Pond Boss
Posted By: buck dog to aerate or leave well enough alone! - 11/01/21 05:01 PM
I am in a aeration dilema. I have 2 1/2 yr old pond of 1.1 acres max depth 20 ft avg depth probably 12ft made by damning up a ravine. I heavily stocked it 1200bg, 400 redears, 400 bg hybrids, 300 lg mouth bass, 75 cat fish, 15 grass carp. the pond gets fertilized and the fish are all fed, lots of the bass eat pellets too. the fish have grown rapidly 16 in bass, 8-9 inch gills, lg catfish etc. I keep algae at bay but had a nasty attack of Niaad weed, i eradicated it well in 3 partial tx with diquat. for my purposes my pond is doing very well. It is tree lined and will eventually get mucked up. Should I just leave well enough alone or aerate??? Aeration will be a project as will have to run 400ft of electric plus costs of system. Thus I am torn 50/50 on the decision. Any thought on the issue will be greatly appreciated!
Aerate.

Heavily stocked, feeding, surrounded by leaf-dropping trees - all indicators flagging potential fishkills. Proper aeration will help avoid that.

If you don't have a separate reason to have electric located at the pond, you can put the compressor where you already have electric and run the air 400 feet easy, cheaper than running electric.

You won't get it in before the water cools off too much for any worry that aeration would help other than possible Winterkill - I would get it all figured out and have it installed by next Spring.
Posted By: FishinRod Re: to aerate or leave well enough alone! - 11/01/21 07:58 PM
Theo,

Can you leave the extended runs of air line above the ground? (In situations where it is unlikely to get punctured or have water traps that freeze.)

I am thinking it would be easier to move, put in tees, or repair. However, if it will degrade more rapidly in sunlight, get punctured despite your best efforts, etc., is the common practice to bury it?
Posted By: buck dog Re: to aerate or leave well enough alone! - 11/01/21 09:19 PM
Theo, the pond is heavily spring fed does that affect your recomendation at all? also it seems the reason for me to aerate is to prevent future problems down the road?
I have read all the stuff on the forum about the aeration benefits BUT some of the negatives scare me such as killing some fish unintentionally with aeration and causing cloudy water, creating a bunch of work and high maintance PIA for my gray haired self.
to the high maintance end of it if I run the electric to the pond could I use a gast rotary vane pump as it appears that these have the longest duty life and least maintance issue?
thank for the advice
Posted By: Oddo Re: to aerate or leave well enough alone! - 11/02/21 02:49 AM
would like to address winter time aeration. Read that leaving the pumps on in January/February Ohio weather is hard on the fish because it over cools the water at depth...last year without aeration the pond froze to about 6 inches of ice with 6 to 8 inches of snow; even though we shoved about a 1/3 of the one acre pond twice...spring discovered about 20+ calcified large fish; seemed a mix of GB and HSB [large means 9+", 13+" respectively].

the question: would it be OK to place the aeration blubbers next to the pontoon dock at a depth of 3-4 feet below water level? this would prevent ice damage to the pontoon and provide some open water for exchange of O and gases...the majority of the pond [.9 acres] would be allowed to freeze...maybe 10% open water.

current water temperature at 24" down is 53% [31 Oct 2021]...feeder is down to 2 seconds about 1pm and 5 pm...BG and HSB still feeding but with less vigor...feeding along shoreline with starter feed results in a few locations with substantial feeding...the small fry are abundant all around the shoreline [GB, shiners, a few minnows]...

maybe some would be interested: to protect the pontoons from ice damage 2" foam was floated all around them; kept in place with 1x6 treat boards and a few ropes tied to the pontoon dock/boat...worked well for two years...a 4 foot wide foam board covers all but a few inches under the pontoon; now with aeration the foam is not needed.

all thoughts and comments most welcomed...have a great winter...fish on.
Posted By: esshup Re: to aerate or leave well enough alone! - 11/02/21 05:14 AM
I 2nd Theo's suggestion of running air line. You can buy 1" poly tubing in 500' spools, no need to have a fitting underground. You need to bury it, you have no idea how much squirrels like to chew on it........

