, I can tell you that grass carp are the way to go for weed control. We put many fewer than were recommended for our 10 acre pond, but they did an amazing job at cleaning up the weeds.
Feel for you man. So sad to see all of those fish die. Keeping a pond healthy is tricky and a lot of work. Thanks for doing these videos. They are fascinating.
Could be disturbing methane gas mixing with oxygen 🤔 too.fro. add oxygen with the motion movement caused gas to erupt up into the water column... duck weed is good for the fish...
Thanks for having the guts to share this video. Many would not have admitted their mistake. No sense worrying about it any more, just fix it. That is what you do best. Good luck and best wishes.
We also had this happen in a 2 acre pond in 2001 when we had a heavy rain which stirred up the nitrogen in the bottom of the pond. We lost most of the fish by the next day and several more over the next 2 days. We then purchased and installed a aeration fountain to prevent this from happening again as advised by our local fishery. We now have 4 grass carp and hundreds of blue gill, bass, and catfish. Sorry for the set back, this too shall pass. Don't beat yourself up.
Evan I think you should maybe consider looking into dredging the deeper parts of the pond where all of the toxic debris has settled , and maybe this will help clean up the pond before you start restocking it with fish … just something to consider , it maybe a little spindly but probably well worth the effort
I think turtles use the muck to lay eggs in. And the debris only got kicked up by the fountain, it would have stayed put if no fountain was used.
Dredging may do good, but certain animals use the muck and may be disturbed by the actions.
He also must consider using native fish, and to avoid Asian Carp.
Rain might help reduce the muck by a bit. If there were more wildlife around the muck might be controlled by itself.
That duckweed was keeping the temperature of the water down as well as reducing nitrogenous nutrients ( fish pee ) low. Nitrogen kills fish like too much CO2 can cause people to suffocate. Having a lot of duckweed is not a bad thing. Did you compost the dead fish?
Basically you stirred up all the methane gas from the stagnant bottom, it wouldn't kill all of them, but can do some damage. If the unit didn't overheat, the gas would dissipate...no issues. Sorry you learned the hard way, most of us do when trying to save a buck or two. There are better air compressors out there, hope you get the correct type. I'm an old Aquarium nut from age 8, now between 60 and death.. 🤣
You'll get er done eventually... 👍🏻 Hang In There. It won't take as long to re-bound, trust me!! No Grass Carp, get a few cheap Koi, they love plants and duckweed.
😁 🌲🌳🌲
oh man that is sickening I know, maybe your pond is gonna need to be dredged
i am sure it needs dredge. maybe I should just drain it, and dredge the whole pond and start all over.
@@CountryViewAcres that’s a big job! I wish you lots of luck with it, it’s a beautiful pond
Hi Evan, you can hear the absolute pain in your voice and see it, this was a honest mistake, a accident, and I am more than sure that you will get it working and be fine again, just keep in mind that we wishes you all the best and luck with this, and that it takes a absolute huge amount of courage to show this to us, it just straight up tells everybody that you and Rebekah is the best persons and with the best of intentions
Just a thought. Do you think installing the frames on some type of platform maybe 3 ft off bottom would have helped to keep them away from the muck on bottom of pond? Glad you had the courage to make this video!
Seagrass would be a good option, native plants and fish would benefit the pond.
I’m curious could you suspend the aerators say 5ft-10t from the bottom with a buoy?
This way it’s not stirring up the bottom
Have a weight tied to the bottom of the rope, then attach the aerator about 10 feet up from the weight, the remaining rope tied to a buoy???
Thanks for the lesson. I wouldn’t have known. Sorry you had to go through that
I always viewed duckweed as a Sign of clean, healthy water. Vs Algae filled ponds.
There’s methane in the muck of pond bottoms, could that have caused the fish kill ?
Thanks for Sharing with us, to help us learn !!
I often have algae and duck weed at same time. I have an acre pond. It’s about 15 ft deep. I’ve used windmill aeration for about 10 years. I often have to take off the algae. Pond dye helps but I try to steer clear of chemicals. I did have to treat for duck weed one year. My dogs harass them now so they don’t stay. Ponds are a lot of work but I love to fish.
yes, and the duckweed disappearing caused more sun to heat the water which causes oxygen drops.
@@dw3403 Ponds are tough. I feel for you. About five years ago, we had a bad storm with a very cold rain and a lot of runoff and hail. I got a pretty good fish kill from that. Best of luck.
@@kd6836
Wow, they really are. Its that cycle thing of balance. Once its off its hard to force it back.
I lived in an area that had a park and a lake the victorians tried to make into a swim area by dumping bleach into it.
