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#490458 05/22/18 01:50 PM
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I need to get an aerator installed and am looking at an EasyPro120 kit(comes with double rubber diffuser and 50' of sinking line. The sales rep and specs say it will operate in 12' of water, which is the depth I need to set it. As far as I can tell, it's a Gast product as all the replacement parts are Gast. Does anyone have any first hand experience with this set-up? Any information would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in Advance


.10 surface acre pond, 10.5 foot deep. SW LA. The epitome of a mutt pond. BG, LMB, GSF, RES, BH, Warmouth, Longear Sunfish, Gambusia,Mud Minnows, Crappie, and now shiners!!...I subscribe!!
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I still haven't hot my aerator system yet, but I've got a question regarding aeration in the winter for a very southern pond. I'm just slightly north of the I10 corridor, so winter freezes are never going to be an issue in my mind. I intend to aerate at night during the hot months and during the day during the cold months. Here's the question...

In this situation, would it better to leave the diffuser at it's set depth (approx 7 feet w/ a 10.5 max depth) or move it shallower during the colder months?

FYI...Shallower water is very limited.

Last edited by Mike Whatley; 07/23/18 04:46 PM.

.10 surface acre pond, 10.5 foot deep. SW LA. The epitome of a mutt pond. BG, LMB, GSF, RES, BH, Warmouth, Longear Sunfish, Gambusia,Mud Minnows, Crappie, and now shiners!!...I subscribe!!
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Originally Posted By: Mike Whatley
I still haven't hot my aerator system yet, but I've got a question regarding aeration in the winter for a very southern pond. I'm just slightly north of the I10 corridor, so winter freezes are never going to be an issue in my mind. I intend to aerate at night during the hot months and during the day during the cold months. Here's the question...

In this situation, would it better to leave the diffuser at it's set depth (approx 7 feet w/ a 10.5 max depth) or move it shallower during the colder months?

FYI...Shallower water is very limited.


Other than to keep ice away, I see no reason to aerate in the winter.

Last edited by Clay N' Pray; 07/23/18 05:57 PM.

Half acre 30 year old farm pond, Mebane NC. Aeration & feeder.
LMB, CC, SC, BG, HBC, two no account welfare carp and nine seasonal Tilapia that all the other fish are terrified of.

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My only reasoning for winter aeration would be to try to maintain a relatively warmer water column. I would have to shut it down in extreme cold to prevent over cooling. Warmer water, in my mind's eye would relate to better growth thru the winter. But, that's why I'm asking the question, Clay.


.10 surface acre pond, 10.5 foot deep. SW LA. The epitome of a mutt pond. BG, LMB, GSF, RES, BH, Warmouth, Longear Sunfish, Gambusia,Mud Minnows, Crappie, and now shiners!!...I subscribe!!
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You may wanna look into an outlet that is thermostatically controlled. For example, have it set to run when it is over 60 degrees in the winter.


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Mike,
If your pond is 1/10th of an acre and you have that kind of diversity, your issues are more than when to aerate.

That said, your issues concerning temps are valid in the summer. I doubt that running your aerator in the winter will cause you any issues. Further, I don't know that you will be able to warm your water much in the winter months, but running during the daylight hours will not hurt your temps as much as it would at night.

What is your goal for aerating? If it is only water temp control, then your schedule should help. If you are trying to promote good bacteria to control muck buildup, I would run the system 24/7when possible.

In short, give us the problem you are trying to fix and the experts (not me)should be able to help you.


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My primary goal is to maintain a relatively stable temp, but I've also recently started developing some FA, not bad yet, mostly around the shallows but you can see it starting to grow deeper and I know it's only a matter of time before it gets widespread. Only a few small clumps floating on the surface out in the middle, but the sides are starting to get pretty covered. I think keeping my DO higher will assist in decomposing the muck that settles. My property is surrounded by leafy trees that go bare in the winter so it's starting to accumulate, although bouncing a lure off the bottom usually still comes back clean and feels solid. Strange thing is the area that I feed and the spawning area still has a clean bottom. Everywhere else is getting green.

As small as the pond is, I hope to also help increase its carrying capacity, not in numbers, but in individual weights. I think I can manage numbers thru trapping and fishing them out if the numbers get out of hand.

Anyway, that's what I'm hoping to achieve thru aerating. Figure I'll probably have to add some muck reducer at some point to assist in the decomposition.

Last edited by Mike Whatley; 07/24/18 02:56 PM.

.10 surface acre pond, 10.5 foot deep. SW LA. The epitome of a mutt pond. BG, LMB, GSF, RES, BH, Warmouth, Longear Sunfish, Gambusia,Mud Minnows, Crappie, and now shiners!!...I subscribe!!
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I bit the bullet today and placed an order for a complete aeration kit. 1/8 hp Gast Diaphram pump rated to 30 feet (I'll have it set 7-9'deep in the center of the pond), double tubular membrane diffuser on an underlaying plate, check valve and 50 ft of 3/8" sinking air line. Should be here by next weekend.

