Pond Boss Forums AERATION Systems questions Advice for .06 acre pond

I am helping my friend restore his pond. Its about 90'x30', so roughly .06 of an acre. The average depth is 4ft. So total water volume is right around 80,000 gallons. I see people buy used/refurbished Thomas pumps/compressors, but I can't for the life of me figure out what size he would need. The pond is 100' feet from the house but we can run electric to the pond if needed. I know we want to turn over 1.5-2 x water volume. Can anyone suggest pump specs i need to look for?

Also i was looking at EDI diffusers, but can't find how many GPM they move. Where is this info located or how do you calculate it?

My guess is I could get away with 1 EDI 7" diffuser, but i still don't know how to figure what pump is needed.

Nick

With only 80K gallons it won't take a very big compressor or diffuser to mix the pond - 1/8 hp could do it or a big lily pond air pump. A 4 ft deep pond will not strongly thermally stratify to the point that you get summer fish kills.

The pond is 6ft deep in the center, which is where i would want to put the diffuser. So if i got a 7" EDI diffuser disc, do i just need a pump that can push 2cfm's at 6ft deep?

The biggest issue with the pond is is grows a lot of algae the there is little to no water movement. Its surrounded by trees so wind doesn't help much at all. Figured aeration would be better/cheaper than a water pump.

Thanks!

IMO 1 cfm at 6 ft deep would be adequate for 80000 gallons; 2cfm even better. Lots of people without aerators think the aeration will stop or strongly limit algae growth esp filamentous algae. Don't count on aeration solving the algae problems. Initially it may help somewhat, but as the pond continues to age and accumulate nutrients the algae problems almost always resume. Aeration does not precipitate nutrients, at least no one has proven it to me by using solid, reproducable testing.

This is hopefully my last question. When you say "big lily pond air pump", are you refering to something like this http://store.aquascapeinc.com/p/pond-air-4?pp=20

It seems very cheap compared to a 1/8 hp pump, but it also seems to be on the large size of ornamental pond pumps. Thoughts?

Something like that but more like one with a single outlet. Look into the EcoPlus Commercial7 air pumps largest model or other similar units; that are called linear air pumps. There are various models or sizes. Shop around for best price and shipping for your location.
http://www.amazon.com/EcoPlus-Commercial-Air-Single-Outlet/dp/B005DHWWGK

http://www.hiblow-usa.com/?module=Home

http://www.alita.com/airpump/

http://www.hakkoairpumps.com/prod32.html

NOTE: the Thomas pumps you originally considered will also work for your application. You have several options and choices of pumps that can provide aeration in the small pond.


Try to get one that has rebuild kits. Don't plan on those cheaper air pumps to last for as long as higher quality air compressors that can last 15-25 yrs.

There is a lot to know about pond management. You will always have more questions. We are here to help provide sound advice and not mainly to sell stuff.