Pond Boss Forums AERATION Should I aerate? It may be time to aerate

Air leaks and expansion/contraction is why I recomend double hose clamps and tightening when the tubing is warm, not cold.

One thing about air leaks, at 16' diffuser depth you are only looking at about 8 psi pressure. Even a small leak is likely to leak negligible cfm air. If burried deep, once the soil settles, the pipe is pretty secure unless a person lives in the great white north and is subject to ground heaving.

I would expect a lot more problems with expansion/contraction with the pipe above ground than burried. Daily temperature fluctuations would be much greater above ground than below.

If I lived where ground freezes in the winter (I do) I would bury below frost line (I did) if a person was going to run it during the winter (I don't) to keep ice open. The line will invariably get a dip in it somewhere where water will accumulate and provide a place for the line to freeze up and stop passing air if the dip is subjected to freezing temperatures. The instruction is to bury it so the line runs down hill to the pond so there are no dips to prevent this from happening. Unless you live on a mountain, good luck with that. You are a better trencher operator than me.