Pond Boss Forums AERATION Systems questions Time for a bigger aerator

I have a 1/4 acre pond with a max depth of about 10'. Most of the spring and summer I have water running out the over flow. I have been aerating the pond for the last two years with a easy pro linear pump. I talked to a pond biologist that said I would have a much clearer and healthier pond with a bigger aerator. He suggested a Gast rotary vein aerator. Do you think this would be an over kill?

Is it pumping to the 10' depth, or is it in shallower water? The larger pump may be required to get down to a greater depth. You may have more issues causing the water quality such as muddy or other run-off, etc. The color of your pond may give a clue.

I do have the diffuser in about the 10' range. The water has never been crystal clear but that could be because the pond is clay lined. I use blue dye. Last year I used a floc log and introduced pond bacteria and that really helped to clear the water but that gets expensive. I'm looking at an used 1/3 hp Gast aerator on ebay, do you think that would be too much for the size of my pond? I thought about saving the linear pump for the winter when I move the air stone to shallower water, because I figure less air is needed then and it runs cheaper. Do you think there could be a shock factor to the fish with doing this? Thanks, Ken

I'd contact one of our resident aeration experts. I'm certainly not one but from what little I know linear pumps don't put out much PSI. That means that you are limited as to how much air flow will be achieved at a 10 foot depth. There are many variables in aeration systems including the types of diffusers used, the placement of diffusers (depth and location in the pond), duration that the system is run per day, etc, etc.

A properly designed system can be a great tool in the pond management arsenal. A poorly designed or implemented system can yield disaster.

Lets try to get you some more feedback.

Aeration experts????

I am looking to install a small Aerator. What are the benefits?
I want a solar pump, where can I get one? To start I am just looking to put air into the water, presently I have none.

I am looking to install a small Aerator. What are the benefits?
I want a solar pump, where can I get one? To start I am just looking to put air into the water, presently I have none.

Hi JimB, welcome to Pond Boss and thanks for posting.

First off I would recommend that you read this thread and all of the included links...

Aeration archive.

Solar aeration can get very expensive, very fast depending upon the size of your pond.

Before I spent a dollar on aeration I would contact one of our Pond Boss aeration vendors and discuss your pond and your aeration requirements.

Many folks have done just fine with do it yourself systems but several have had catastrophic results. IMHO an improperly designed or implemented systems can be worse than no system at all. The folks that make a living designing these systems know their stuff, there are a ton of variables to consider including (but not limited to) pond size, pond shape, water turn over rate, diffuser type, diffuser location. But that's just one opinion.