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I have read that you should move your diffuser in the winter to a more shallow location. I am getting ready to set up a 3 station dual head diffuser system here in Kentucky. I was going to run PVC from manifold to center of a 1.7 acre pond. then run 3 100 or so foot weighted hose sections to the dual head stations off of a 3 way. The pond has two fingers and a center round area that will be 16ft deep. My idea is that I want to run one station in each finger and one in the center. All ran from one trunk line and having a ball check at the stations hose mount to control the inbound air flow.
My question is how do you guys retrieve them from below safely without damage?
Do you tie a small bumper style float 1 to 2 ft under water to grasp and pull up? I don't want to disturb the rising bubbles with rope or chain.
Any ideas or suggestions about the system will be welcome as well.
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I have small floating line tied to my diffusers that goes to duck decoys.
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Is your 3-way splitter underwater?. If yes, I do not recommend this. Usually each diffuser needs a separate valve at the manifold to control, adjust and regulate air flow to the diffuser. Diffusers at shallower depths will want to take air flow away from the deeper diffusers due to less head pressure at the shallowest diffuser. The shallowest diffuser wants all the air volume.
I tie a sun UV resistant cord, twine rope to each diffuser base that stays attached to diffuser & affixed to the closest bank all the time. Add rope when needed. Pull the rope attached to the diffuer to retrieve and install the diffuser. This works well in smaller ponds and those with minimal structure. In larger ponds with lots of shoreline structure about the only good way to move the diffuser is with a rope-float method. The float can be tied off just below the surface or just float. The float-rope attachment method will not measurably reduce bubbling nor the up-welling current/flow.
Last edited by Bill Cody; 01/01/17 02:41 PM.
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[quote=Bill Cody]Is your 3-way splitter underwater?. If yes, I do not recommend this. Usually each diffuser needs a separate valve at the manifold to control, adjust and regulate air flow to the diffuser. Diffusers at shallower depths will want to take air flow away from the deeper diffusers due to less head pressure at the shallowest diffuser. The shallowest diffuser wants all the air volume.
Yes my splitter would be under water. The flow valve would also be underwater just before the diffuser. Hose/Valve/Diffuser The reasoning would be to minimize the cost of each run. If I created a run from the waters edge to the furthest finger placement it would be a 300ft run under water. That is a lot of cost for weighted hose that I'm trying to get away from.
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OK - once installed do not be surprised if the air flow to each diffuser is not equal. Expect the shallowest diffuser to have the largest boil if all diffusers are the same size. If this happens you will know why. If the boils are equal consider yourself fortunate. Over time one diffuser may clog faster than the others, likely the shallowest one. This is due to more light reaching the diffuser and bacterial-algae growth will develop on the diffuser pores and gradually begin to restrict air flow. This could force more air to the deeper diffusers.
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My valves are out of the water and I have had to deal wih exactly what Bill is describing. I would definitely not put my valves under water. I think the odds are you will not be fortunate.
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A lot of For The Family's success will depend on water depth of the diffusers and less on weighted tube length of the 3 'runs'.
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OK thanks guys. I will more than likely than rethink the design. My wife says why not go ahead and run a single diffuser to the shallow and just turn it on and off instead of moving that big dual station. She says, "ya know, you're not getting any younger" LOL.
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The other thing you can consider doing is run a single line diffuser to deepest main part of the pond to mix the main portion of the pond. Consider enlarging this single diffuser to 3 or 4 heads for more volume mixing per hour. Depending on the pond size, shape & average depth of the pond (morphometry) the mixing by a larger diffuser may turnover an adequate portion of the pond for acceptable results. Note most water will usually naturally mix to around 5-6ft deep which means you do not really need to mechanically use diffusers in these areas.
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....My wife says why not go ahead and run a single diffuser to the shallow and just turn it on and off instead of moving that big dual station. She says, "ya know, you're not getting any younger" LOL. That's actually what I do. I have one diffuser in shallow water. That's the only one I run during the winter but I also go ahead and use it during the summer since it's there. I figure a little bit of "extra" circulation can't hurt during those hot August nights when the DO dips!
Last edited by Bill D.; 01/02/17 07:36 PM.