Winter aeration needs to have the diffuser set at 1/4 the total pond depth, near shore so that there is open water all the way to the shore so anything that might go for a swim can walk out of the water and not have to climb up on the ice to get out. That helps prevents super cooling of the pond water.

Yes a winter diffuser can be used to keep ice away from around a pontoon boat or dock. We did a test the past few years on a public lake for a client and they can keep a boat lift on each side of the pier and the whole pier ice free. We used 3 diffusers and a 3/4 hp rotary vane compressor to get the cfm needed to make the waves to keep the ice from forming. One diffuser is in about 18" water the other 2 are in about 40" of water.

Buck Dog, your pond is a prime candidate for an aeration system. One diffuser placed at 18 feet for the late Spring/Summer/Early Fall and one placed at 4'-5' depth for Spring/Summer/Fall/Winter aeration. You probably will have to use a 2 diffuser airstation in shallow water because you will shut the single disk air station in the deepest part of the pond off and you don't want to run more than 4-5 CFM through a single Vertex membrane diffuser. Yes to the Gast Rotary Vane, either a 1/4 hp or a 3/4 hp. You will have to make a manifold with ball valves on each of the air station lines so you can adjust the air flow to get equal air flow to both deep and shallow air stations when running both at the same time.
I would still want to aerate a Spring Fed pond. Ground water typically has no dissolved oxygen in it. Being colder, I think it would tend to form a low/no O2 layer in the bottom of the pond without mixing from aeration.

The aeration schedule over the course of the year would probably be different than for a non-Spring fed pond. There is one Spring fed pond I pass on the way to work that I have never seen completely iced-over in the Winter. In a case like that, no Winter aeration (for ice clearing) would be required. And Summer water temps would be lower, with the water therefore capable of holding a higher % of dissolved oxygen.

Someone else (with Spring fed experience) will have to inform us on the chance of turnover when the water cools down in the Fall. Without info, I would want to measure water temps at various depths through the Fall to see if turnover (with the resultant mixing of oxygenated surface water and oxygen-deprived bottom water, with the possibility of producing too-low-for-fish O2 levels) was likely. Avoiding this is the main reason I continue aerating through the Fall.
Posted By: Oddo Re: to aerate or leave well enough alone! - 11/07/21 02:02 AM
Thanks Esshup...will move both double aerators into 3 feet of water [normal depth for pond is 12-13 feet over 50%] within the next 7 days; current water temperature at 24-30 inches below surface is 46F...the water has cooled from 55 in last 6 days...cold nights, down to high 20s and mid-40 days

it is easy to move the bubblers around 1/2 the pond; the surface floats allow quite easy lift and move
Posted By: Oddo Re: to aerate or leave well enough alone! - 11/09/21 04:40 AM
UPDATE on aerators, water temperature, fish feeding activities: aerator air volumes reduced 20% will move this weekend; water temperature remains 46F, likely helped by warner air temperature, mid-60s, and mostly full sun last two days and expected to continue into Thursday maybe Friday; fish feeding surprisingly well considering water temperature; stripers feeding, gusto gone, but still seemingly in numbers; BG feed at edge of shore and fewer open water; shiners might be feeding but not seen...caught largest yet 21 inch striper, 7 inches wide, nearly 2 inches thick, didn't have scale to weight; estimated between 4-5 lbs...happy with growth rate: these stripers were stocked at 5-7inches in April 2019 [2.7 years] -- will they reach 10+ pounds in three years?
the shiners spawn all summer in numbers and the breeders are jumbo sized: 7-8 inches; can the large stripers catch and eat these large shiners?
BTW some of the BG now are 9"+, a few 10"+ heavyweights...not sure how big they will get next year
Posted By: ewest Re: to aerate or leave well enough alone! - 11/09/21 04:01 PM
Originally Posted by Oddo
UPDATE on aerators, water temperature, fish feeding activities:
1. ...stripers feeding, gusto gone, but still seemingly in numbers;
2...caught largest yet 21 inch striper, 7 inches wide, nearly 2 inches thick, ... will they reach 10+ pounds in three years?
3.... can the large stripers catch and eat these large shiners?

