Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations the beach clean-up and Lake Georgetopia

Well I got my new 12V DC aerator this weekend and I had the time to add Ag-lime to Georgetopia as well, so I figured it would be one long day, but it would be worth it!!

As it turns out, it was a very long day but I made a lot of progress out at the farm. First off, I got the burn pile going again and I then turned my attention to Georetopia. It needed some ag-lime and since the day was beautiful, I figured that should be first on the list. I got about 700Lbs of ag-lime and got busy. I had to use a shovel to toss it into Georgetopia because I can not maneuver the tractor very well around the new pond. It took a while, but I got it all mixed in to the pond.

I them turned my attention to the new aerator. I think I may be the first one to get Kasco's new 12V DC aerator. It is based on their 12V emergency aerator, but I plan to use mine full time to grow lots of CNBG and Tilapia in Georgetopia. It did not take long to assemble the unit, and soon I was off to Georgetopia with my new aertator. Installing it in Georgetopia was pretty easy. The first thing I did at that point was to run it off of the tractor's battery both with the engine running and with it turned off to see how much water the system would throw.




Here you can see how much water the aerator is throwing and how little action makes it to the shoreline. I believe I should not have an erosion issue running this aerator.



After getting the aerator up and running, it was time to get the solar system set up and get it charging the batteries! It took four trips to the barn to get everything needed out to Georgetopia, but after some needed prep-work the system started to come together nicely.

I then tried the aerator with the batteries in a very weakend condition to see how much water it could move when the batteries were nearly flat. Here is what I saw.



As you can see, even when the batteries are nearly dead, they can still cause the aerator to move enough water to make a difference.

The last two pictures have to be viewed several times to grasp the real issue I am fighting. Here you can see the mirror smooth surface of Georgetopia while the big pond has a lot of wave action due to the +10 knots of wind blowing from south to north (right to left). While the big pond is being naturally aerated, Georgetopia is receiving none of that natural goodness.






All in all, even though the solar system is setup in a temporary configuration, I should be good to go until I can make a more permanent install. All of the panels are zip tied together on top and bottom and they are tied to the containers of dirt weighing around 70 LBS each.

I'll be back to the farm in a day or so and I'll let you guys know how the water quality has improved.

On a side note, I have asked Kasco if they would make a three bladed prop for the 12V Dc aerator. I believe it would be more efficient and could make this system even better. I'll let you know how that goes.