It all depends. George1 told you so. Usually a larger pump if it has more cfm will produce will produce a larger boil because with more cfm it can operate more or larger diffusers thus more bubbles spread out to a larger rising column of water. To push air out at 15ft one needs at least 7.5 psi. More psi ability of the pump means that the pump strains less to produce air at that depth. Less strain of the pump usually means less friction on the bearings and a longer motor life.
Aeration is not just about preventing a fish kill but most importantly it is about keeping dissolved oxygen on the bottom sediments allowing rapid and efficient clean decay of the muck and sludge from the surface sediment down. With DO at the surface sediments lots of aerobic bacterial and invertebrates live there eating and breaking down the organics on the bottom. Many of these "bugs" serve in the food chain as fish food. When the bottom top sediment looses DO it converts to anaerobic decay which has 20-30 times slower decomposition and results in methane, acidic conditions and producion of hydrogen sulfide (rotten eggs smell) in the water and sediments which is the black septic sediments common to many ponds.
Last edited by Bill Cody; 08/04/12 01:38 PM.