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Most of KY is in a climate area where winter aeration is not as important as in states where extended snow & ice cover in winter prevails. In most cases, the KY pond will have a very similar result if no aeration occurs from mid-November to mid-March compared to continuous aeration or a few hours of aeration once a day.
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That's good to know. I will have to experiment. How many manifolds do you run?
What size ID line would you need for 200ft for that 3 to 4 head diffuser?
I cut way back on electricity use in the winter. I never turn on the heat pump in the winter. We use the big ole wood stove. It works like a champ so this will also go right in line with the relief after fall.
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Most of KY is in a climate area where winter aeration is not as important as in states where extended snow & ice cover in winter prevails. In most cases, the KY pond will have a very similar result if no aeration occurs from mid-November to mid-March compared to continuous aeration or a few hours of aeration once a day. There ya go. If you don't have extended periods of ice and snow, there is no need to worry about moving a diffuser. I do have a question. You said you will be running PVC to the middle of the pond and then branching out from there. How are you going to weight the PVC so it will stay down?
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Through the holes on cinder blocks. 3 maybe 4 blocks......1 10-15ft out from the bank and 1, 2ft away from the splitter, (maybe 1 or 2 in the middle). I would glue all the PVC sticks together to create my run. I would take my 60ft run and motor boat out to where I think it would be centered in the pond and lower the splitter/3 way/hoses with a block on it via looped string. Then from the bank take each block and run the pipe through the hole and slide it out to its desired spot using a string on the block. Essentially sliding it along over the pipe. Run the PVC through each block and take it toward the spot I think its needed. Essentially creating 3 to 4 PVC anchors working middle, back to bank adding 1 block at a time. I think of it like adding beads to a necklace. Over time I figure my blocks would sink slightly into the ponds bottom become part of the pond and becoming more solid as time goes on.
I thought about using spray expansion foam to seal the PVC inside each block, but didn't want to introduce that chemical into my water.
Last edited by For the Family; 01/03/17 04:26 AM.
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Rethink your method to weight down the PVC. Even consider using another type of pipe such as 1/2" or 3/4" polyethylene black irrigation type pipe. Do not overweight your underwater airline. You may need to remove it in 1, 5, 10, 15, 20 yrs. After 10 years the cement blocks could be completely submerged in pond muck. Any excess weight will make the line removal or adjustment job cause a lot of cussing and wishing I would not have done that. For 1/2" black poly and 5/8"ID garden hose (both same ID) it takes 1/2 lb of weight per foot to keep it on the bottom same and 5/8" ID weighted airline -100ft weighs 50 lb. For weights consider stranded cable wrapped around the hose, homemade weights of used galvanized pipe, rebar-rerod, heavy chain, bricks strapped to the pipe, PVC pipe filled with cement. Use just enough weight to hold it on the bottom - no more. Diffusers should be lifted each year and cleaned despite what sales promos tell you.
Airline ID really depends on the amount of air volume you are pusning through the pipe. For up to 5cfm you can use 5/8" no problem for all airline runs up to 500ft. Branches can be 1/2"ID. I operate an equivalent of six 9" membrane diffusers (3 stations) with my 0523 GAST rotary vane pump all with 5/8"ID airline.
One diffuser(tube style) that I remove each winter receives air from a 5/8"ID good quality garden hose with life-time guarantee (consider kink proof style). I use it as a demonstrator. Hose is non-weighted and floats until it has to sink from weight of the diffuser&base. Whenever this floating hose sinks, I know the check valve is sticking-leaking at the diffuser allowing water into the airline. It has been operating very well for 16yrs; still going strong. I install it with a boat and remove it in November by pulling on the hose.
Last edited by Bill Cody; 01/03/17 02:37 PM.
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I put mine in a barrel cut in half. It is easy to pull in.
Cody Note: John a barrel cut in half. Does this result in upright cylinder or a round bottom longer dish type shape (upright cylinder sliced vertically)?
Last edited by Bill Cody; 01/04/17 12:18 PM.
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Round bottom. Cut the barrel long way. Helps to keep dirt out of diffuser.
Last edited by john kelsey; 01/05/17 05:27 PM.
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This is what I did to make my diffusers easy to move with my boat. I have a lot of structure placed around the pond making moving them from the shore problematic. diffuser base A rope and float is attached to each base.
John
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