Pond Boss Forums AERATION Should I aerate? Areation Sytem Complete!!! With Pics!

Ok I setup my system this morning and it worked like a charm! I am pretty happy. I set the station in 7 feet of water as I am about a foot low right now. The weighted tubing I got from Ted Lea worked really great! Below are some pictures. One thing that was weird though is I did not smell anything when I turned the air on. I figured I would get that horrible sulfer smell but I didn't! Not sure if that's good or bad but I did not smell anything.

looks great! I wonder if the dog will need his crate back?

Hey Coach I hope he don't need it back cause he ain't getting it back!! It's mine now. The container actually worked great for the size pump I have. The pump is sheltered and it has vents on the sides and back. I put the panels on the top of the post and the carrier for some extra protection from hard rains and if a branch or something falls from the tree above.

Looks great. Keep an eye on the crate. Sometimes wasps like to build nests in them.....

Once you've used that weighted hose from Ted you won't want to use anything else.

Hey RC that's a great idea using that pet crate, if you need to work on it you can unscrew the top half.
Now I know what to do with the old pet crate we have.

Where did you get the diffusers from?

Hey AP,

That's exactly why I did that! A few quick wing nut screws and your top is off. Plus it protects pretty good and has the venting on all the sides for you. This one was a cat carrier. I got it at a local pet shop here for 20 bucks. It fits our type pump real good!

Nice Job RC, I like the way you mounted that, now you should bury that line so if grass should need mowed you can mow it, and of course, if you trip over it it may spill your beverage.....

Great job RC, very innovative use of the dog crate!

Hey Everyone,

I just watned to say thanks for everyone who helped me out with this project!

JoeG - Thanks for the heads up on the diffusers!
Adirondack pond - Thanks for the info on the Ecoplus pump!!
Ted Lea - Thanks for your emails and help with this project! And for your sweet weighted hose!

And thanks for anoyone else who chimed in and gave me some good info. I do apprecaite it all. If it wasn't for you guys I may still be just thinking about this instead of actually watching it run!!

Thanks to all,
RC

Anytime, PS Curious what pressure you are running.

What pump is that?

Is it just a air-compressor?

Hey Dieselscout80,

No it's a EcoPlus 7 linear air pump. Do a search for them. They work pretty good up to a certain foot range. I would not use them if I had to go over 10 feet though. My system is in 8 feet of water.

That looks good I like the set-up. We have 4 ponds that we are having a company out of Orlando, Fl design ours because ponds are 20 foot deep plus and we are going with windmill set-ups to save on energy. Ill post pics when we get it set up.

RC - Please Keep us posted as the the life span of the compressor and how many hours a day you run it. We are interested.

Hey Bill no problem. So far I have had this one since June of last year and been running it 6 hours a night. Last year I ran from June till mid October, and I will do the same this year too. This next weekend I will be going from 6 to 8 hours as well. This year I have had it on since Mid April. So no problems, but I will keep you all posted for sure!

As a comparison of your units life span to a standard Gast Rotary vane, the rotary vane in my applications have been running for the same run times as yours but twice the depth (14'-15') for 15-17 yrs currently on the first set of vanes. Pump should last for 3 sets of vanes. There is a reason the EcoPlus 7 sells for less $. You got good value for the dollar if you can get 5 yrs on your linear compressor.

I recently learned something about the Eco7 pumps. An air flow guage was hooked up to an Eco 7. At open air flow, no back pressure resistance, the pump did great, even excellent producing 5-6cfm which is a very good impressive amount of air flow. Then the air flow was restricted to simulate water depth, as the resistance approached 2psi (4ft depth)the air flow volume dropped way down to 1-2 cfm. As more restriction toward 4 to 5psi was applied and the air flow dropped noticably below 1cfm. A call to the manufacturer and they said they do not have a flow rate chart for the various depths because they make this pump only for aquarium - aquaponics applications where depths are usually 12" to 16" and rarely exceed 2 ft. Greater depths put excessive resistance to the pump's mechanics/hardware. If one would see the size of the boil from an Eco7 and a pump with adequate pressure at 8 to 16 ft deep there is a dramatic difference in the size of the boil and amount of water moved resulting from the upwelling water and surface boil.

Some get good air flow and boils with diffusers at 7ft-8ft operated with an Eco7 pump. Note that there may be various manufacturers of the pump. Some pumps could have higher cfm at 7ft-8ft than other pumps. These pumps do not have air flow graphs of the flow vs pressure. Buyer beware.

Looks like Star Trek wanta be. Sorry couldn't resist.

Hey Bill,
That's what I figure. I never said it was the best pump out there for sure, but for the money it's works pretty darn good. And if it last 5 years for 105 bucks I'll take that ever day!! We shall see. I will let everyone know if and when it stops working. I know AP has had one for a few years now that he runs all winter long and his is still running strong.

Later,

Some aeration is almost always better than none.

Ok?? Not really sure what you mean by your above statement? Some aeration?? Do you think my pump isn't putting out enough air?? I have 3 - 9 inch fine bubble diffusers running off this pump at about 8 to 10 feet. Is there something I am missing? Versus your pump? No offense just asking is all.

Thanks,

I think that was a general statement.. Just reading it as an outsider looking in.. I see your side too though, but I don't think it like that lol..

Hey BK yeah I didn't take it the wrong way. I actually am asking because I know Bill knows his stuff and am just wondering if maybe I am missing something. Or just being paranoid