My platform of milk crates to elevate it off the bottom is sitting at the ready. I'm still trying to decide just how high to raise it. I know it should be off the bottom a little at least, but I'm not sure if I should shoot for trying to aerate the entire pond, or leave that deepest 1-3 feet to stratify. I've read arguments on both schools of thought, but I'm torn between keeping it closer to the bottom to help in reducing muck over time, or elevating it higher to provide a warmer (or cooler) layer of water on the bottom.

I'm hoping someone will provide a convincing argument on either thought.


.10 surface acre pond, 10.5 foot deep. SW LA. The epitome of a mutt pond. BG, LMB, GSF, RES, BH, Warmouth, Longear Sunfish, Gambusia,Mud Minnows, Crappie, and now shiners!!...I subscribe!!
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Whatever you set it on to raise it off the bottom I would make it out of something heavy. Whatever your diffuser base uses for weight to keep it from floating, if set on something light or worse buoyant, will have a tendency to cause your diffuser to tip over and land on its side on the bottom. Been there done that.

Best to keep the center of gravity low so when it hits the bottom it remains upright.


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IMHO,

Thinking in terms of Summer aeration. Any cooler layer of water that is left on the bottom of the pond will also likely be devoid of oxygen and therefore useless to the fish. I don't see the point of doing that.


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In the south they are concerned with super heating the entire BOW. Kind of the opposite of northern ponds being concerned with super cooling the BOW with winter time aeration.

The idea behind having some cool water left on the bottom is the fish will use the thermocline as a cool water refuge.


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snrub #494708 08/10/18 03:53 AM
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Originally Posted By: snrub
Whatever you set it on to raise it off the bottom I would make it out of something heavy. Whatever your diffuser base uses for weight to keep it from floating, if set on something light or worse buoyant, will have a tendency to cause your diffuser to tip over and land on its side on the bottom. Been there done that.

Best to keep the center of gravity low so when it hits the bottom it remains upright.


My base is 4 crates tied together with rebar tied to the outside edges for ballast, so it's bottom heavy and pretty broad. Either 1 or possibly 2 more crates can be stacked in the center of that to raise the diffuser even higher. 3 crates high is 33" tall, so that puts the diffuser at just about 7.5' deep.

Floating rope attached to each corner of the base to a single point above the assembly and a float at the top allows the whole thing to be lowered/raised. Not sure how much the diffuser weighs, but the platform is less than 10 pounds. The pond bottom in the middle is flat and as far as I know, there isn't anything significant down there it could set on top of causing it to list. The wide foot will keep everything upright.

Last edited by Mike Whatley; 08/10/18 04:33 AM.

.10 surface acre pond, 10.5 foot deep. SW LA. The epitome of a mutt pond. BG, LMB, GSF, RES, BH, Warmouth, Longear Sunfish, Gambusia,Mud Minnows, Crappie, and now shiners!!...I subscribe!!
snrub #494709 08/10/18 04:01 AM
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Originally Posted By: snrub
In the south they are concerned with super heating the entire BOW. Kind of the opposite of northern ponds being concerned with super cooling the BOW with winter time aeration.

The idea behind having some cool water left on the bottom is the fish will use the thermocline as a cool water refuge.


That's my thinking Shrub. And with my pond being as small as it is, superheating would be very easy to do when the surface (without aeration) has reached 98 degrees. Summer aeration at night and winter during the day should help maintain a relatively stable water temp....in my thinking anyway.

Last edited by Mike Whatley; 08/10/18 04:35 AM.

.10 surface acre pond, 10.5 foot deep. SW LA. The epitome of a mutt pond. BG, LMB, GSF, RES, BH, Warmouth, Longear Sunfish, Gambusia,Mud Minnows, Crappie, and now shiners!!...I subscribe!!
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I HAVE AN AREATOR!!!!

The UPS truck arrived around 5 and by 6 it was completely assembled. Decided not to use the plate as it was kinda flimsy, so I attached the diffusers to the top crate of the pedestal and ran the air line up thru the base. Attached 4 railroad spikes instead of rebar for ballast and it sank staight down. Put the pump down by the pond and ran a heavy extension cord to it for the time being. Estimated depth is 8 foot and man, what a boil that 1/8hp diaphram pump creates!!

Let it run about 15 minutes, but never did catch scent of any fowl odor. It did kick up some color tho. (Kinda grey & silty) Tomorrow I'll let it run for 30 minutes and see if the smell gets worst.

Last edited by Mike Whatley; 08/14/18 07:35 PM.

.10 surface acre pond, 10.5 foot deep. SW LA. The epitome of a mutt pond. BG, LMB, GSF, RES, BH, Warmouth, Longear Sunfish, Gambusia,Mud Minnows, Crappie, and now shiners!!...I subscribe!!
snrub #494870 08/14/18 08:38 PM
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Congrats on the new system!

Originally Posted By: snrub
In the south they are concerned with super heating the entire BOW. Kind of the opposite of northern ponds being concerned with super cooling the BOW with winter time aeration.

The idea behind having some cool water left on the bottom is the fish will use the thermocline as a cool water refuge.


Snrub - I get that, but wouldn't that cooler layer still be low or no DO and unusable to the fish?

