To be honest with you I've used both fountain and aerator and would go with the areator over the fountain anyday.I still use my fountain on weekends or if were hanging out in the yard for looks . The cheapest way I would recomend you to go is check out ebay and look under compressors. I 've got a 1/3 hp gast compressor off there for $90.00. Go through paypal to make any $ transitions. I used waterline 1/2 '' for my airline and weighted it down with cinder blocks and used a soakerhose placed in a weighted down 5 gallon bucket for a diffuser.Total cost was less than $200.00. Run 24-7 and your pond will clear up and look much better. Good luck .