Winter pond aeration in northern climates can have many advantages. Often the most important to pond owners and managers is the prevention of winter fishkill due to lack of oxygen under the ice. Winter pond aeration will keep areas over the diffusers open and free of ice and maintain safe dissolved oxygen levels.

During a mild winter when little or no ice is formed, oxygen levels will remain high and there may be no worry of an oxygen related winter fishkill and therefore no demand for winter pond aeration. During colder temperatures, the metabolism of fish and other aquatic animals is greatly decreased as well as the decomposition process, lowering the oxygen demand. Oxygen levels are also at their highest in winter when no ice coverage occurs because there is more wind to circulate the water and the colder temperature water can hold more oxygen.

Trouble starts when harsh winters cause ponds to freeze over and ice becomes thick and/or covered in snow. Sunlight cannot penetrate the ice as well and without sunlight there can be no photosynthesis, causing oxygen levels to decline. Oxygen diffusion at the surface is also blocked by the ice coverage. With little or no oxygen being produced and the demand remaining the same, fish will begin to die, often resulting in a large scale winter fish kill. Shallow, weedy ponds are especially susceptible to oxygen depletion and should consider winter pond aeration.

Winter pond aeration will prevent winter fishkill by keeping areas of the pond ice-free which will allow oxygen to enter the pond at the surface through diffusion and agitation as well as direct transfer from the compressed air in the bubbles.

There are other good reasons to keep waterways open in the winter. A popular reason for winter pond aeration is to allow open water for waterfowl utilization. Whether it is for hunting, conservation or bird watching, if there is open water in the winter, waterfowl will find it!

A winter pond aeration system will also keep water open in rivers, harbors and marinas where maritime activities are necessary.

Vertex aeration systems have many features that stand out above the competition. Vertex AirStations can lift over 8,000 gallons of water per minute, are self cleaning and carry a 5 year warranty; they are powered by 1/3 HP Brookwood™ piston compressor which have proven to be efficient and easy to maintain; The QuietAir™ cabinet housing the compressor system is all aluminum with a powder coated finish, preventing rust and corrosion and equipped with a GFCI outlet and a barrel lock for security.

There are many factors to consider when designing a winter pond aeration system. In freezing temperatures, AirStations should not be placed in the deepest most central location in the pond, but rather off to one side in 4-6 feet of water to allow deeper, warmer refuges for fish. Openings in the ice caused by each diffuser vary in diameter based on depth of the diffuser, water and air temperatures and can measure from 15 to 100 feet across. If starting the system after the pond or waterway is frozen it will take only a few hours to create an opening in the ice. Please contact a Vertex Professional for more information.

**Please prevent tragedy by posting warning signs. Under most circumstances aeration prevents any safe ice from forming on the pond. Ice surrounding the open areas will also be thinner and weaker that otherwise expected.

"The greenheads took no time at all to find the open water. It was only a couple hours after starting up the winter pond aeration system that we had a large opening in the frozen pond in subzero temperatures. We had a record hunting season and I expect several of my hunting buddies to be contacting Vertex before the next season!”

Jay Sullivan
Upland Bird and Waterfowl Adventures
Burbank, WA

“I wanted to let you know that my pond aeration system has worked great over the winter. When it was really cold here, the open water areas showed up clearly and were often surrounded by hundreds of ducks and geese. When night temperatures were at or below zero the diameter of the open area seemed to be about 7 x the water depth. I have passed your name on to a friend of mine who was extremely jealous of the open water in my ponds when his were frozen up. I expect he will be contacting you soon to discus an aeration system for one or more of his ponds.”

Tom Griepentrog
Dedicated wildlife enthusiast
Olathe, Colorado