Pond Boss Forums AERATION Should I aerate? Aeration on a budget

Does anyone know of a reasonably priced Aerator? Or does anyone know of a place that sells used aerators?

I am interested in instaling one on my 1.5 acre pond. The other people that live around the pond are less than supportive when it comes to management so I will be carrying the cost by myself.

Thanks

I think Ted Lea at forevergreen had some stuff...Used,rebuilt or just on sale,Im not sure.Hes on this site u might give him a call or ck out his website.

You can also just buy a pump from a place like Grainger and build the unit yourself. The end cost was only 1/3 to 1/2 what you'd pay for a prebuilt system so it saved me many $$$. You can put the unit inside a simple wooden shed the size of a medium dog house. Just provide some plumbing and ventilation. If you look into catalogs like those available from Aquatic Ecosystems they have all the poop on how to size a pump and which pump type to choose. They have enough pictures of the equipment that you can see exactly what you need for all the plumbing.

BZ

are the granger pumps more noisy than some of the pre made pumps?

I made my own and saved a TON of money!

When I started sourcing parts for mine, I found that Graingers was a good bit more expensive than the same pumps from aquatic sources. Aquatic Ecosystems has Gast and other brand pumps that are known to be oilless and continuous duty; that way you dont have to open up countless spec sheets to see what is what. You can also buy unused pumps from surplus warehouses. They may not have all the latest additions as the newer versions of the same type pump, but are more than adequate. Look at some of the Aeration sites, you will see the best prices for good pumps.

Been a while since I've been on this site. Busy summer. Brett95, I actually didn't buy my pump from Grainger I bought a Thomas vane pump from a local industrial distributor. It seemed to be a very heavy duty industrial pump. It was cheaper than I found at Aquatic Ecosystems. You gotta shop around. My aerator depth is about 8 feet with 400 feet of air line so I needed something with a little more pressure capability than a other pumps. I bought all the plumbing from the local home improvement store. I got an enclosure from a local company that makes fiberglass outdoor electrical enclosures. It was a scrap one that I got for free, nothing wrong for my use. Would also be easy to build. I bought a small pancake motor fan from grainger and a cheap temperature control unit that turns the fan on when the inside temperature gets hot. I put the whole unit on a cement slab mounted on bolts that keep it up off the ground. I installed the fan in an opening in the bottom of the box so that it sucked air into the box and exits the box through the existing louver that was in the side. Probably built the whole thing for 75 bucks more than the pump cost.

wow, thats good considering most of the systems I have found on line start at about $1,000. Did you use difuser stones?
Where did you get those and how much did they cost?

Would this pump work for aeration?
http://www.grainger.com/Grainger/items/4YD76

Brett, I bought 4 diffuser stones and a check valve as separate pieces (no kit) from Aquatic Ecosystems, they were about $4 each I think. This was about 7 years ago when the conventional wisdom was that air stones were better than diaphragm aerators. I understand the diaphragm ones are better now and perhaps that's the way I'd go if I did this again. They are more expensive but should theoretically last longer. Although my air stones have been in use for 7 years with no problems. I plumbed those up myself just using PVC fittings from the hardware store. I mounted them on top of an old plastic kitchen cutting board so that they wouldn't lay right on the bottom and stir up muck. Attached bricks to hold it down. I really don't know if the compressor you found at grainger would work. Not sure if it's meant for continuous duty. You would have to install a valve in line to control the flow so you don't get too much air and so it doesn't run all the time. Too much air through a diffuser is not a good thing. If I tried that pump I think I'd just install a ball valve in the line and adjust it until I get what looks to be the right amount of air from the aerator. Then you'd have to see how often the pump ran to keep up. I think most air compressors like this are only designed to run maybe 25% of the time. If it runs more than that it probably won't last long. That one is also going to be noisy. But, it might be worth a try since it would make a pretty inexpensive system. If it doesn't work you are only out $62. Aquatic Ecosystems also has some guidelines right on their web site to help figure out what sized pump you need. I think for a 1.5 acre pond you could get by with 1/4 HP. If you want a truly industrial pump that will last for years you want either a centrifugal pump, piston pump, or vane pump depending on how much pressure you need to provide (how long are your lines and how deep is your aerator?). Whatever you do if you like do-it-youself I would spend some time on the Aquatic Ecosystems site, they have tons of guidance and instructions on how to make all the decisiions. Then after you decide go on the internet and find the best price for what you need. I always try to by some stuff from them just to pay them back for the advice. A good industrial pump will cost you around $400.