Several times over the years the parks department messed with it more. You can walk around the thing and read its history on plaques.
The lake had never had the algae that kills pets and wildlife but for some reason they thought they needed to treat it in aug (low oxygen time) with aluminum.
I had tried aluminum in my pond at one point and was not impressed with the results compared to the risk of overdosing.
I was driving home from the store one evening and was behind a big shiney tanker truck. It was turning off the main road onto the road I lived down and wondered why the heck they were taking that route. Then it turned into the park. I freaked out.
Yes, there was a massive fish kill. I lived down by the swamp end (great filter if they would have circulated that lake) you could smell the dead fish at my house. I went to the lake to see. It was the saddest but most beautiful sight. The lake had turned an aqua lagoon color and was clear. So clear you could see some fish swimming but could tell they were blind. Turned out the lake was very shallow and a car was in it.
The blame game began. They even tried to blame the truck driver. I of course blame the dim wit who decided to treat it in the heat of summer.
@@dw3403 The one thing that works best for me is an algae rake. I tell people I raked my pond and I get strange looks sometimes. If you catch a windy day, it’ll blow over to one side and you can make a huge difference in a little time. Keep at it. You’ll get it. Lots of good information out there.
OMG, Evan, Rebecca, This is a huge blow to the progress you have made. Tell me you're having the water tested? i cannot see the air pump doing that so quickly! its gotta be something else, if not the toxcity levels must have already been in the red way before you turned the pumps on and all that did was increase the speed but really 24 hours?? thats gotta be chemical or something else please please please get a water test ASAP!
Duckweed makes for excellent chicken feed And I've heard fermented duck weed is good for cows
Tip: Try recirculated pond water. That's what I do on my small koi pond. The water flow should be pumped along the surface creating bubbles. This also prevents a total freeze up in the winter as long as there is an area of water flow. I use a submersible pump and leave it going 24/7/365. My fish are over 15 years old and early on I lost a couple of them to seagulls. To combat the gulls I allowed a small maple tree to branch out over the pond. Gulls have a large wing span and now they have no landing zone! I'm up here in Gloucester, Ma where we have brutal winters. Best Regards, Jay
You seriously fail to understand how large his pond is. 3.5 acres with an average depth of 3 feet is 3421440 gallons. Even a fairly beefy pump of 100 gallons per minute running all day is less than 0.05% circulation.
To follow your suggestion and even get 25% circulation he’d need a 600 gpm pump running all day. Which is about $3000 just for the pump. Motor, power and plumbing is extra.
@@0xFF48 I'm simply suggesting that recirculated water flow is a solution and it doesn't need to be as large as you mentioned. Two 1500 GPH pumps which costs less than $500 a piece placed in opposite ends of the pond creating a slow surface current would work on keeping the pond fish healthy.
Hi Evan, what happened to your pond was unfortunate. Your aeration system was/is not properly sized, and additional diffusers and compressors are key to preventing fish kills like what you experienced. The single compressor you have only provides 4-6 cfm and it likely provides only 1-3 fluid turnovers per day.
The fish died due to a rapid change in water temperature coupled with a decrease in dissolved oxygen due to dead zones that were created by installing too few diffusers. Starting a system up needs to be done carefully to prevent the rapid change in temperature and DO. (1-2 hours first day, 2-4 hours second day, 3-6 hours the third day, and so on.) I also recommend 24/7 operation once the pond is homogenized.
Pond and lake systems less than 10 acres / 10 million gallons in size should be designed to provide a fluid turnover rate of 8-12 times per day. 1 fluid turnover rate is the time it takes to mix the equivalent of the water volume a single time. I recommend installing diffusers throughout the entire pond where the water depth is 5’ deep at a minimum…and concentrating the diffusers in the deepest water like what you did. Twice as many diffusers and cfm are required in 5’ of water depth compared with 10’ of water, as the relationship is linear. This is why aerating the deepest portions of any pond will yield the best results. Also…Air will seek the point of least resistance, this is why the shallow installed aerator worked when the other aerators did not. The shallow aerator robbed all of the air, as it was easier for the air to be released.
It is a common misconception that the diffusers main purpose is to provide dissolved oxygen. 90% of oxygen added via lake and pond aeration comes via surface re-aeration where cooler bottom water comes into contact with the atmosphere. The cooler water sits at the surface momentarily before finding its way back to the bottom of the water column.
