Are Windmill areation pumps worth a darn

I am looking at building a pond soon. I will be relying on strictly runoff for filling. I was also looking at some windmills that are supposed to run a stone down a pump shaft and fill the water table with air making it lighter filling the pond and oxygen. Anyone have any luck with these working and how much water can they bring in if so?

Brandon,

Are you referring to a windmill that can pump water from the ground into the pond? If that is the case there is such a thing. The water pump is an accessory to the windmill aerator, therefore the pump will double as an aerator, or should I say you can buy the aerator and purchase the water pump as an add on.

Brandon:

Welcome to the forum! I haven't heard of using one that way; interesting thought. From my limited exposure to windmills for aerating a pond, will the placement of the windmill be far enough away from trees so they won't block any wind going to the windmill?

Here is a video of the attachment that is available for the windmills:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YMTtlngqyds

How big of a pond are you building, and how many gallons of water do you plan on moving with one of these pumps?

I am planning on building a 1 to 2 acre pond. Most of it will be filled with runoff. My neighbors have one less than 100 yds from where it will be. There pond has been full for over 10 yrs, but it just about dried up last year with the drought. I just want to plan ahead and have a back up in case of another drought. I have a 1 hp well over 150 ft deep I could use to help keep full, but not sure if it will keep up with evaporation and maintaining enough O2 in the water. The idea of a well we could dig and fill the water table with more O2 bringing more water and O2 to the pond at the same time sounds great, but I would like to find someone else that has used it successfully before I invest in one. The other question is if you could use an old windmill to make one work. I have one that could be rebuilt to serve the purpose if cost effective

Daniel, great link but am curious about the most cost effective way to aerate and keep the pond full any suggestions?