Pond Boss Forums AERATION Systems questions Diffuser cleaning

Just an FYI.

Was scuba diving in pond yesterday to install some permanent moorings for boat fishing. After finished and observing fish for a while, somewhat of an afterthought, decided to look at the diffusers and see how they were doing. Have three dual Matala 9".

Glad I did. Had an eight inch of crud over a lot of the surface. The first two were still passing air fine, but notice slightly better air flow after rubbing the surface and tapping on the balooned out surface with my hand. But when arrived at the north diffuser, the left of the pair only had air coming out about a third of the area and the right side was also heavily encrusted. A lot more air flowed after cleaning.

These diffusers have been running constantly since spring.

So if your diffusers have been in the pond a long while, might be worth checking them. Most people will not have the option of going under water and viewing them in operation (kind of cool, by the way), but pulling them up by rope might also do the trick.

For algae control measures, what time of year ought I look to release Common Pleco, trapdoor snails, or whatever kind of algae eating critter in my pond? It never freezes over, has a couple of year-round springs feeding it, and is chocked full of algae pretty seriously.