How to Add Oxygen to Your Backyard Water Garden

When the sun starts shining and the weather begins to heat up, summer pond maintenance begins. One of your major summer pond maintenance responsibilities is adding oxygen to your pond. 

But, is oxygenating your pond really that important? And if it is, how do you go about adding oxygen?

This is actually one of the simpler pond tasks you will have this summer. It’s important to add oxygen to your pond, because the sun can cause your water garden to heat up which is unsafe for your fish and plants. Oxygen is necessary to maintaining an ecological balance in your pond.

Oxygenating Your Pond

The easiest way to ensure your pond has sufficient oxygen is to make sure there is constant aeration. There are testing devices some pond-owners use to test oxygen levels, but this is unnecessary if you maintain aeration in your pond.

There are several ways to add oxygen to your pond:

1. Pond pumps keep water moving constantly in your backyard pond and make a practical solution to filtering your water and oxygenating your water.
2. Water features are another simple way to introduce oxygen to your pond water. Using waterfalls, fountains and other devices constantly aerate your pond water
3. Airstones are designed to bubble air into your water to keep oxygen at sufficient levels throughout the warmer months.
4. Decreasing plant life is another way to increase oxygen levels. Oftentimes, your plants grow more during the warmer months, which could be depleting your pond of precious oxygen.

It’s not hard to keep your pond oxygenated, but it is vitally important that you do. The health and wellness of your fish depends on the amount of oxygen in your pond water. Your best bet to avoid algae growth and promote aeration is to constantly keep the water moving and producing oxygen day and night. 

*Photo courtesy of Stellajo1976 via Flickr

Aerate Your Pond with an Air Pump This Winter

With winter weather quickly arriving, it is essential to get your pond properly prepared for the chilly months ahead. The fish and other aquatic life in your pond require extra special attention as temperatures continue dropping. If you'll remember from my previous Pondliner blog post on solving your pond's winter woes, I discussed how decomposing pond matter removes oxygen from the water and releases toxic gasses that can become trapped in your pond when it freezes over in winter.


When a situation such as this arises, your fish are in danger of dying due to a lack of oxygen. You can use a pond heater to create a hole in your iced-over pond to allow proper gas exchange, but it would be in your very best interest to purchase an air pump as well, especially if your main pond pump is shut down for winter.

Pondliner air pumps help maintain adequate oxygen levels in your pond, even when your fish's metabolic rates reach their absolute lowest. Guaranteeing that your fish receive the proper amount of oxygen is essential to ensuring their survival through the cold winter months.

Be sure to choose an air pump that is big enough to pump air to the bottom of your pond. As the weather gets colder, your fish will gravitate to the lowest parts of your pond to stay warm, so there is no sense in buying an air pump that won't reach those depths. The specifications of each air pump will note the maximum pond size it should be used for as well as the pond depth it can reach.

To get the most out of your air pump, check out Pondliner's selection of aeration replacement parts and accessories. We have everything you need to keep your pond’s air pump functioning effectively.

As always, our dedicated and qualified staff of pond professionals is available to answer questions and provide additional help Monday – Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Contact us for assistance today!