Pond Boss Forums AERATION Systems questions Surface or Diffused for shallow pond

I am new to pond ownership and would like to add an aeration system to my pond to help keep the fish healthy and clear up the water.

My pond is approx. 1.5 acres. It is very long and narrow (approx. 40ft wide in the center, 60ft wide on each end, and 400~500ft long). The center has an average depth of 3.5ft. The end sections average 5ft deep.

The bottom is covered with 4~5" of dark gray mud. The water is not too murky, but is slightly brown.

The pond is home to largemouth bass, crappie, redear, bluegill, yellow-bellied catfish, and grass carp. Most of the fish are relatively small. There are a few nice sized largemouths that I believe were transplanted into the pond.

I was thinking of putting some type of aeration in each of the larger end sections. I was thinking of using a diffuser system with a 1/4 hp vane type pump and two diffusers. I have electricity at only one end of the pond which would make installing this type of system easier.

Does this sound OK for the pond described above, or should I be using surface aeration?

Any feedback will be greatly appreciated.

At this time I have not used a difuser type system so can not tell you if it would be sucessful in your situation. You can look at a system that will aerate from the end of the pond where you have electricity and combine a circulation pump to help move the water. Which way are your prevailing winds? You may get some help moving the water if it mainly blows from the end of the pond where you have electricity. Difusers do an ecelent job of moving water from bottom to top and will aeriate better than most systems, but 400 feet is a long way to run hose. You may only have to run 200 feet of hose and the rest of the pond will benefit from it. Good luck!

Peppy,
I'm no expert but with those depths 3.5' to 5' I don't think you need or will benifit from aeration. You should not have oxygen deficient water in a pond that shallow.

You are right about not having low oxygen levels, but depending upon the amount of runoff into the pond he could get a plankton overbloom and on a cloudy day he could get an oxygen depletion quick as a blink ( learned that one the hard way!) More information on the amount of runoff, fertilization, and other management techniques would help determine the need for an aerator.

I also read in a previous post on another topic area that an aerator may not be needed in the shallower end of your pond, simply because the wind and wave action is able to "roll over" your water from 6' down (correct?). Any deeper than that, and you won't get full de-stratification. I have an irregular shaped pond (L-shaped) and no electricity near by. Not even close. But, my pond is in the middle of a open field, which usually has a good steady diet of wind passing through from every direction. Hence, I am considering a windmill aerator, but must make a choice between placing it in one area of the pond or another (until or unless I get another aerator). I was thinking of placing the diffuser in the deeper section of the pond (about one acre in size) to get the best benefit from the aerator. Does anyone agree this is the best strategy, considering my circumstances? Is it true that shallower water does not necessarily need to be aerated? Any other suggestions?? Thanks. I could use the advice!

Mark,

You stated that electricity wasn't available close...but I learned from this august Board (Bill Cody in particular) that you can push air a very long distance. Based on that advice, I installed an aeration system and pushed the air over well 600 feet to the pond edge and another 400 feet into the pond to the diffusers. It is working spectacularly without any discernable air pressure loss.

The main thing to remember when pushing air long distances 500-600+ft, it is better to use the next size larger diameter hose, at least for the under ground part. then in the pond you can use the smaller dia hose. Instead of 1/2" use 3/4" or 1" in the ground; then in the water you can use 1/2" (actiual ID 5/8") for black poly pipe.

Thanks, guys. If I can stretch soemthing. I'll try. I know there seems to be an aversion to windmill aerators. Are they really that worthless??

Back to one of my questions, am I right on the diffuser placement and the fact that the shallow portion of the pond can manage without aeration, if necessary, because of wind/wave turnover?

It isn't that windmills are worthless, If you have steady winds, they can be an option.
If the pond is in a remote locale (no elect. availible) they may be the only option.
If the wind fails you when you need it most. You're screwed.

Thanks, Ric. I would be screwed, you're right, but no worse than if I had no aeration at all??

Mark,
I hope Bill or James or someone smart will respond as I am usually just repeating what someone with knowledge has advised before. I would suggest searching for posts on aeration.
If one is trying to maximize fish production of a pond it is usually desirable to maintain 18" to 24" vis which is acheived by fertilizing or natural run-off of nutrients. In this scenario it would be desirable to have & not loose aeration. I think if maximum fish production is a goal windmills alone would be chancy.
I'm not sure if loss of aeration would be as much of a concern if one does not have a fertile pond.

peppy - your average pond depths are pretty shallow. I hope you have significient areas that are deeper. If not then I'm not sure how much it would benefit you to go to the expense of installing aeration. The shallow nature of your pond is very conducive to growth of rooted plants and this is why you probably have the grass carp. If it was my pond, I would be saving my money to redig the pond and build it with deeper depths and probably less surface drainage runoff. Changing the shape to more round would also be beneficial. From your short description, I assume the pond has lots of water runoff and weed problems. However investing in aeration would not be a waste of money because you can still use the system if you redig the pond. I'm just not sure how much it would benefit your current pond situation. I don't want to mislead you to think aeration wil solve a lot of your problems. The shape and depths of your pond ccontribute to a lot of its problems.

They sell (sometimes special order) 1/2" black polethyelene water line (irregation use style) in 400 ft lengths so you would not need to splice several 100 ft secions.

Just some information to help you make a decision. My 1.1 ac pond has 7 acs runoff area (not good). It's average depth is 6' and is in the open flat part of SW Louisiana. For 6 years we had no problem with anything, but things are always changing in a pond environment, and we had out die off due to a phytoplankton overbloom due to uncontrollable weather conditions. It never hurts to have a backup aeration system in place. You may not have to run it every year, but you can't to without it when the right,or should I say wrong, conditions occur. Get someone to visually analyse your pond for type and placement of an aeration system. One day you will be glad you did. Losing a pond is like losing your old hunting dog, you can replace him, but it sure hurts for a while!

Thanks to all who have given me some advice, input, and opinion. Given my open field conditions, my logistical obtacles with electricity, and the benefits of some aeration versus no aeration, I will take the plunge and get a windmill. I will make sure the diffuser is set at the pond's deepest point and hope that the setup will at least help the quality of my pond until I can someday afford to have it re-dug and downsized at the same time. It has to help in some respects.

Mark If you get one of those new style twin diaphragm windmills you could probably run two diffusers. Each diffuser would receive as much air as that produced by a single diaphragm windmill.

Ooops! I posted my reply to you under the wrong forum topic. Sorry. Does Koenders have that twin diffuser? Or can you direct me to where I can get something like that? Would that be two diffusers at the same spot or split into two different areas of the pond?