DL, I think that the cascading action of the creek is probably enough to keep oxygen levels high enough to sustain your fish. This is coming from a guy who represents a company that's been selling aeration tubing since 1992...We would never specify it for your application.
I can't speak on behalf of Canadian Pond aeration tubing but ours does not foul within a year. Even if it did, cleaning it is as simple as pouring a cup of muriatic acid in the tubing from shore. We have linear aeration systems that have been in operation for over 30 years. Also, it takes about 2 PSI to open the slits in the tubing which gives us wiggle room of about 2.5 - 3 feet of depth difference over a single length of tubing and we'll still get a consistent bubble pattern. This is one of the big differences between aeration tubing and irrigation drip tubing that people use for aeration.
This is not a shameless plug. I just want the pondmeisters to know that there are differences between different types of aeration tubing. We've got ten different types of aeration tubing in our product line alone, each with different specifications (air flow, internal diameter, bubble size, etc...). If you're thinking about linear aeration, contact some vendors, express your questions, comments, and concerns, and ask for recommendations and the specifications of their particular tubing. Make sure the product fits the application....I guess the same could be said for any product.
I would like to second Richard's statement!
I would not have put on the market our products if I had discovered they foul easily, in fact the fouling issue is likely a soaker hose (IMO it was not developped for aeration to start with...).
With proper pressure and the right compressor, we have had sucess at creating aeration that did not stir sediments did not clog and all of our first tubing we sold in 2002 is still going strong and they are bubbling just like day one.
The wrong pressure, or air flow, or installation and of course troubles can happened.
We stand by our products and our warranty of efficiency. Our SOTR and SAE testing have proved us we were on the right track when we developped our product.
Now, we like Vertex and Robust-Aire diffusers too, we combine both when the ponds bathymetrics call for it.
We would never put aeration in a brook or a cascade, this would be simply misleading!