Sludge is a concern for older ponds, and applications of beneficial bacteria (aka bio augmentation) is a proven method to reduce the organic fraction of the sludge layer. There are tons of products available, and I only recommend purchasing sludge reducing bacteria products that are manufactured with strains of bacillus bacteria with a decent shelf life. As other commentators have posted, harvesting the duckweed is the best bet to speed the process up. Every pound of algae and duckweed has 1.5-2 times the amount of nitrogen and phosphorus required for growth. So when algae and duckweed die off and sink to the bottom, the next growth cycle is worse than the previous. Physical removal is labor Intense, but it provides a significant reduction in nutrients and the amount of growth that occurs during the next growth cycle.
I am a water and wastewater expert, and CEO of Air Diffusion Systems with 30+ years of experience in water and wastewater treatment. I’d be happy to help you with evaluating your 3.5 acre lake, if you are interested. Feel free to reach out to me @ tom@airdiffusion.com. Best of luck with your project!
Sterile carp will eat duck weed also
Sometimes learning is tough. Perhaps you sharing this problem can help several others from making the same mistake. Wishing you the very best as you start over stocking your pond. Keep us updated on how it goes.
Maybe it's also a good time to do the dredging you mentioned some time ago, although I'd recommend you hire an experienced operator to do it as you wouldn't want to damage the base of the pond and cause a leak.
Just a suggestion:
Throw in some soft lime/limestone, You may find some as powder form (India shop grocery shop have them in little tube (not sufficient considering the size of your pond, but you get the idea if you collect a jug (clear) of water from the pond, add a table spoon of lime to the water, see it in 24h, if it works than go for it)). It will clear your pond plus kill off the algae as well as clearing some of the duck weed. After that the duck weed will slowly die....by the way ducks love these weeds.
OOOP'S call the professionals next time because now you have a Big toxic Pond !!!!!!!!!
This is very interesting to me as my husband and I live on a very large retention pond too. Ours is in the shape of a W with three channels. We've discussed getting an aerator to move and churn up the water because like in summer when there is a week of no rain all this algae forms but the pond is so beautiful after the rain. I'm going to ask my husband to watch this video. We share the pond with some neighbors so especially our next door neighbor who stocked the pond with bass he'd be pretty mad if the fish died. So perhaps we will hold off on the aerator but this video although I know you didn't mean to kill any fish has helped us. Thanks for making the video. God bless you
Look for copper sulfate in bulk,
Evan and Rebecca, we are so sorry you had this happen to your pond. Stay strong and get it back in operation and may your fish repopulate quickly after they are restocked. Stay safe, Fred.
I almost cried for you! Things happen, you guys have done so much. I think it was very honest and brave if you to share this!
Sorry for you buddy. Installing one in the morning. The airmax I purchased suggested starting with 1/2 hour and doubling from there. My small pond is old as well and was untouched for years so I think I will do 15 minutes at start.
Best of luck
So sorry this has happened
Could hear the pain in you’re voice
Here in the Uk
Crayfish are used to help with weed ( not sure on your state laws )
Grass carp
Mirror carp common carp??
Would a water fountain Not help
Good luck all the Best from the uk 🇬🇧
You unfortunately have to learn of your mistakes things like this only happen to people who try harder ! It was very honest and strong of you to record this for us ! Love your videos stay strong keep it going on lots of good vibes from France 🇫🇷
Turned it too quick. That's the one thing that can go wrong. You are on the right track. Be patient and keep checking muck depth as you add aeration.
Well sometimes the Lord teaches us lessons through rough, testing, and odd circumstances and your situation fits all that and more. While it sucks that the fish all may be dead this could be an opening to really make the pond even more awesome than before. I wouldn't mind seeing about 1/2 to 3/4 of that duck weed get netted out with a boat and the shore cleaned up a bit. Both decompose and add even more solids, fill, and nutrients to the water all of which your pond doesn't need it seems. Also maybe a one or two new docks to fish and launch a boat from. Anyhow learn and pray about it, the Lord Jesus has always got an answer!!!
I'm very sorry about all of those fish, I hope Timothy is right and there's more fish left then you might think.
From my aquarium hobby, I've learned that the bubbles travelling trough the water isn't actually what aerates it, it's the movement those bubbles create on the surface. So aerators in shallow waters have the same effect as ones placed as deep as possible
It would be 3 reasons that would have killed them off, either you turned over the anoxic layer of water on the bottom of the pond or you stirred up high levels of nitrogen from decomposing plant material or the 3rd is toxic chemicals ran into the pond.
All those dead fish are going to probably wreak havoc more than what's already been done. That pond may not be ready for fish until next year. They are using up the oxygen and releasing ammonia and other toxins. I wouldn't schedule a fish order without some serious water quality samples first.
I think you should have floated the diffusers at half depth so as to not stir up the bottom toxins.
