Cecil,
Are you pumping water thru it from a ground well only, or are you also pumping pond water thru it?
Ground water well only. Well only runs from Apr-May to the end of August and is used primarily to keep the pond cool enough for the trout and to flush out some metabolic products.
What type of plastic media?
I don't remember what this particular type is called but it's not the Koch material that some use. It really doesn't matter what type you use. It's more important to use the size that is recommended for your flow rate.
Here are a couple of pictures of what I use.
Like I said in a previous post it's entirely possible one does not need to use a packed column to aerate well water for a pond situation even with trout. When I get a breather from the taxidermy work load I will check D.O.levels before and after re-installation of the packed column. I've been dropping the well water into the pit and then into the trout pond via an upturned elbow and the trout seem to be doing fine. The packed column was a recommendation from a consultant, and I have since found several things that were suggested that were not only unnecessary but actually wouldn't work!
I am also considering pumping water from my well to the pond this winter to help keep pond level up, cause my gravity feed pipes from the stream freeze-up.
I would recommend figuring out how to prevent your inflow from freezing up in the winter vs. the expense of a well.
