You’ve probably seen us advertising our special Triplepoint Blend Pro-Biotic for quite some time now. We always say that it’ll be great for your pond, and used in conjunction with aeration you’ll have just that much of a better chance at getting control over that irksome algae problem. For most of the population that is ignorant to such things, this raises the question…

What is Pro-Biotic?

The Food and Agriculture Organization and the World Health Organization define probiotics as: “Live microorganisms which when administered in adequate amounts confer a health benefit on the host.” Some of the most commonly used probiotics are lactic acid bacteria, bifidobacteria, yeasts, and some bacilli.

Now for those of you who haven’t taken the time to brush up on your biology lately, this may seem like the opposite of “demystifying.” Luckily for you, I’ll look to explain this mystical “probiotic” without the use of terms like bifidobacteria and bacilli. What you’ll hopefully find is that the idea behind using probiotic to help digest nutrient and eradicate algae from your pond is very relatable and understandable.

Using the definition from above, let us consider the probiotics to be the “live microorganisms” (since that’s what they are) and your algae-ridden pond to be the “host.” While your pond is not living in the sense that an animal lives and breathes, it is still a living ecosystem that is adversely affected by detriments similar to the way a human is affected by, say, a flu bug. In the case of your green-topped pond outside, algae-forming nutrients are the equivalent of a flu bug, allowing algae to spread dangerously, compromising the health of your pond with each day that it’s allowed to expand over the surface. These nutrients are the result of fertilizers, fish and animal waste, runoff from streets, et cetera, flowing into your pond. (It should be noted that 5-10% coverage of algae is considered healthy, but anything beyond that should be avoided.)

There are times when the natural bacteria that exist in your pond are simply not strong or plentiful enough to rid the pond of the influx of algae-forming nutrients (mostly nitrogen and phospohrous). The natural, decomposing bacteria can only break it down at a certain pace, and if the influx is greater than that pace, a buildup of nutrients forms. As the buildup continues to grow, the bacteria fall further and further behind, algae begins to collect, and you can end up with a massive coverage in a matter of weeks, or sometimes even days.

It’s a similar concept to that of the human body. Sometimes your body simply isn’t strong enough to fight off whatever ailment has befallen it. Every once in awhile you need an extra boost, usually in the form of medication. These drugs then fight off the ailment along with our antibodies, and eventually allow your body to become healthy again. The same is true for your pond.

And this is where probiotic comes in. Just as a medication administered to the human body is specified for a certain purpose, or to cure a certain ailment, probiotic is the same way. Triplepoint Blend Pro-Biotic is a collection of bacteria and enzymes specifically designed with one purpose: to digest the organic matter that fuels algae growth.

Just as the definition from FAO/WHO indicates, when probiotic is added to the host (AKA: your pond), it offers a health benefit. In this case, probiotic essentially acts as reinforcement, called in to aid the native bacteria in the digestion of algae-forming nutrients. They provide the necessary boost and help to decrease the overall algae coverage. This adds the benefit of aquatic plant photosynthesis since the sun is able to penetrate the surface, which contributes to a higher dissolved oxygen content, which leads to healthier fish, less obnoxious pond odor, and overall a much healthier, happier aquatic ecosystem.

At the concept’s roots, it’s all biology—it’s all related even though one is in reference to your personal health and the other to your pond. The same biological concepts and ideas apply to each situation. Now, this year when you throw your annual Pro-Biotic Party and someone asks you how the heck that Pro-Biotic works to help your pond, you’ll be able to explain it to them in a way that all can understand.

Quick Note: Pro-Biotic is only at its most effective when it is used in conjunction with aeration. If there is not adequate aeration, the dissolved oxygen content is often too low and the Pro-Biotic will not have the oxygen it needs in order to go through the necessary chemical reactions that are used to break down algae-forming nutrients.

Excuses are a way of life for much of the human population. It’s not necessarily a bad thing, but at times it can have problematic consequences. Pond aeration is no exception to this rule. Here’s a breakdown of the top 5 reasons that you should aerate your pond today. Not tomorrow, next week, next month, or once the birds fly south so you don’t bother them. Today.

1. It takes awhile for aeration to kick in.

There are no miracle workers when it comes to getting rid of your algae and making your pond healthy. You can use chemicals, such as copper sulfate. That will certainly sterilize your pond in no time. Be advised, though, the algae will return more swiftly each time and with a fierce vengeance. Oh, and you’ll be slowly killing any sign of aquatic life in your pond. Aeration is the safest and most environmental way to make your pond look (and be) healthy. Unfortunately, it takes a little while to undo all of the bad in your pond and instill some good. So, the sooner it gets started, the better, and the longer you’ll have to sit back and enjoy the scene of aquatic bliss before you.

