Pond Boss Forums AERATION Systems questions Aerate correctly?

MF - The only problem that I see with this method/concept in your situation is that your compressor is by my standards slightly undersized for the size of pond (1 acre) that you have. I typically like to see more cfm (3.5-4.5) delivered to the diffuser/s in a pond that is sized similar to yours. More air in cfm produces more bubbles from the diffuser thus you will usually get more water moved or distributed at the surface due to more bubbles ascending and displacing water. Movement of water at the surface compared to at the origin of the diffuser is due to the expanding or widening of the bubble plume as it rises to the surface.

In lower cfm aerator units (1.0-2.0cfm) such as yours, it is very important to choose a proven, very efficient membrane diffuser such as Vertex's fine bubble model. Greater effeciency at the diffuser is important here because it results in more water movement/flow at the surface per unit of air which in turn results in more rapid water column turnover. The lower the cfms the more important it becomes to have an energy efficient diffuser because you do not have a lot of surplus air to be "wasted".

Bottom line is that with your lower cfm compresor (1.5cfm) you will have to run your unit longer (probably at least 2X) to get the equivalent amount of water turnover compared to if you were applying twice as much air with the same horsepower to the same diffuser or larger diffuser. In theory the run time may be actually be more than 2X because with more cfm applied to the diffuser, you could be operating a larger sized (diameter) diffuser or multiple diffusers which would initiate a bigger beginning area of bubble pattern which would then be compounded as it asended and expanded toward the surface. A stronger more forceful boil at the surface will have more momentum/energy as it spreads the upwelling water outward. Thus the resultant mixing will be more complete compared to that of one with weaker forces from a smaller boil.

Initially, I think you need to operate your aerator maybe 24/7 for a week to "completely?" destratify your pond, measure bottom temps and then in June or July start cutting back on run times and monitor the resultant bottom water temps. Always keep in mind that you will likely obtain cooler bottom water temps the farther you test away from the differer plume. Keep good notes!. Experimentation with temperature testing will verify if this applies to your situation.

I and others would be very interested in any data or results that you collect from this project. Thanks. BC