This is what more than likely caused it. There are probably still fish that survived. Hopefully the pond will recalibrate with the aeration. Also, I'd be careful about mowing much of the shoreline vegetation unless it is invasive weeds. A good riparian shoreline can act as great natural filtration and provide excellent habitat for fish and many other things.
I find the best way to deal with it is remove manually (Makes very good compost!) then plant something else to take up those nutrients in the pond. Lilies, mash plants like cattails and bulrushes, iris and even something like a weep willow tree. Also removing some of the built up on the pond floor could help too but dredging is a lot more work and money for a pond that size.
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO. NEVER plant any grasses like reeds, bulrushes or cattails in a pond unless you want them to overtake that pond.
Mad respect for not just showing all the good. Trying to provide for yourself and do things yourself means you make mistakes. Mistakes that have bigger consequences than most people these days. But they aren't taking the leaps of responsibility that you are. Keep on keepin' on, man!
I have two cents to add to this.
Putting in an aerator and leaving it to run is a bad mistake.
This sets off a chain of events which cause the water to become saturated with ammonia, methane and other noxious gases which are the by products of bacterial, oxidative and decomposition action triggered and supported by the aeration.
The generally more safe approach is to run the aerator only for fifteen minutes per day, increasing it by fifteen minutes every other day.
This allows the clearing and aeration processes to occur at a rate which allows the poisonous gases to escape into the atmosphere without poisoning all the water.
Do that in addition to many of the good points and suggestions made by other people here.
Good luck.
Edit: I realize that you are now aware of the need to slowly introduce the aeration, and recognize that you introduced it too fast.
My comment was aimed a giving you an explanation of one of the underlying causes of the fish kill.
The production of the toxic gases is the sleeper killer in pond remediation.
Get you a rubber boat and go around and sift your duckweed off into 5 gallon buckets and compost/mulch with it. You can also stock with fish that eat duckweed.
I never would have thought about that. Thanks for the video. I run so many aerators in my aquariums and never thought of this being a possibility.
I feel for you as a fellow pond owner. I wish I could talk to you, I’ve had similar experiences through the years. One thing I’ve learned is to not always listen to pond management companies. I have a 7-8 acre pond very similar to yours that I’ve brought back to being healthy. My advice is as follows; run 1 aeration head in shallow water 24 hrs a day(near an end not the middle). Add a pond block from Tractor Supply or similar store at the aeration head. The beneficial bacteria will help eliminate the toxic gas and muck. You can also use septic shock bacteria from Home Depot. Once the first area improves 10-30 days, and you see fish near the aeration head (attract w/fish pellets) turn on the next closest aerator and add another Pond Block. Keep this up until all aeration heads are on 24 hours. Stock your pond with a 1 acre pond package. Within 2 years your pond will be populated. Start feeding if you want them larger - I just through food while walking after work some evenings. Not sure of your depths, mine is shallower 2’-14’. I also have a 30 acre at 120’ but that’s another animal. Good Luck and keep your chin up.
We appreciate the honesty. This is the first video of yours that I see, however, I respect it. In the aquarium hobby, this happens too from time to time. We all make mistakes and learn. I'm sorry for the loss of your fish.
Did you know that you can harvest the duckweed and feed it to pigs and chickens at around 30 to 40% of there feed
My Dad made a rig for the row boat and would slowly ride around scooping it up. He would get so much that at first he would share it with the chicken farm across the street You can harvest almost every day it grows so fast and that’s a big savings on feed
crazy , the duckweed is literally floatin on the top inch , drag a boom and it would pull it ALL to shore
Evan , I find it hard to believe that the aerator system was the cause of the disaster in your pond . I would be looking for some other reason such as accidental pollution by an outside source . Thats what happened to a friends pond , it was silage effluent that leaked into a ditch about 1/4 mile up the hill from the pond .the local river authority took away the dead fish and temporally installed a powerful pump that forced water high into the air and down into the pond like a massive fountain to get oxygen back into the water. It would be an idea to test some of the fish to find for certain what caused their deaths
It made the pond turn over is why. Thats why you run 15 min the 30min then a hour until you reach 24 hour. Especially when it been hot out.
Keep your head up! You guys have done such a awesome job with everything on the homestead. I have no doubt, with your attention to detail and care, that the pond will come back better than ever. Keep up the great work!
Man that sucks. Hopefully you and your farm recover from this. Good luck in the future.
Sterile Grass Carp is what Stoney Ridge Farmer used for Duck Weed and pond vegetation overgrowth.
Hope that helps.
Great information from all the comments. The #1 advice I got from the video is Never Buy an aerator from EasyPro. It is a shame that you had to modify their design flaw to fix their problem with the air lines overheating at your own cost.