so a followup question would be, if your pond was being built and you were shooting for a depth of 10' or so. Would it be wise to dig a crater in the middle of the deep part maybe 15' wide and another 6'-8' deep? Then put the diffuser down at 16-17' deep? That way you don't have a pond that is that deep all over (added costs), but the diffuser takes advantage of extra depth to produce bigger bubbles by the time they hit the surface and you get a bigger plume as the bubbles have more height to ascend?
You could incorporate this diffuser crater into ponds best at time of new construction.
Keep in mind Canyoncreek, you cant get something for nothing. A deeper hole means increased pressure to pump air down. This could mean several different things depending on the pump selection. It could cause reduced cfm output of the pump. So although you are making larger rising bubbles, you may be making less of them. Or it could relate to a higher electricity cost to operate.
Linear motor pumps are very sensative to back pressure (depth) and performance drops off quickly as the pressure rises. Vane pumps are less sensative but still loose efficiency as back pressure increases. But they efficiently put out large volumes of air when used for the depths they are designed for. Rocking piston compressors see the least reduction in performance with depth so are more suited for deeper BOW's but they are not the most efficient from an electrical usage standpoint when used for shallower depths.
All of the above simply means you need to pick the pump style best suited for the depth you plan to operate it at. It is a matter of choosing the right tool for the job.
Which points out the need to use the advice of some of the pro's and long time users of aeration systems to see which systems perform best in different applications. And I am definitely not that person. I understand the theory behind the designs pretty well, but am very short on actual experience using different systems.
