I don't know much about aeration systems and even less about solar aeration systems. That being said, I'll offer a couple of observations.
If you have water depth of ten feet or less, especially if eight feet or less, I have seen nothing that can touch the efficiency from a power consumption standpoint of a linear motor diaphragm pump. At low head pressures, they put out lots of cfm's with little power input. I would think they would be a good candidate for solar power systems, if the water depth limit fits the application.
An inverter wastes some energy, that is certain. But there are already "off the shelf" solutions that can automatically shut themselves off when battery power reaches critical low situations. This requires battery(s), but also gives the potential to run the system at night. It also avoids any computer controller specifically to protect a DC system to make sure it does not try to run under a too low power situation. Inverter runs till battery reaches a too low power situation and automatically shuts itself down. Ready made off the shelf. From a "DIY" standpoint that feature and simplicity of operation would be a desirable feature to me.
Just ramblings from someone who has not tried any of this. I do use linear pumps for my aeration system though, but it has only been running since this spring.
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