Hi, I am new to this forum and have been trying to educate myself on aeration. My pond is approximately 1/3 acre with a small island and the average depth is 6 feet. I would like to use 2 diffusers, one at the deepest area (8 feet) and the other on the opposite side of the island (6 feet). My budget is pretty limited so I've been researching pump options. Is anyone familiar with Blue Diamond pumps? I found an ET120 for less than $200. Also I am considering installing the pump in my basement and running one tube underground to the pond which is 100 feet away then splitting it using two 50 foot weighted tubes to the diffusers. Any comments or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. A diffuser recommendation would be great too. One final question, would installing the pump in the basement create any issues by pumping cooler air into the pond?

Welcome DW!

I've never read of putting the compressor in the basement here on this forum, but it sounds great in terms of an easy way to monitor it and protect the filter from getting dirty! Cold air won't be an issue as the bubbles of air can't change the temperature of the water around them due to differences in specific heat (heat carrying capacity) of air vs water.

Someone might chime in on whether there is any appreciable moisture put into the house from the compressor. Also you will want to think about keeping it cool and they do make some noise which might make you want to wall it off somehow or insulate from noise (just don't insulate the heat into the enclosure)

You can buy an out of the box diffuser head setup, or in the forums there are several pictures of folks who made their own base, used standard PVC pipe and fittings and bought just the membrane/disk to create the bubbles.

You often can do a craigslist search and find a GAST compressor or a rebuilt aeration compressor in your region. Search for 'aerator'

I'm not familiar with blue diamond pumps.

I found this warning about the Blue Diamond ET 120 on the TGwastewater.com website: http://tgwastewater.com/blue-diamond-et1...m_content=ET120

NOTE: The Blue Diamond pumps are conciderably louder than the other pumps on the market. Do not purchase this pump if noise is an issue.

Will it keep you awake at night in your basement?

Also, if the pipe from your basement has any uphill sections, add a one-way valve to prevent condensation backflow.

My pond has a Gast 0523 and it's too loud to be inside my living quarters by my opinion. It's in my barn/workshop.

Thanks for the info guys. DG, I didn't see the warning in the link you provided. It shows the pump at an excellent price and had 3 five star reviews. Maybe I missed something.

Located in a workshop would be ideal, but mine is 1/4 mile away. Besides the noise won't be an issue. I would prefer the Gast but they are to pricey for my budget right now.

Thanks again...any other words of advice are always welcome.

Sorry DG, I overlooked the note on the site.

DW, you mentioned your barn being a good distance from your pond, so I thought it might help you to know I am using Kasco as my aeriation system and I am pumping my air some 2,200' to the furthest diffuser. I am not an expert by any means when it comes to aeration but I wanted to pass along to you that one can pump air a pretty good distance.

Tracy

I'm looking at something similar. I think the bluediamond is a copy of the hiblow. But even the hiblow is a pretty good price. The 120 moves a little over 4CFM. For my pond and from what I have learned it would probably be sufficient. There is a video on youtube that a guy had bought one of the bigmax systems on ebay and had a bad experience. But then got a hiblow septic aerator and I really like what I saw...and the ease at which it could be rebuilt. Parts are readily available also. Watch the video and you'll see a pump just like what you are looking at. Its extremely quiet also. Hope that helps some.

Thanks, I think I saw that video. I just ordered the Blue Diamond. I'll post again once I get it up and running to let everyone know how it's working.

What diffuser did you decide on? I have studied quite a bit and am going to go with two 9" rubber membrane style. You can save money with stones and rings...but from what I have read they will not make the smaller bubbles. You get alot more air and move more water through the column if you have a smaller bubble.

I was thinking about a home built diffuser out of pvc or possibly using a soaker hose, but the more I read I think the rubber membrane may be the best bet. What brand have you decided on?

Does anyone else have a recommendation?

Many consider the Vertex diffuser to be the gold standard. Durable, makes millions of bubbles, easy to adapt to your own piping with standard fittings. Easy to clean too.

You can browse this online store and support one of our very helpful contributors and advertisers on this forum:

Hoosier Pond Pros

Aeration supplies are here:

Vertex Aerator disks

Has anyone looked at the flow curve on the waste water pumps? These pumps are VERY low pressure...the bluediamond has a max charted PSI of only 3PSI and flow has dropped from 5.2CFM @0PSI to only 2.7CFM at 3PSI....3PSI will get air just over 6 feet deep into water. These pumps are very low pressure and not well suited for any water depth over 4-6 feet.


It takes just under .5 PSI to push air one foot deep into water, plus the pressure needed to overcome any friction loss.

Rocking piston or rotary vane compressors have good flow, AND higher pressures for deeper water pond aeration.

As mentioned about condensation, ALL compressed air will get hot and produce water condensation. I don't think I would put it in a low area, even with a check valve. Any valve will eventually fail and at best, your pump is damaged, at worst, it gets the motor wet and causes an electrical fire...

Didn't think about the psi rainman. I'm reconsidering that now because I have to go down to about 10-12ft. Can you post psi numbers for depths from like 2-15 or something? That would sure help on minimums psi requirements when looking at pumps. I remember now in that video that guy had to drill some holes in his diffuser ring to get it to push through. Sorry not trying to hijack thread. Thanks for the info!

Nevermind..found a good one to link to. Great explanations here on how to figure psi from depth etc.

Thread with psi explanations

good catch rainman.

i really doubt that pump is going to work at 8 foot. hopefully OP catches your post before they commit.

fwiw i recently purchased a used gast 0523 in excellent condition off of ebay for just over 200.

i think that pump would be a great choice for OP.

as far as the basement placement couldn't you create an "anti-syphon loop" at the highest point.

The problem in a compressed air line is that water will build up in the lines, and never get pushed out of the lower line area. If a line goes upward from the pump, if the pump shuts off, it will flow into the pump, hydraulically locking the pistons, stopping the motor from turning, then burning out the windings, possibly causing a fire also