With the last post about Spring, Geese and Nutrients in the pond I ruffled some feathers of a reader and was reminded not all ponds are built for the same reason. In the Definitive Guide and beginning with the pond building endeavor it was brought up about different type ponds and are built for many reasons, uses and purposes. Don’t get me wrong geese are kind of cool to watch and do some cool things, but I’d rather not dodge what they leave behind or getting in my pond.
From the fishing pond, to water storage for fire suppression, live stock, garden or crop irrigation. And moving on to the reflection pond to sit back and enjoy the beauty nature provides in wildlife visiting the pond for a drink and those whom move right into the pond and call it home like the frog’s, dragon flies new birds you may not have seen before and yes raising geese or ducks even fish.
Then there is the pond where we want everything the pond can offer us. A place to take some time and get lost in the awesomeness of the peace and tranquility, discuss and solve the world’s problems, sit at the camp fire and listen to the bull frogs croaking, fountain or water, watch as the kids feed the fish, or as they jump off the dock to swim even, cast in your lure into the pond to catch the big one.
All of these thoughts, feeling and uses for the pond are valid to each and every pond owner. The one thing that remains constant is over time the pond will end up with algae, weeds and muck build up from the incoming water that keeps the pond full. There are variables as to how long this will take by how many nutrients coming into the pond. Aeration will be needed to keep the water quality in check even added beneficial bacteria’s can be added as well to out populate and use up the nutrients. Even in the event of raising geese or having too many geese visiting the pond can cause high fecal coli-forms in the water because of their waste this can happen if there is a grazing pasture for horses, cows even a manure pile that could be in the watershed.
The biggest help is using the proper sized aeration system. What happens in the case of fecal coli-forms is they are 
raised to the surface of the water and the ultra violet rays of the sun can help destroy them. Similar to the UV clarifier’s used for drinking water and smaller Koi ponds. Beyond that is the circulation in the water column from aeration brings dissolved oxygen to the bottom of the pond where now the aerobic bacteria can break down the muck at the bottom, then as the air diffuser lifts water to the surface the bad gasses can be released to atmosphere and more oxygen be absorbed by the water helping to bind nitrates and phosphate so they can’t be used by algae. Before purchasing an aeration system be sure to take a look at Aeration Mistakes for more details on pond aeration.
