agitation
One of the least heralded factors in pond health is also among the most significant: It's all about oxygen, writes Ed Beaulieu, who reviews the basics while offering some suggestions on how to keep it's level up where it needs to be to make both fish and plants happy.
In a well-balanced pond, the oxygen content of the water is seldom an issue. But if things move off course, notes Mike Gannon, it's essential to find the cause -- and then apply one of three possible remedies tailored to the urgency of the need and the extent of the budget.
When agitated or flowing water moves through the air, it loses carbon dioxide. That's particularly significant in systems with fountain jets, waterfalls or vanishing edges, observes Kim Skinner, with the loss affecting pH in ways that must be dealt with to avoid big problems.