My pond is too far from a utility to get a pond aerator down there, but I have a small stream that feeds into the pond which I have run 1" vinyl water line from uphill down to the pond in an effort to get some water pressure for cleanup tasks and possibly a water slide. When not in use, I could channel this water down to the lowest levels of the pond to inject air laden water down to the 16' depth. Question would be if the pipe carries ~10 gallons a minute would that transport enough O2 to make a difference in a 0.7 acre pond?
Thanks
Whoa, that would be cool except we have the problem of low solar energy in January and February. The very times that it would be needed the most.
We have those solar Christmas lights that rarely stay lit for more than an hour after sunset unless we get a rare sunny day. Such are the woes of living near the Great Lakes.
If I has more water flow plus a bit more elevation I could toss a small turbine in-line with the water and run a small generator to re-charge the battery, but then that would become another one of my "projects" that would set me on the course to being single. A prospect I do not relish.
How far is your pond away from power?
It is about 1200' from usable power. If I wanted to get serious I would have a transformer put on a pole within 50' of the pond, but costs are prohibitive to toss around some bubbles through water.
The more I am thinking about it, the more I am pretty certain I want to aerate. The pond is DEEP for it's size (was gearing for trout in our cool climate) and it is deep because of a miscalculation on amount of soil needed for the dam.
Maybe the solar would be a good way to go, I just currently am pissing into the wind on a dock which has turned from something simple to a big PIA.
1200 ft is not a long distance for the right compressor. With that depth its makes for a very simple system. If you can get a 1 inch trunkline from a power source to the pond most of the work is done.Any type of airline or pvc line that will support 15 PSI will work fine.Perhaps the existing line would work. This type of tubing can be had locally for 20 cents per ft range at Lowes HD type stores. From there a compressor with as little as 2.5 cfm or 1/3 hp 3-4 amp draw will aerate fine for trout.Plan of .75 to 1 lift per day minimum. Design of the pond ,bowl, rectangle etc will dictate which diffuser (s) will be needed.Just something to think about vs running power to the pond.
True, running air would be simpler. Maybe I can kill two birds with one stone as I was planning on running low-voltage lighting down the driveway. I could run 1" plastic PVC conduit down the driveway underground and make it airtight at the junctions and run a segment to the pond. I would not only get some LV current for the lighting at the dock, but also air. The LV lighting is only going to be LEDs so there is no real current.
Then again if I ran HV lighting (120V) I may have enough juice to run a compressor down there. However I am hoping to avoid noise down at the pond so having the air compressor in the garage would be preferred.
So how does aeration effect a pond when used for ice-skating? Wont I get a huge hole? I prefer not to go swimming and play hockey at the same time.
There is NO safe ice if you aerate in the winter, so if ice-skating is in the plan DO NOT run the aeration system. Just run the system spring to fall. You have some nice deep water, so I don't think you'll run into an oxygen depletion over the winter.
Deep water will help you more in the summer with maintaining cooler temps but unless the deeper water gets oxygen from either natural or mechanical sources it may not maintain the needed 6-7 ppm (minimum) DO needed for trout.I agree if skating is in the plan dont aerate, clearing the ice will help "if" you have plants and plankton to manufacture oxygen during daylight hours.Plants and algae can take back (respirate)the same amounts they give during the day. Organic matter will also consume oxygen until it reaches the 45-50F range.The trick is to simply keep the O2 demand below the supply.
Ted says:"Plants and algae can take back (respirate)the same amounts they give during the day." Good point. Although as usual, It Depends. They can take back more than they produce. Also they can produce more DO than they use at night IF enough sunlight occurs and there are enough plants which is usually the case. This excess DO production is where the surplus DO mainly comes from that contributes to or causes the percent saturation of DO in the water (DO bank account). Percent saturation is an indication of how much room or space there is for more DO to get or dissolve into the water compared to when the water is completely 'full' of DO at 100% saturation.
Sediments and the associtated invertebrate community continue to consume DO below 45-50F, although consumption is much reduced compared to warmer sediment temps. Sediments during winter cold periods tend to be slightly warmer than the water above them. Healthy sediments with DO can easily have as many as 100,000+ invertebrates per square yard. They and the myrids of bacteria in the sediments consume DO.
Thanks for the information guys, the solar aerator is looking more and more appealing, but too small. As I look at the costs of a larger systems and the effort to put it in, it seems like a project for next spring. I don't want to under-do it, and I don't want to over-do it either. I also really don't want a septic tank down there so I want to start the pond off right. For now the ecosystem in the pond is about as sterile as it will ever be, so allowing air down there will keep it clean.
I am going to have a problem with 300W of draw though, as I am a cheap SOB and try to be super energy efficient when it comes to electric.
Since you are right about an aerator in the winter not helping enough to abandon ice skating, the solar is even more appealing. It is the time of year I don't get much sun anyhow.
Sooo.... looks like I will be putting in both driveway lighting and an air line at the same time.
To the original question it seems that running water from the intermittent creek to the pond bottom would be a mistake as it would only provide air while it was running, and during a big storm where then I would have an insta-kill injecting air into a septic system causing all sorts of toxic nasty.
BTW I am asking for a subscription and your book for Christmas, so if Santa follows through...
-Mark