Pond Boss Forums AERATION Systems questions Please help me design my aeration system

O.K. I had thought I answered this, but I have no idea where the post went to....

You have roughly 5.9 million gallons of water in the pond. You want to bring that volume of water to the surface at least once every 24 hr, if not twice. 2 diffusers stations can move that volume of water, but they have an area of influence too, so to cover the complete pond I'd like to see 3 diffusers stations, one in the deepest part and two more in 7-8 ft water depth. Take a look at the Vertex site, they have a chart for GPM moved per diffuser station.

Getting the pond aerated correctly will help reduce the amount of muck that builds up in the pond, and that is a goal for a swimming pond, right?

I would place a 1/2 hp compressor near the barn in a cabinet with sound deadening material lining it (Vertex has them), run 1" poly down to the pond edge to a remote manifold box, and run the weighted lines into the pond from there. I would get a remote manifold box that has extra outlets, and place 2 more diffusers in the pond in 5' of water, close enough to shore that if something went into the pond during the winter, it could get to shore to get out and not have to try to climb up on the ice to get out. Those diffusers would just be run in the winter. Switch off the deeper diffusers for the winter.

While you don't *have to* have winter aeration, bacteria to chew up muck works much faster when it has O2, and it will work even during the winter. You can also add bacteria to the pond to reduce the muck, but it all depends on your pocketbook - it isn't inexpensive, but if the goal is to have a pond to swim in, the less muck the better.

As for plants, look at American Pondweed, and the different types of Eelgrass. The nutrients are coming into the pond in the form of leaves, so having something to utilize the nutrients before they grow algae is your goal. Ponds with large underwater weed plant colonies typically have clear water.

If you want a more detailed aeration information, PM me your e-mail address.