Pond Boss Forums AERATION Systems questions What type of diffusor?

Hello all!

I'm new to this site and these questions on diffusors have probably been asked, but here goes:

Considering cost, efficiency, maintenance and long term durability what do you guys recommend?
I have a Thomas 2660 series pump supplying air to three 6" stone diffusors. The pond is bigger than a third but less than a half acre. The pump produces about 3.5 CFM at 10 PSI. Too much air here? How do you size diffusors for the size of the pond?
I've heard good things about both disc and tube diffusors made from EPDM rubber. Should I stick with the stones?
Also, any comments on the Aero Tubing (blue stripe) made by Colorite Plastics? I see rings made from this on some sites.
One final question. Any suggestions on what to use for a weighted plate to keep diffusors out of the muck. I don't really like bricks.
Any advice will be greatly appreciated!

Here is what I use. It is made by Matala. I will not say if it is better or worse than other styles or brands of diffusers because I do not know. It is all that I have ever used. But they seem to work ok for me.

At least this will give you an idea of one type of base that is available and the modifications I made to make it work like I wanted.

You would have to look up the specs to be sure, but as I recall a single 9" or a dual 9" (like the ones pictured) would both fall within the CFM your pump delivers. The single being at the high end of its capability and the dual at the low end. If it were me, I would use a dual 9".

Diffuser cleaning thread

Edit: I think the most popular and preferred brand on this forum is Vertex. They also make a 9" diffuser head similar to the Matala pictured.

Here is the same Matala 9" diffuser on a home made base. I use one of these in my sediment pond (1/10th acre)and one in my forage pond (1/20th acre).

One mistake is that the small footprint tends to sink into a muddy bottom. I intend to swim out and set them in a plastic concrete mixing tub to keep them up a little higher. If I was doing it again, I would figure out a way of making a larger footprint for the base. It has not been a problem in my forage pond, but I have seen it create some turbidity from stirring up sediment in my sediment pond. It goes away after whatever mud around the diffuser gets distributed away from it, but it would be better if it set up off the bottom a little more.

Home made base for a 9" diffuser

What I intend to put under the home made concrete diffuser base