Thursday, January 26, 2012

Lake and Pond Scum

Lake and pond scum is that nasty film of debris and biological decomposition that usually indicates a stagnant body of water with more significant problems. It is not pleasant to look at, swim in or even boat across. And the water column is typically not healthy for the fish that live within those waters. These fish are trapped in those conditions and have to endure low oxygen levels and high algae growth leaving them stressed. If these conditions continue weak fish will die off. If they worsen, even healthy fish will succumb to the conditions.
One very effective technique to prevent this stagnation from happening is to install a laminar flow aeration system. Also known as a bubbler, the only indication of the system is a small area of bubbles rising to the surface in one or more places depending on the size of your lake or pond. Installing a system such as this will mix the water column from the surface to the bottom. The movement breaks up the pond scum allowing toxins trapped at the bottom of the pond to release into the air. At the same time, oxygen is absorbed into the water which then travels to all levels of the water. Bacteria are then able to utilize the oxygen rich conditions to more effectively digest the biological load preventing algae blooms by taking away their food source.
You lake or pond will not only appear cleaner, the water quality will be improved and be a more healthy environment for you and the fish. A more balance ecosystem is the result with fewer swings in water quality. Minor fluctuations will still occur due to adverse weather conditions, but overall your pond will suffer fewer of these events and will self correct more quickly than if no aeration were present.
Aeration is a time tested technique used to digest biologicals in the waste water industry. It has been used in numerous lakes and pond around the world with great results. It uses nature and the good bacteria present in every body of water to remove the excess nutrients. Instead of aquatic pesticides and herbicides which can leave harmful residues that have long lasting unintended effects, aeration simply adds oxygen back to a ecosystem that desperately need it to operate properly. If you choose to discontinue the aeration, the ecosystem returns back to its previous state without and detrimental effects.

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