Cecil, I don't have any aeration going in the pond, just the circulator that keeps a small area around the Barge open. The open area is less then one percent of the pond surface area.
Same effect really don't you think? IMHO A shallow water diffuser is not a big oxygen producer but a circulator that keeps some water open during winter.
Additionally you have some good deep water in your pond vs. mine which probably helps. I get the impression your pond is not as eutrophic as mine either. I've had a lot of fish in that pond far above a normal recreation pond. At one time I had 400 largemouth up to almost 6 lbs. in this 3/4 acre pond. That's a lot of poop! Mine has a muck layer and can get a lot of Chara going up to three feet thick on the bottom. This stuff dies off every year and creates quite a bit of decomposed biomass.
I've noticed a lot of people call the diffuser systems we use aerators. To me aeration is small part of what they do, and in reality they are more of a pond mixer than anything else don't you think? And in winter set in shallow water they pretty much just keep water open.
Are your efforts with the diffuser opeining areas helping with your D.O. issues? I hope so!
My Kasco 1/2 hp surface aerator (the one that shoots water up vigorously with a propeller) is now worth it's weight in gold. The $800.00 price tag last summer smarted but I'm glad I got it this year. My former perch supplier said you never know when it could come in handy. He was right!
