# whento stop aerating?



## boss302 (Jun 24, 2005)

Installed a bottom airation system late sumer/early fall. If it presently running 24/7, when should I stop using it for the season and when should we turn it back on next year?


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## Salmonid (Apr 14, 2004)

They say shallower ponds ( less then 15 fow) that you will get no more benefit by running it all winter so I shut mine off about 3 weeks ago, the entire water column has been saturated with oxygen and it should hold all through teh winter. I enjoy Ice fishing so I shut mine off but there is no problem if you keep it running if you are not gonna be on the ice.  If you have Crappies in the pond there are some interesting articles out on pondboss.com that talks about the super cooling effect of winter aeration causing problems with crappies. Last point is that if you turn it off and we get aLOT of ice with lots of Snow on top of it, that can b bad after say 20 days of no sunlight getting through to the water so in tha case, after Ive ice fished for a while, ill turn mine back on and let it slowly burn a 10 ft hole in the ice. Bottom line is you typically wont hurt anything by running it all winter but you also may not gain anything either, just depends on your pond management ideas.

Salmonid


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## [email protected] (Dec 22, 2006)

If your pond is prone to winter kill then keep it running. If winter kill is less of a concern, then shut it off in late fall. If snow blankets the pond you can turn on the aerator for a couple of hours to melt a hole and let light in being careful not to let it run too long. Little to no bacteria activity takes place below 50 degrees so in winter, its more about improving oxygen levels by getting more light into the water column while not overmixing the water and cooling the entire water column. Odds are you won't freeze the fish in Ohio but lowering temps due to artificial mixing can stress fish and set the stage for disease to take hold.


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