2. You won’t like the way your pond looks in the dog days of summer.

Buying an aerator on August 5^th will do very little to clear up your pond by August 10^th when you’re hosting that birthday party. Buy it on May 5^th instead. Better yet, buy it on March 5^th. I’ll tell you what, give it to yourself as a Christmas present and get things rolling so your pond is the talk of the town come summertime when everyone is hanging around outside. The bottom line here is that it takes time to break down the algae-forming nutrients that have been building up in your pond for years, and the greater head start you give your pond before the hot, humid, suffocating days of summer arrive, the better it will look.

3. Think of your fish!

Imagine the pain that you would feel if you were forced to walk around gasping for air all day long. What if you were struggling to breathe, and every minute was a fight for survival because there simply was no oxygen in the air? Would you want the person in charge of your ecosystem to “get around to it next week?” No. Emphatically, no. You would want to breathe today, yesterday, or even the day before that. Fish kills happen because of pond owners that put off aeration for too long and eventually it ends in catastrophe to the tune of dozens, hundreds, thousands of dead fish. All the more reason that you should aerate your pond today, yesterday, or even the day before that.

4. The right aerator will be an investment, not a burden.

It’s true, making a commitment to aerate your pond can be expensive. However, the right aerator choice will only be a noticeable entity in your bank account once—at its initial purchase. This differs from chemicals, which tend to make medium-sized dents in your pocketbook numerous times a year, adding up to one gigantic dent over multiple years. A reliable aerator that will stand by you in sickness and in health, through good times and bad is the one that you want to find. In this case, you’ll pay the initial price of the aerator and then ideally be able to watch it work its magic over the next umpteen years. Then you can join in poking fun at the dilettantes who are still pouring thousands of dollars into their pond each year in the form of chemicals.

5. It feels good.

What’s better than checking something off of your perpetually growing to-do list? Pull the trigger on your aerator, check it off the list, and feel one of the many weights on your shoulders lift. Feels great, doesn’t it?

Instead of thinking in “what ifs” or racking your brain for reasons why an aerator simply won’t work this year, try thinking of reasons why it can work. You and your pond will both be very happy.

Believe it or not, the below freezing days of winter are coming to an end! With warmer temperatures comes the ability to enjoy your pond. This Spring Pond Checklist is designed to help give you a head start preparing your pond for a beautiful growing season.

Spring is one of our favorite times of the year; birds are singing, flowers are sprouting and the sun is shinning – perfect conditions to enjoy your pond. But beware, without taking a few critical steps early, your pond enjoyment could be ruined by flooding, fish kills, and algae!

Here is our checklist for preparing your pond for an enjoyable spring and summer:

1) Check over your pond

With spring comes rain. Check your spillways for blockages – often trees can fall or beavers can dam-up spillways preventing the free flow of water. Any blockages can cause flooding that can kill surrounding plants, cause fish kills and damage electrical infrastructure near the pond among, other things.

Check the pond banks for signs of erosion – spring rain will exacerbate this. A short-term prevention method is laying sod on the bare banks. For the long term, consider planting native prairie grasses in the worst effected areas; they will not only help to prevent erosion, but will also act buffer to limit algae fueling nutrients getting into your pond.

2) Avoid Spring Fish Kills

If your fish are still alive, they’re lucky to have survived the arctic winter. Unfortunately, it only takes a spring without sufficient aeration for their luck to run out.

As temperatures increase, the different layers of the water column will begin to mix. As a result, the water at the bottom of pond then becomes warmer and, initially, the level of oxygen increases.

Bacteria at the bottom of the pond will then wake up from their cryogenic state and begin rapidly consuming the nutrients (leaves, waterfoul excrement etc.) that are present at the bottom of the pond. Before too long, oxygen levels plummet and a mass fish kill can occur.

By installing aeration early in the spring season, you will begin to mix the different layers of the water column while directly adding oxygen. We recommend the MARS 1500 Aeration System as the Patented Double Bubble Technology is specifically designed to Mix and Aerate (add oxygen to water).

3) Get Ahead of the Algae Game

As spring gives way to summer, the increase in temperatures coupled with the nutrient runoff of fertilizers, waterfowl excrement, leaves etc. from spring rains becomes a toxic combination. Inevitably algae blooms will occur that create pond odors, mosquito infestations and poor water clarity.

Give your pond a head start by boosting levels of beneficial bacteria, such as Triplepoint blend Pro-biotic. When used with proper aeration, bacteria will begin to consume nutrients and prevent them from fueling algae blooms when summer arrives.

For a pond or lake owner, there is nothing more terrible than having a sudden mass extinction of aquatic life—otherwise known as a Fish Kill.

