Pond Boss Forums AERATION Systems questions changing my aeration set up

My experience is depending on age, clarity, and nutrient condition(how eutrophic) of the pond, the water below the diffuser will develop anoxic conditions (no DO) starting from the pond sediment toward the bottom of the diffuser. Top water will not normally mix below the diffuser and DO in the water below the diffuser, will after aerator starts, will gradually be consumed. The rate that this happens will basically depend on the eutrophic condition of the pond. Eutrophic condition can be estimated by testing or measuring the BOD (biological oxygen demand). There is also COD (chemical oxygen demand) that plays a role in evaluating the eutrophic nature of water bodies.

When all the water below the diffuser has DO at or below 2ppm basically no fish will actively live there unless the water clarity (secchi disk reading) is 6ft or greater.

Instead of installing your diffuser under a float why not mount in on a PVC frame or similar stand that sits 1-3ft above the bottom? But remember the 'summer' water mixing / circulation does not normally extend below the bottom of the diffuser head. Thus if you are trying to not agitate as much sediment these diffuser placements will do that. However the amount or extent of bottom sediment agitation is really unknown. If the pond is a fairly new pond and is somewhat turbid it can take a few years for a biological "skin" to develop on the entire bottom which helps a lot to clear the overall pond water (improve clarity). The biological skin can take the form of plant life - vegetation or attached algae (aka periphyton or epipelic algae).

Since you are in MI and in a cooler climate with a pond that has turbidity issues try running the aerator fewer hours per day. I would need more details about your aerator system and pond conditions to make a good estimate for daily aerator run time to improve water clarity.