Good question, Theo.
I suspect that it's not as necessary to be cautious when implementing this system. My reasoning stems from personal observation. When I've started a traditional airlift system I've observed the water turning black for a couple of days because of the tremendous power of the system oriented just a foot or so off of the bottom of the pond. This seems to start a cascade of events that temporarily creates an oxygen sag and a strong hydrogen sulfide smell which I think is bad for the fish. Starting a horizontal system doesn't create this smell or "look". I hope everyone realizes (I've said this before
) that I'm not bad mouthing traditional systems--they work great! It's just that if you have a pressure tank and a small pond, horizontal aeration can become part of your armamentarium. If you factor in the cost of electricity to pump the water, my setup is cheaper to start, but probably quite a bit more expensive for long term use, unless you were going to pump the water anyway, in which case you get fresh influx and some additional O2, which is good.
OK, I'll shut up now.