Fish kills come in many shapes and forms—sometimes big fish die, sometimes small fish die, other times all fish meet the same demise. Some fish kills are limited to a particularly sensitive species of fish, others do not discriminate and affect all fish (including the big game fish you keep fishing for).

A fish kill can be as small as 10-20 fish or as large as 10-20,000—and once fish begin to die, it’s generally too late to remedy the situation. The only way to thwart the fish kill phenomenon is prevention.

Before we can prevent fish kills, we must understand the six possible causes behind them:

1. Oxygen Depletion

Oxygen depletion is the most common cause of fish kills. Oxygen must be present in the water for fish to breathe—an oxygen level of 4-5 parts per million is recommended for healthy fish.

When oxygen levels dip down to 2-3ppm, fish become stressed. Fish swimming near the surface, sometimes gulping the air, is a common symptom of this stage.

Large fish are the first to die in an oxygen depletion fish kill, followed by the smaller fish.  Fish kills of this sort often happen overnight or in the early morning—and typically occur in a matter of hours.

2. Large Plant or Algae Die-Off

When a body of water rife with plants and algae suddenly receives less sunlight or receives algaecides and herbicides, large die-offs can occur. The resulting decaying matter wicks oxygen out of the water, suffocating your fish.

As a rule of thumb, if your pond has more than a 20% covering of algae or surface plants, avoid algaecides and herbicides and get oxygen into the water as quickly as possible (see solutions).

3. Turnover

Stagnant water tends to migrate into distinct layers—like a layer cake. Fish typically reside in the layers near the surface where they enjoy warmer water and higher dissolved oxygen.

The layer at the bottom is like a fish no-man’s-land as it is generally is colder, has little or no oxygen, and is filled with accumulating toxic gasses that are trapped by the layer differences.

In the spring and fall (and sometimes more often if the weather conditions are just right) these layers mix, sucking all the oxygen out of the water and introducing toxic gasses to the fish. If severe enough, turnover can easily cause a mass fish kill.

4. Surface Freeze

When the surface freezes, the ice acts just like the temperature difference mentioned in #3. Gasses poisonous to the fish build up, and can sometimes wipe out entire populations.

5. Toxins and Chemicals

If pesticides or other harmful chemicals run into your pond, it can obviously have a damaging affect on any life within it.

Sometimes the application of herbicides or algaecides can lead to fish kills, as the chemicals is lethal to all sorts of aquatic life.

6. Disease

Disease affects all life forms at some point or another, and it’s hard to prevent. The symptoms of disease, however, are often less severe than most fish kills and happen gradually over time (rather than over the course of a few hours, like a normal fish kill).

Disease generally affects only one species of fish, seldom killing all of them, and rarely do they occur on a mass fish-kill scale.

Solution

With its patented Double Bubble™ Technology, the MARS Aeration System will prevent almost all fish kills by targeting its main causes. The MARS simultaneously:

• Adds  oxygen to the water keeping the water fresh and fish happy
• Mixes the layers to expand the fish habitat and break up toxic gasses
• Prevents excess Algae from taking over and wicking out oxygen
• Allows You to Avoid the Application of Chemicals that can harm fish

Visit the Eco-Friendly Aeration page to learn more abouy the benefits of the MARS!

Having a body of water near or on your property can be one of two things: a beautiful, natural accent to your home—or an absolute nuisance. Ponds can add value to the homes nearby, and they can do just the opposite.

Unfortunately, many people living near a pond are stuck with the latter of these scenarios.

You may currently find yourself in the same situation—asking yourself, just like many other people, “why does my pond look so bad?” “Is there a solution?” The answer is yes.

But before we get into the solution, let’s have a closer look at the problems facing ponds:

Bad Water Clarity

Bad water clarity can come from a variety of sources, from algae blooms to floating organic matter and muck. It is quantified by turbidity, a measurement of how clear your water column is—and the more organic matter you have floating around in your pond, the worse it looks.

Often times, this organic matter acts as a fuel for algae to proliferate as well, making your pond look even worse.

Unsightly Algae

Algae come in many different varieties, from a simple light green water hue to thick mucus-like mats floating across the surface. Excess nutrients (fertilizer, organic matter, etc.) cause this algae to grow rapidly, casting an ugly green shroud over your pond.

No matter its form, algae can certainly make your pond look like a cesspool.

Nasty Odor

It most ponds, odor originates from dead, rotting organic matter. When this material is broken down in an oxygen-deprived environment, it releases smelly compounds like hydrogen sulfide (rotten egg smell), methane, and ammonia.

Pond odor can also come from certain types algae and a pond phenomenon called turnover. Read more at our Pond Odor blog post.

Stagnant, Mosquito Breeding Water

Many ponds aren’t spring fed—or they receive so little flow that the water basically sits and stagnates.  This water provides the perfect breeding ground for mosquito and other nuisance insects to lay their larvae.

