RLewis :

Please don't take my prior comment as being opposed to aeration . I think aeration is a very good tool when use correctly especially in small ponds. My warning has to do with timing and getting it right the first time . Let me be clear you can start an aeration project using bottom diffusers now but it must be done correctly. Without the correct equipment for your pond and correct installation and start up to match your DO status you could cause a DO reduction in the top 4 feet of your pond and as a consequence kill your fish. August is a brutal mth. in Miss. for DO problems . Just last week there was a large fish kill at Raymond Lake which DEQ thinks was the result of DO problems.

With low DO levels in most small ponds in cent. Miss. at this time of year if you start an aeration project and mix deeper unoxygenated water with low DO surface water and do not quickly get enough additional O2 from the aeration you may pull the DO level in top 4 ft. below that needed to sustain life in your fish. Again see Bill Cody's post regarding improper mixing. If I were going to start an aeration project now I would start a system that only added O2 to the surface waters and as water cooled in fall move to bottom diffusers.

BM I would think that a half acre pond would need less compressor capicity than a larger pond but I only know enough about correct size to be dangerous and I would not give anyone advice based on my knowledge level. ewest