Pond Boss Forums AERATION Systems questions Windmill System Suggestions

Tried attaching Pic.. Not sure it worked

The shape of the pond minimizes the effect of wind action for 4 acres. I call this type of pond an aeration nightmare. The shape of the pond also makes it tend to grow more plant problems. This is because algae and pond weeds almost always grow and become a problem in shallow water and not in the middle deep water. I always say shallow water is the pond owner’s problem causer. If we built a round pond of 4 acres it would have quite a bit less shoreline compared to your pond. Maybe 30+% more shoreline for your pond that means 30% more plant problems compared to a round pond. I don't have time to calculate % more shoreline but someone might do it for you. The amount of shoreline compared to the area of pond or lake is called Shore Development. A round pond has a shore development of 1. The more irregular the shoreline the greater 1 becomes.

At first observation you have three ponds; each one's water volume or basin is more or less segregated from each other. With a short review I think to best aerate this irregular pond, it should minimally have 3 diffusers; one in each basin. Better yet would be 4 diffusers, one in each of the two more squarish sections and 2 separate diffusers in the longer section. This method will be an expensive endeavor and I am not sure it is worth the total cost. I always tell customers small ponds are economically good. The bigger the pond is the more it costs to manage it; EVERYTHING costs more for a bigger pond.

Based on your stated goals you might not want to even aerate this pond due to expense and your goals. Your goal for not wanting to growing big fish means if there is a fish kill it will not take very long to grow numerous 2 to 3 pound bass and many 8"+ BG. Done correctly in N.TX this should be able to be done in just 2 years and to recover from a partial or full fish kill.

If decide you want spend the money to have aeration, I think one economical good option would be to use one ¾ hp rotary compressor and place one 3 or 4 head diffuser in each of the two deep basins; one multiple head diffuser in 16ft basin and one multiple head diffuser in 18ft basin. This daily gets the worst bottom water out of each deep basin. Example.
A four head diffuser in the 16ft ft basin will move 540,000 gallons per hour(GPH) lifting around 1 million gallons of water per every 2 hours as upward circulation in this basin while in the 18ft basin the 4 head diffuser will move 579,000 gph as 1.158 gallons per every two hours as upward circulation. Running these two multi-head diffusers just 4 hrs per day should remove and lift the lowest DO bottom water of the deepest water to the surface thus reducing the chance of fish kill. The diffuser will pump the worst low DO water out of the deepest pond bellies each day. If and when you ever do have a fish kill due to a low oxygen sag then start running the aerator 6 to 8 yrs per day.

Mr Cody,
I sure do appreciate the info. Would I be correct in guessing> that if the pond averaged 6' in depth we would be talking about 8million gallons of water or so? With that guesstamate, that would mean that it would take approximately 4 hrs using the previously mentioned system (as I believe you were stating) to turn all the water.

As a note, the irregular shape is partly do to the fact that there was an original acre or so pond that we expanded. It is also do to water flow etc... The land layout gave us an interesting choice. Now granted, I could have come up with a different entry way and had more of a rectangular shape pond with a couple of ears on it. However, having a bridge at the entry is just cool.

I have been reading other posts on rotary vs rocking pistons. Still up in the air. The pressure created by the rockers seems valuable but idk!

Edit: I just reread you're above post and realized that you in fact did identify using a rotary pump... Is that because the depth allows it in this situation?

I guess one more thing.. Is it allowed for member to recommend brands? If so, I would appreciate recommendations from those with similar needs that have been using a pump/system that they really like. Also, if there are some not so good uns out there I would appreciate those names as well.

Thanks again guys.. Why I love getting on this forum.

Catch N - Your pond shape and size makes pond aeration complex, difficult, and EXPENSIVE.
With my suggestion of one multiple head diffuser in each of the deep spots,,, the two of them will NOT turn all the water. Each diffuser will only turn the water in each of the deep basins. You are going to rely on wind and weather to mix all your pond water down to 6-7ft. It is the deep basins with stagnant no oxygen water that will be the main cause of a fish kill for your pond arrangement. Generally if you keep the two deep basins well mixed you should have only the very rare fish kill.

I think for what I know about the wind's natural mixing of water the normal weather events will mix all the pond water down to NORMALLY around 6 ft deep, sometimes deeper depending on pond size, fetch, and wind exposure. HOWEVER this fact should be verified by someone from TX who has some experience and a DO meter and is capable to do those dissolved oxygen measurements. Surely someone here on the PB Forum can provide this information. If not call Bob Lusk at the Pond Boss or someone else at the office for experience about how deep ponds mix naturally in TX. By all means get 2nd and 3rd opinions from pond managers that are well experienced with pond aeration especially Texas aeration needs. Use the Pond Boss Resource Guide. If you are not a subscriber to Pond Boss magazine - you should be. I highly suggest that you get a few quotes and other opinions from pros listed in the PB Resource guide.
https://www.pondboss.com/Resources

The other factor that determines how deep DO is produced in ponds/lakes is water clarity. How clear can you see a white object lowered from your dock in your pond?

For pond aeration compressors, the 18ft depth is the maximum depth I recommend for placing a bottom diffuser. If you use my two multi-head diffuser idea then you will need a 3/4 hp rotary vane compressor or two 1/4hp compressors one for each multi-head diffuser.

I'm leaning heavily toward the two diffuser 3/4 hp rotary. I know that it will have a hard time turning the corner up out of the two deeper basins. With that said. The one toward the North (right side of the picture) will eventually have a well running into it. Actually I could turn the well onto it now except it also feeds the cabin there. I know well water does not mean oxygenated water. Howerever, I thought about running the well pipe straight through the faux dam (doeasn't actually dam water just where they dug original and deposited soil) and creating a drop or even a spray situation where it could add to surface aeration.

It is a battle for sure having the irregular shape. But at same time it has asthetics and if I can help fish stay in good shape then thats all I can do. We can do a few things but we are definitely not on unlimited budget so unfortunately we need to figure in upfront cost and monthly cost.

I should mention that what led me originally to windmill aeration was of course sound and view of windmill but probably more importantly was the fact that electric grid in Texas can be gone in an instant, as we proved a couple of years ago.

Again - How clear can you see a white object lowered from your dock in your pond?

Get a 2nd and 3rd opinion of how to aerate before you pull the trigger. To adequately aerate the entire pond where you get complete turnover/s daily you will probably need a second compressor operating a few more diffusers. in the areas between the two deep basins.

If the electric power is off for 2 days this will not cause severe DO loss to kill fish. If it were my pond I would not aerate it November to April when water is less than 55F.

Bill Cody,
I am not sure about white object. I have seen the ying yang looking disc test and have not been back to farm with a set up to try that. However, two weeks ago my uncle and I were putting in cedar trees for a brush pile. He stuck his arm into the water to about mid bicept and said, "hell I can see my finger tips!" and noted that he thought it had about 18" visibility.

Now thats not very scientific but thats what I have. Out of curiosity, why would you not aerate that half of the year?

When the pond water is in the low 50'sF the pond water will usually fully circulate daily. 50F water cooling at night sinks into the lower layers. Then natural circulation occurs until Spring. In Spring as the surface water warms to above 55F the natural top to bottom natural circulation mostly stops. This is when the bottom aerator should be started to reduce pond water layer stratification. When the water temperature drops to 50F in fall you can stop aerating because the pond will mix naturally until the water warms to 50F in Spring. When the water drops to 50F is when most of the tilapia are dying.

Get yourself a water/air thermometer and periodically measure the surface water temperature so you know when to start and stop aerating. .