This affects not only the quality of the water in your pond, but also the environment around your home when the larvae hatch. With dangerous diseases like West Nile on the rise, you can never be too cautious about what you have proliferating in your pond.

Excess Bottom Muck

Muck is a general term for all sorts of things that comprise the sludge accumulating on the bottom of your pond. A large portion of the muck is dead, rotting organic matter that can sometimes be many feet deep.

When this muck decays without mixing and oxygen, it produces noxious smelling gasses and clouds your water. It also provides the perfect fuel for algae, allowing sprawling mats of algae to canvas the surface of your pond.

The Solution to a Dirty Pond

The Double Bubble™ action of the MARS Aeration System is the answer to your dirty pond problem. This Patented Technology both mixes & aerates, effectively rehabilitating your pond in an eco-friendly manner.  The MARS does this by:

1. Breaking down the organic matter that is clouding your water and accumulating on the bottom. This breakdown also removes the nutrients, or algae food, from the pond, reducing the growth of algae.
2. Adding Oxygen to the water that absorbs the noxious pond odors, freshening the water at the same time.
3. Mixing the Entire Water Column to keep the water from stagnating, dissuading the breeding of insects. Not only this, but with the added oxygen mixed throughout the entire pond expands the fish habitat, who love to eat up all the larvae before they hatch.

For more information on the MARS Aeration System, watch the video on Eco-Friendly Pond Aeration on the home page.

Do you dread changes in the wind because the smell of your pond or lake wafts into your home? Do you avoid gatherings or cookouts down by the water because of its unappealing odor? You’re not alone.

We’ve all walked past stagnant, a stinking pond and lake at some point in our life (and a lot of times we wish we hadn’t!), but have you ever wondered where that smell is coming from…or how to stop it?

Let’s first look at the causes of pond or lake odor. The smell you notice comes primarily from three sources:

1. Rotting Plants, Fish, and other Organic Matter:

When something rots, it smells—this is a simple fact of life that has us routinely taking out the trash and hunting through the refrigerator for foreign smells.

But, what occurs in lakes and ponds that make the odor so pervasive? It’s the lack of oxygen.Many rotting things in your pond are digested by aerobic (oxygen breathing) bacteria, and this occurs both quickly and largely without odor.

If given enough oxygen, these hungry little bacteria will clean all the odors and decaying matter out of your pond. Unfortunately, this is not what happens in most ponds—stagnant water instead has the tendency to develop into distinct temperature layers.

Water warmed by the sun remains toward the surface, and cooler, denser water stays on the bottom. Being sealed in by the upper, warmer layer, the bottom layer receives no oxygen. Eventually fish and bacteria use up all the available oxygen in this area, and this is when things get bad.

What happens is that all inanimate organic matter (dead fish, leaves, grass clippings, sticks, fish waste, dead plants) sink to the oxygen-less, or anoxic, area at the bottom of the pond. Here, the only breakdown and digestion that occurs is done by anaerobic (not oxygen breathing) bacteria.

Not only are these bacteria seventeen times slower at breaking down organic matter than aerobic bacteria, but they also produce nasty smelling pond odors as a byproduct. These odors include the rotten egg-like hydrogen sulfide, methane, and ammonia.

Ever see bubbles rise to and burst on the surface of your pond? That’s likely anaerobic bacteria, releasing their pungent pond odor byproducts.

2. Turnover:

Pond or lake turnover is often a reason why your water occasionally smells really bad. It occurs at least twice a year in the spring and fall (sometimes more if there are heavy rainstorms) where the upper and lower levels of your water body mix together.

The resulting solution is low in oxygen and high in noxious gasses (and this very dangerous for fish and can result in a massive fish kill). On top of this, all of the bad odors and decaying material once trapped at the bottom are mixed into the water column all at once, making your water smell quite awful.

3. Odor Producing Algae:

Certain kinds of algae simply smell bad. Ponds with heavy concentrations of cyanobacteria or chara algae, for example, will emit a musty, earthy odor.

So not only will your pond look bad because of the large algal blooms, but it also smells bad because of the algae!

The Solution to Lake and Pond Odors:

Now let’s look at the solution to pond and lake odors. The fix for pond and lake odors is Eco-Friendly Aeration with the MARS System, which targets the causes of odors by doing the following things:

• Oxygenating ALL areas of the water column so aerobic bacteria get to the organic matter and  do its work without odors

• Mixing the entire pond from top to bottom, avoiding layering and stopping the harmful and odor producing effects of turnover

• Prevent algae by breaking down the organic matter before algae has the chance to use it to fuel its growth

The MARS Aerator’s patented Double Bubble™ Technology both mixes & aerates your pond—keeping it healthy, clear, and most importantly, odor free!