Pond Boss Forums AERATION Systems questions Power options for a RC51 style system

Hey everyone,

I decided to stop lurking and actually ask my questions and see if you all have any thoughts on my situation.

I have a 1 acre oval pond that is about 12' deep on 2/3rds of it with an 8' shelf tapering up on the remaining 1/3. We dug it out about 5 years ago and it was holding water pretty good until they decided that rainfall in Texas was optional. It has no other water source (other than runoff) until I recently put in a well and ran a pipe to the pond to keep it from drying up. The ultimate plan is to have a good assortment of fish for me, friends and the kids to enjoy.

I am intrigued by RC51s homebuild and those that have modified it from there.

My issue is that the pond sits about 800-900 feet from the nearest power source (well head). Here are my options as I see it:

1. When we put in the pipe to the pond, we ran an extra 1" pvc pipe with it. This was originally so that if the wife decided direct well water was not sufficient for her gardens I could drop a pump in the pond and send some back. I could co-opt that 1" pipe and blow air down it to a diffuser setup.

2. I could run an EVO 7 air pump with a system like Roadjoker did and just run it off of solar.

So here are my questions:

If I blow air through the existing pvp pipe, how big a pump are we talking about to move enough air 900 feet and still give me a decent result?

If I go solar, what numbers am I looking at to calculate turnover by the diffusers so that I can determine how long/often the aerator needs to run. That way I can figure out the # of panels, batteries etc...I have the 7 cfm of the pump, but where do I look to see the impact that the 3 diffusers would have if properly grouped together.

If I am missing other options (windmill is not really in the cards) let me know.

First, welcome aboard.

Maybe highflyer will chime in when he gets back in town. He's done all the math on solar panels and aeration requirements.

Hey Rentzlaw,

Glad you liked my system. Mine has been doing pretty good for me so far and it's been 3 years now going on 4. I don't know much about solar so I'll stay away from that.

As far as running your air through pvc pip 900 feet I don't thing that requires any bigger of a pump. It just takes more time to fill the line. I may be wrong on that so don't quote me. Your pressure is still going to come from how deep your fusers are in your water. Like I said don't quote me on that lets see if someone else has a little better insight on it. Good luck and keep us posted.

RC

There will always be some presure and air flow decrease due to friction when pushing air through a pipe. Amount of decrease will depend on diameter and length of pipe. In normal air line distances of 100-400 ft in pipe 1/2"-5/8" dia the friction loss is minimal for compressors producing 10psi and 4-5 cfm and most the decrease is due to water depth of diffusers. For airline longer than 400ft the larger diameter pipe results in less friction loss. There are airflow charts to help one determine friction loss of air moving through various sizes of pipe.

Ok, so in looking at the charts I have found, the impact is on PSI based on CFM (makes sense since you arent losing air just pressure). Also, it does not appear that the impact would be substantial for my distance.

So when I look for a compressor for an oval 12' deep 1 acre pond, what numbers should I be looking for? CFM between 5-8? Does PSI need to be around 10?

Im somewhat confused because I see some people talking about the EcoPlus commercial line that seems to be higher CFM but PSI around 5, and others talking about Gast etc that seem to be higher PSI but lower CFM.

Thanks again for the help.

Aeration experts usually want 0.75 - 1cfm per each 9" diam disk membrane diffuser. Some will operate a 4 head disk diffuser on 3-4 cfm. For 12 ft of depth, It takes at least 6 psi to release air at 12', but 7-10 psi capability of the compressor gives the system a little extra head pressure as a buffer. As the diffuser pores clog, it takes more pressure (psi) to get air out the pores. This will show up on a presure gauge. This is just one instance where the extra psi is beneficial. My thinking is if you need 6-8 psi and the a compressor is rated for 10 psi this allows the compressor to operate at less than maximum or normal rated pressure. Also the operating amps of the compressor should be a little less if it is operating at less than the max psi rating. This results in a longer motor and pump life due to less stress on the entire mechanics of the compressor to create the necessary air.

Rentz

Hey if your going 12 feet the Eco plus 7 may be a little small for you. If you can put your fusers in about 8 to 10 feet you could use the eco I bet. I think road joker has his in 12 feet of water but he has it on a foot or so high crate on the bottom of the pond. Mr. Bill Cody knows much more than I do I am sure when it comes to air and the how to's. Just one note though. If you try the Eco 7 and it don't work your out like 100 bucks right? Versus most other pumps are 350 and up most on the up side..... Keep us posted as to what you decide to do. I am curious now!



RC

Thanks RC,

I figured just as you did and after checking with a few others on the site, I decided that with the distance and the depth the eco 7 wasnt going to push enough for me. Ted got me set up with a Gast pump and system.

I will try to add some pics once we get it running...assuming I can get someone to hold the camera while my 6 yo son and I get it going.

Thanks for the info!

John