To prevent super heating couldn't he just run at night and/or shorten the duration.

Last edited by wbuffetjr; 08/15/18 06:11 AM.

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That is the way some are doing it from what I understand.

I'm not sure it is a completely settled science. I'll leave it to the experts for recommendations.


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I ran the system for 15 minutes yesterday following the advised startup procedure. I didn't detect anything foul smelling at that time.

Today I started it up and spent quite a bit of time downwind of the boil and still couldn't smell anything bad. I smelt my neighbors fresh cut grass 100 feet away but nothing from the pond. I assume this is partially due to the pond's age (2 y/o now), and having the diffusers elevated. I let the system run for two hours today.

All this being said, should I still gradually increase run times or would it be safe to go to an 8 -12 hour run cycle?


.10 surface acre pond, 10.5 foot deep. SW LA. The epitome of a mutt pond. BG, LMB, GSF, RES, BH, Warmouth, Longear Sunfish, Gambusia,Mud Minnows, Crappie, and now shiners!!...I subscribe!!
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Originally Posted By: wbuffetjr
Congrats on the new system!

Originally Posted By: snrub
In the south they are concerned with super heating the entire BOW. Kind of the opposite of northern ponds being concerned with super cooling the BOW with winter time aeration.

The idea behind having some cool water left on the bottom is the fish will use the thermocline as a cool water refuge.


Snrub - I get that, but wouldn't that cooler layer still be low or no DO and unusable to the fish?

To prevent super heating couldn't he just run at night and/or shorten the duration.


I think of it like this....without aeration, surface temps in my pond reach mid to upper 90s, but my fish still come to feed. Once done, they go deeper. The same pertains to that lower level. They will hang out right on top of the stratification line. They dont like that warm water, but they'll use it to feed short term, just like they dont like low DO, but they'll use the cooler water as long as good oxygen is easily reached.

I used to fish 40-50 bass tournaments a year and was a tournament director for the S.E. U.S. One of the biggest factors in locating fish is finding the thermocline. You'll always see the fish hanging right above it on your electronics. They can dip down into it if it gets too warm, but come right back into higher O2 levels when need be.

Last edited by Mike Whatley; 08/15/18 08:31 PM.

.10 surface acre pond, 10.5 foot deep. SW LA. The epitome of a mutt pond. BG, LMB, GSF, RES, BH, Warmouth, Longear Sunfish, Gambusia,Mud Minnows, Crappie, and now shiners!!...I subscribe!!
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Ran the system for a total of 10 hours yesterday, 4 hours of the afternoon and 6 hours last night. Haven't seen any change in surface temps so far. I checked it at 3:30 this afternoon and it was still mid 90's. What I did notice was the fish weren't nearly as enthusiastic on the feed today. They did eat everything, but they were more content to feed subsurfacely, instead of thrashing on top. I dont see any signs of stress. The water is a nice, olive green and visibility is approximately 24-30 inches.

Has anyone else experienced this?

I plan to continue expanding the run times until I reach 12 hours, running only at night now since I'm on a timer. Tonight's run is planned for 8 hours.


.10 surface acre pond, 10.5 foot deep. SW LA. The epitome of a mutt pond. BG, LMB, GSF, RES, BH, Warmouth, Longear Sunfish, Gambusia,Mud Minnows, Crappie, and now shiners!!...I subscribe!!
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The aeration startup at my pond messed with the feeding of the fish for at least a week, but i had just got the fish to eat at a decent pace prior to adding air. They had just got used to the pond (recent stocking) and my feeding schedule, then I hit them with some air and turbidity.

It all came around a few weeks into it all. No worries.


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Thanks for that insight QA.

I was thinking there may need to be some adjustment time with a big change like aeration. I don't think turbidity is an issue with the clarity of the water, but I'm sure the fish are influenced by the changes. Hopefully, once I get the system on a regular schedule they'll acclimate and feed even better.

You know how it is when you see physical changes like feeding behavior. My brain started racing!! I was hoping I wasn't hitting them too hard all at once.


.10 surface acre pond, 10.5 foot deep. SW LA. The epitome of a mutt pond. BG, LMB, GSF, RES, BH, Warmouth, Longear Sunfish, Gambusia,Mud Minnows, Crappie, and now shiners!!...I subscribe!!
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Seeing some positive signs after a few days. Feeding activity yesterday was a little better in the afternoon. I'm also seeing a lot more surface activity all over the pond (Feeding and wakes, mostly in the morning). I've also noticed increased bottom feeding by the few BH I have as their plums of bubbles are more frequent in the middle of the pond. In my mind, that's a good indicator the bottom characteristics are improving.

Turbidity is about the same, but a reading with my homemade scechi tool (white coffee mug on a yellow string with measured incremental marks) indicated visibility at about 30". That's been increasing as each day progresses, cloudy of the morning, clearer in the evenings.


.10 surface acre pond, 10.5 foot deep. SW LA. The epitome of a mutt pond. BG, LMB, GSF, RES, BH, Warmouth, Longear Sunfish, Gambusia,Mud Minnows, Crappie, and now shiners!!...I subscribe!!

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