Pond Boss Forums AERATION Systems questions new 1/10 acre pond - YP,FH, Trout and maybe SMB

Now that I have the pond excavated, filled and partially stocked, I am eager to get aeration started. I just ordered a GAST 0523 pump and a 9" membrane diffuser to get started.

Since I plan on having a few trout in there how should I use the diffuser? The guy at the fish farm told me to put it 2/3 the depth of the pond deep and run it 24/7 to establish the thermocline at a lower depth. I have read on this forum that it should only be run when temps are below 70, so I wasn�t sure if I should trust the advice on the depth.

Any suggestions?

I can only tell you what works for me. I set mine on the bottom in the deepest water, but only run it at night. However, I am also running in a substantial amount of ground water. (about 41 gpms in my 1/10th acre pond.) If you are not doing so then you may want to follow his advice. If you are not adding aerated groundwater I'm skeptical you will able to keep trout though the summer unless you have some special conditions.

I only have 1 12" rainbow in there right now and I plan to watch the water temps this summer to see if it they will work before adding anymore. I wish there was some way to check on the trout through this process. I haven�t seen it since I put it in the pond in March.

I have a water line that goes to the pond but I could only get 12 gpm out of my well. Maybe it would be enough to keep the thermocline from getting too deep.

The only special conditions I have are 25' deep section of the pond with most of the pond between 10-15' deep and being in one of the cloudiest states in the US. Hopefully the depth will provide some pockets of suitable water for the trout to make it through.