would like some help from all of our experts on this subject. i have access to a thomas air compressor (model # 2619ce44, dual piston,1/3 hp,3.75 cfm@ 0psi, 3.65 cfm@ 5psi, 3.5 cfm@ 10psi abd 3.2 cfm@20 psi). my pond is just under 1 acre (.85 before the recent rains) and it is about 6 ft deep (average about 4 ft?)and is "L" shaped. i am looking to aerate to help water conditions. here is the question, will this compressor work and what diffuser would be recommended. i would put compressor out by the pond and run about 50-75ft of tubing. also would i have to run 2 diffusers or just one (which would be optimal). i have used the search on this site and am getting more confused the more i read. also, how long should i aerate at the start. ted lea, if you are out there could you please advise. thanks in advance for any input.

tight lines to all

big bass hunter , how long have you had water in the pond? If it's been a long time you need to gradually aerate as you are going to stir up all the muck from the bottom and could poison the water for your fish and wild life. It will smell in the beginning like rotten eggs as you stir the stratified water. The oxygen levels down at the bottom below the stratification will be near zero initially. Need to run the system for a couple of hours a day and gradually increase the time until the smell goes away or you'll overwhelm the ecosystem. After that you should run it for at least 8 hours but could run it 24 hours a day if you like.

Hello Big Bass Hunter. Your specs are close to an aeration system made by Vertex Water Features that I install regularly. It uses a 1/4 hp gast carbon vein compressor that produces 3.6 CFM @ 10p.s.i.(very close to your output)and runs two flexible membrane diffusers.

When I spec. a system I simply aim for 1 complete turnover per 24 hours. If your pond is 1 acre with a mean depth of 4 feet that's 4 acre-ft. That's 43560 cubic feet of water per acre-ft times 4= 174240 cubic feet with approx. 7.5 gallons per cubic ft or 1306800 gallons in the pond. Assuming you can place one diffuser more or less centrally in 6ft of water you can expect it to circulate about 2700 gpm. 1306800/2700=484 minutes to move the whole pond. That's only 8 hours to turn the pond over, so that's good.

One diffuser should be able to do it, at least if it was one basin. Now since the pond is "L" shaped it may really be more or less two connected basins with a shallower area in between. If that's the case, since your pump will likely handle it, you might as well go ahead and drop two diffusers in there, one in each tier of the L. Otherwise, one placed centrally should work just fine. I have been pretty happy with the Vertex Coactive Membrane diffusers. They are zero maintenance and have a five-year warranty. There are more efficient ones out there, but they are more expensive and you really don't need it for your pond.

A good rule of thumb for summer start-ups is one hour the first day and double running time each day thereafter. I have gotten away with starting up all at once in some new ponds where no sulfide smell could be detected, even right over the diffuser, but wouldn't recommend it. I hope this helps you keep your bass happy!

weedwacker, where are you getting your figures for the turnover rates? (2700 GPM in 6 ft of water)also you mention a more efficient diffuser what brand would that be ?Ted

Ted. That's based on the Vertex coactive max. induced circulation rate figures as verified by Banerji and Liu at University of Missouri. Sorry, I don't have a brand name for you on the other diffusers. I have been pretty happy with the value and efficiency of the Vertex systems and have not felt the need to keep track of the names of other makers.

I rechecked the chart today Ted and it looks like the 6ft figure should actually be 3000gpm. Even Better!

Was just curious as my test data from that study indicates 1786 GPM at 1 CFM at 6ft depth and a 12 ft depth reading to get to 2778 GPM. I'll touch base with Cary M on this as is news to me, Ted

I believe that's the correct data for the Lifting Rate Ted. I chose to include the induced water movement in the max circulation figure to calculate the turnover on Big Bass Hunter's Pond. It looks like either figure will still yield a pretty good turnover rate for him and his pond would destratify nicely. (we might be confusing him again though)

Not trying to confuse anyone but I have used that test data for years and you have different figures from the same test.The figures I have are using 1 CFM on 1 Coactive airstation at various depths.AES and Ottorbine systems were also tested and came up short. Just trying to keep all of the information by us Vertex Dealers on the same page. I have a link to the test data in my diffuser section at www.aquaticaeration.com Ted