Pond Boss Forums AERATION Systems questions DIY aeration - what pump to buy?

I am overwhelmed by the amount of info in this forum! We bought an old farm house 3 yrs ago, which had a HUMONGOUS delapidated barn that the bank insisted we either renovated or tore down before they would finance our mortgage. So, down it came. It was banked in, and the crew who removed the barn dug a pond for us for a great deal since all their equipment was there anyway. Meaning we didn't have a chance to do homework before we had it constructed. It's a .33 acre pond, 18" from being full, 12' max depth. We are having some problems with water quality - very opaque water, FA (none floating), and the dog REEKS after he swims in it (and he's getting tired of daily baths haha).

So...right now I'm thinking an aerator needs to be the first step. We are low on extra funds right now. The old farm house we bought has eaten up all of our $$$ with hidden problems/repairs, from all new carpeting and drywall to ending up needing a new geothermal furnace, water heater, and well dug. We are the type of folks who can always find a way to make things ourselves anyway. I would love your expertise here in selecting an affordable pump. We will house the pump in a garage and run hosing (trenched) to the pond, and sink a diffuser. I found some older threads with pump recommendations but the links to the product pages no longer work.

THANK YOU in advance, and I hope you have the time to answer a question or two!

Hi Countrylife. Welcome to the forum.

I don't know where you are in Indiana, or if you see this in time, but look at this thread about a PondBoss gathering happening today. There should be several people there that could help you with ideas.

http://forums.pondboss.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=344438#Post344438

Thanks for the info - unfortuanately today is not a good day for a last minute road trip...too bad I didn't join this forum sooner!

First off, I know nothing about aerators. However, I have been around here long enough to know that a lot of folks here have used RC51's system as a DIY. I am sure if he sees this, he will chime in. Till then here is a link to a thread with some of that info.

http://forums.pondboss.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=280000&page=1

countrylife,

Hey welcome to the PBF!! My DIY system is just that. I too was tight for money at the time. I will P.M. you with some info that may get you started down the right road. I been using my current system for 4 years now. No problems what so ever. Keep in mind my system is made for a 1 acre pond or less about 8 to 10 feet deep. So if your pond is 10 feet deep and you put your station on a foot high crate or something like that to keep it up off the bottom you should be good to go. I will PM you some info.

RC

Ted Lea and Highflyer did some testing on my pond using different pumps, testing air volume, etc. and found some VERY interesting info. Ted is driving back today, but I hope he'll post what he found.

A teaser. All pumps are not created equal, and all volume specs are not what they seem to be in regards to volume of air pumped vs. diffuser depths.