17 feet is the max depth of my pond. I would like to get the Diffusers down to about that level. Again thanks for all the help.

Brett295,

To reach the depth of 17 feet, your compressor will need to produce at least 7.55 psi. That is just for the depth. Add to that number the friction loss for the tubing, you should be around 8.5 psi.

Brett,

I have a spare 1/3 hp ROC-R 72R-645 and some extra new 9" disc diffusers. I will send you a private message. We are only about 30 miles from each other.

I bought a pump (Thomas Piston Pump)off Ebay 40$ and used garden hose and a soaker hose. Total cost 60$

Can anyone please supply some picture of there homemade pump and hose?

OK, I intend to install a bottom aerator but want a fountain for looks. Do not wna to pay the high prices for a boxed rig. My thoughts to buy a swimming pool pump, place the intake under my pier, and run PCV pipe on the bottom up to a surface head. Question, I would like to have a fountain head other than a PVC cap with holes drilled. I have not been able to find just the fountain head for sell. Any clues?

Theo, missing something here. Am I on a slippery slope by asking this?

Goodness, no.

Bump.

I will take a little time and have no issues with folks wanting to save money but Sue, Ted, Cary can you guys provide some insight into why your/my units are more expensive "boxed" versions?

I will not answer these diy aerator questions anymore for my clients. It comes back to bite me in the butt. I say I can provide tubing and diffuser station at x cost but that is it. Out of several clients I know of only one that has an aeration system working/sized properly. Also most have not had any longevity from these systems.

Maybe I'm out of line I don't think it directly hurts sales for me but just want to mention it gives a false sense of hope when I read about some of these systems they simply do not work for their intended purpose.

If you enjoy the diy angle or have more time than money and do not mind redoing the system in a couple of years do your research but also consider the ease of the "boxed" version. This is your prized fish we are talking about here.

Greg, I am buying a vertex system for my fish sake. But Mamma wants something squirting in the air. At the depth of the lake I cannot depend on a fountain to do the job. So the fountain is just for asthetics. Would love to have a big units with lights but can only afford one or the other. I prefer bubbles to squirts.....

3.5 it is kinda the same deal. At least it is not as critical so good choice on which to make homemade. I had a client one time want to save money his landscaper spend 4.5 hours fabricating a brass nozzle. The irrigation pump was used with split line. Turn off irrigation and you could route water to the nozzle. It looked pretty lame. ClLent ran it for a year and then bought a 8400 JF kasco from us. He then admitted he had spent $1,800 time he paid labor for this other system. If you want something that shoots up water I think it is doable to do on your own but again properly not as impressive. Good luck and thanks for buying a Vertex unit and supporting a PB advertiser.

Hey all, I'm new but I am in desperate need for an aeration system. I have a pond about 1/4 acre in size and probably 15' deep at the deep end and about 6' deep average. There is no natural inlet and I have no aeration pump at the moment so the water just sits there and grows weeds and algae. I usually treat it with Calcium Sulfate but I didn't last year and it is nasty this year! I am looking for an inexpensive yet effective aeration system for my pond. I plan on running electric out to my dock, so there will be power there. Suggestions, PLEASE!! Here is one that I had in mind: http://www.underwaterwarehouse.com/Gast-...-Kit-p-112.html because I don't want to spend the $1300 that the aquarium store quoted me!

NOTE: TO KEEP THINGS FROM GETTING COMPLICATED PLEASE POST RESPONSES TO JDT IN THE OTHER THREAD.

JDT's Aeration thread