The Pond Air Pump - An Essential Accessory??
The Pond Air Pump is an item of Aquatic Equipment often overlooked by the Pond Keeper who prefers to concentrate on Filters, Pumps and visual attractions. In this small composition however, I hope to convince the reader that the Air Pump too offers real benefits to the Pond and its inhabitants.
Generally, most Air Pumps are made of similar construction, being an aluminium cage containing a mains electric motor and finished with a sturdy, substantial and weatherproof outer cover. They are usually mounted on rubber feet to minimize noise and transmit the air down tubing, usually to a 12 outlet metal manifold. These outlets have small ON/OFF taps to control the flow and I have in the past used these to power 12 blue airstones. Whilst these airstones are modestly priced, their life is usually restricted to one season. Instead now I use a ceramic air disc approximately 8 inches diameter, these can be purchased from more specialized Koi stores and usually cost £20 or so. The advantage of these is that they last many years and also produce a large plume of fine bubbles when in operation and thus are far superior to the standard stones.
Hozelock manufacture 2 sizes of Air Pump, a 45LPH and 75LPH delivering 45 litres per minute and 78 litres maximum. The output is of course affected by the depth of operation and at a typical 1 metre depth, output is 35 litres and 45 litres respectively. The maximum operating depth is 2 metres and 3 metres which exceeds the depth of most garden ponds.
/So,/ I here you say, œwhat can this do for me? Well, may I first state that it is not an absolute necessity to have this facility, but once you install it, you will notice that your fish, particularly Koi and Orfe, are visibly more active. Fish adore swimming through the tower of bubbles produced by the air diffuser and additionally they benefit from increased oxygen levels which normally decrease in hot sunny weather. Whilst this increased oxygen replenishment will allow for higher stock levels, it is wise to consider the capacity of your filter or losses may occur.
Non-pressurized filters such as the Trinamic or any of the traditional box filters can also benefit from the Air Pump simply by running one of the air lines from an outlet and into the biological section of the Filter, add an airstone and away you go! This will encourage and assist bacterial activity and thus make filtration more efficient.
I usually only run my Air Pump through the Summer but it also has a use in the Winter as the moving water it produces does not freeze and therefore allows for any poisonous gases to escape and oxygen can be absorbed into the pond. The operating cost of this Pump is modest as it consumes just 35 watts (half a standard light bulb) so it can be justified within the majority of household budgets.
The best way of installing the Air Pump is through a switchbox such as those made by Blagdon or the marvelous Armadillo made by Greenbrook, this way you have instant control. My Air Pump is now approaching its 15th birthday, thats what I call value for money!
There is my case for this little workhorse, as far as I can see there are no disadvantages. It is reliable and hardworking but most importantly your fish will thank you time and time again by being more active healthy and entertaining. Go on, treat yourself and your fish!