It's a ________ (fill in the blank) setup for a cheap price. With that said, the way we start to calculate on how to design an aeration system for a pond is how many gallons of water each diffuser membrane moves to the surface per minute.
Now if you can figure that out you can compare that to the Vertex diffusers.
Us pond professionals that are paid to figure out aeration systems for peoples ponds can't do what you are doing. If we design and sell something and it doesn't work or the customer has a fish kill, who foots the bill? The customer that didn't want to spend the money for a system with R&D/Testing behind it or the company that built the system? If we did something like you did, and the glue comes apart, it costs us to go back and fix it, or do we tell the customer that they have to fix it? The DIY guys don't figure in labor and miles traveled to do the work, they are doing it in their spare time.
I'd be curious to see what the diffuser cost you if you take your hourly rate (what you get paid for working) and multiply that by the time you have building the diffuser and connections, plus the time you spent looking up where and what to buy to build it. Then add in the actual materials. Even the water bottle top. Now, what did that diffuser cost?
As stated 15$ total cost. Sure are a bunch of fluid dynamic engineers on here. I built a glue together diffuser. It works. Its cheap. I can build them in 20 min with a time of 3 hours for glue to set. This was to save money period. I am sure with a few formulas and minutes i could figure all these numbers out to give exacts and find out the cost ratios for running pumps and water turn over rates ect... but in the long run i dont care about that. I turn the pump on at night and off in the morning. Been running for a week just fine. If i have problems i will solve it then. This was not to be an engineering thread just a hey guys and gals this might be a cheap solution for those not willing to bit e the bullet on a commercialized aeration system. I am happy and that is really all that matters. The rest of you can carry on in your negativity and for those that said good job thank you. Hope i gave some Macgyver Ideas to some of you. Have a good day all and Happy Ponding!!!
Actually, there ARE a bunch of engineers on here....
I get what you're saying Krystofer, and yes it can be a little frustrating here at times. Many here take ponds and fish really, REALLY, seriously. They are trying to help, I promise. You have to remember that an engineer isn't satisfied with the operation of the thing until he or she maths it almost to death.
it's just in their nature.
But what they're telling you is true....Lots of fine bubbles is what you're looking for in a diffuser for a pond setting. That doesn't mean that what you have isn't perfectly good enough for your particular needs....doesn't mean that at all.
But some of these guys make their living selling and installing this stuff, and when you're doing it for someone else all the time it better be right. And after awhile of doing this, you begin approaching every project with this mindset. It can be easy to forget that sometimes, good enough is exactly that....good enough.
Even if the math doesn't look like what we think it should.
