Pond Boss Forums AERATION Systems questions what size tubing for a long run

Hello I have a large pond that is one large square connected to a smaller round pond by a wide channel. I have aeration in the larger pond, I want to run aeration to the smaller pond. The pond is very far fron the pump I think 300+ feet I want to run one main air line then when I reach the smaller pond have a 3 way manifold branching off to three diffusers. from the manifold I plan on running 1/2 inch tubing, my question is should the main line be 1/2 inch as well or 3/4? the pump is a thomas 2660 the smaller pond is only 3-4 feet deep.

pullo, I think either would be fine, with larger being better. A friend runs air from his windmills 900' to the diffusers thru 3/8" line for the whole run.

Before you make this decision search the internet and find a table of pressure loss in plastic pipe. I'm sure someone on this forum can point you to one. I think I found the info I needed at Aquatic Ecosystems web site. You would be surprised how much pressure it takes to force air through a long pipe. I am pumping my air about 350 feet and if I remember correctly I lose several PSI using the 1/2 inch pipe I'm using. 3/8 inch pipe might work for a 900 foot run if you hardly have any volume going through it. Losses depend on the flow rate and pipe size. Depending on what you use pipe can be cheap so check the pressure loss and do it right. Also need to consider the loss in the aerator itself and all the other valving, etc.. Add it all up and make sure you don't lose too much or you'll just waist you time and money on something that just gives you a trickle.

When the wind is blowing pretty good the most that I've seen on the gauge is 10 psi. (at the base of the windmill)

I can tell you that my system has 350 feet of 1/2 inch hose and a diffuser, the aerator is in about 7 feet of water, I drive 5.5 cfm through the system. The water depth accounts for about 3.5 psi and the rest of the hardware adds another 4.5 psi of loss. So it takes 8 psi just to get the air out there. My pump is only rated to 15 psi so this is a good running pressure without overloading and causing high wear on the pump. My pump has been running 8 hours per day now for 10 years with no maintenance. This is all stuff you need to figure out if you really want to design the system correct and not waste money or time. You can see if you built a system just like mine you would probably rarely have air going through it. Only when the wind is high and you get over 8 psi output.