There have been a number of people saying that they can't run an aerator because they don't have power at their pond, or because they can't get a windmill close to their pond. Well, what is your defination of "close"? A friend and fellow PondMeister has ponds that are a long ways away from power, and with trees all around the ponds, the only open area is 900 feet (yes, that is not a typo) away from one of the ponds. He went with Turbo Jet Stream by Superior Windmill aerators, and ran the standard 1/2" or 5/8" I.D. air line from the windmills to the ponds. I don't know what diffuser he has, but the system was designed by Turbo Jet Stream by Superior Windmill (they're in Canada, correct?). Here's what the ponds look like after a week of below freezing temps, with a few days in the single digits:

I know some people that can push hot air a long ways too!

The windmills for the ponds in the above pictures are:
Turbo Jet Stream by Superior Windmill.

One of the windmills is 900 feet away from the pond.
We used a 3/8” polytubing air line.

This is the second winter we are using the Turbo Jet Stream Windmill, so far without any problems.

Thank you, esshup, for posting the pictures. And sorry for not giving you the precise information for the windmills.

Cecil you better pray that your baby YP and baby BG survive the winter in these ponds.

Friz, the black tubing that I saw in the concrete boxes was 1/2" i.d. (I thought). I grabbed one of the splice connectors that was laying on the ground and I could swear that it was 1/2", but I've been wrong before!

I'll change the post to reflect the correct windmill.

They have much better odds at their size with low water than larger fish. If you need more in the spring I will probably have them as I am in the process of bringing them inside now.

Let's hope for the best!

Low water is right. My pond is as low as it was in the Fall of 2008 after the renovation, and his ponds are down between 6' and 8' (guesstimate).

Thank you.

What about with a Vertex systems? How far can you push air with them. Living in central Ohio, would I bury the airline below the freeze level, maybe in some pipe, bringing it out at the pond?

I don't know. I have the manifold with pressure gauge ready to install on those windmill aerators, and I should have pressure readings later on next week. It was too cold yesterday to install them, the high was only 9°F here.

Hey there thefishman! Our systems can push air thousands of feet if you use 1" PVC from the power source to the edge of the pond. You wouldn't need to worry about burying it too deep either. When running and burying smaller ID tubing you would need to be careful not to have any dips in the line for condensation to accumulate and then it would be helpful to bury it below the frost line or insulate the airline.

Hey Sue,

What about using PEX Tube? If the unthinkable happens like a line freezing, at least it wont burst.

Hey JKB! It would take an awful lot of condensation to freeze a 1" PVC line, I have never heard of one bursting, but 1" Poly tubing would work as well.

Since we are on the subject of winter aeration, I received this picture from a Vertex user ~ it is such a beautiful wintery image of the pond and the injured mute swan that resides in the pond. This guy really loves this swan and hand feeds him every day ~