1. HSB will feed at much lower temps than LMB/BG. Studies show HSB feeding at 40 F +-. Use better quality food (high % proteins and lower % carbs) if possible.
2. HSB can reach 10 lbs. especially with good quality feed -- at 3 yrs possibly but for sure by 5 yrs.
3. 6 lb + HSB can eat 7-8 inch shiners without issue.
Posted By: SetterGuy Re: to aerate or leave well enough alone! - 11/10/21 01:16 PM
Following along. FYI, my pond is 7 yrs old now. One ac, surrounded by trees, so I get the leaves. I run a feeder, but not heavily. I don’t think my pond is as heavily stocked as the OP because I lost a lot when original stocking took place. I’m getting some gunk on the bottom, both from soil coming in, but mostly from leaves. Pond will freeze over, but not for long. (3 to 4 weeks).

So no fish kills yet. OP you may have some time to decide.
I’m too far from the barn for running air or electric. Considering solar for aeration, but haven’t pulled the trigger yet.
Posted By: buck dog Re: to aerate or leave well enough alone! - 11/15/21 02:14 AM
setter guy
your pond seems very similar to mine and i am indeed in no rush to spend a few thousand for an aeration system if its not really needed?? And in fact turning over the water with the aeration might result in an inadvertant fish kill? I have a old 1/2 acre pond on the property aka 20plus yrs old that has never been aerated but is significantly shallower max depth 11ft and have never had a fish kill. also same as you ponds dont freeze over most yrs for very long some yrs never. Just not convinced and would really be scared of spending lots of time and money then turn on the system for even the start of 15 minutes and blast up some fish toxic gases or de oxygenated water from the bottom and kill lots of fish in a perfectly fine ecosystem. just seems risky to me. I understand stratification of lakes and ponds and turnover and those are natural for bodies of water. BG and LB arent going 20 ft to bottom of a spring fed pond anyhow so it is kinda moot to say there needs to be plenty of dissolved oxygen at 20 ft or not. bacteria still can breakdown material be it aerobic or anaerobic.
So i guess i am still not sold on aeration being the end all to prevent a fish kill, but agree it could help prevent or it could cause a fish kill too
[Linked Image from sweetwaytopay.com]
Posted By: jpsdad Re: to aerate or leave well enough alone! - 11/15/21 04:00 PM
Originally Posted by buck dog
setter guy

So i guess i am still not sold on aeration being the end all to prevent a fish kill, but agree it could help prevent or it could cause a fish kill too

buck dog,

aeration is a very good mitigation tool for ponds which have too many nutrients in their nutrient pool. It will not prevent all fish kills but it most definitely prevent some. If overdoing when getting it up and running kills the fish ... well ... then it was overdoing it that killed the fish. While it is true that a pond of moderate to poor fertility can go indefinitely without aeration, a pond that is very fertile will experience fish kills periodically when adverse conditions prevail. Like winter under ice with a lot of rotting vegetation or many cloudy days in fall when water temps are elevated crashing a bloom. Looks to me like you plan to push your pond to its limit so I agree with Theo, don't put it off in response to a fish (kill) that might not have otherwise occurred.

There are other benefits to aeration. In fact aeration has been shown to increase the production of tilapia while decreasing feed inputs and improving FCR. IIRC production increased by factors of increased survival and greater end of grow out individual weights. So it helps all around.
Posted By: esshup Re: to aerate or leave well enough alone! - 11/15/21 07:25 PM
Originally Posted by SetterGuy
Following along. FYI, my pond is 7 yrs old now. One ac, surrounded by trees, so I get the leaves. I run a feeder, but not heavily. I don’t think my pond is as heavily stocked as the OP because I lost a lot when original stocking took place. I’m getting some gunk on the bottom, both from soil coming in, but mostly from leaves. Pond will freeze over, but not for long. (3 to 4 weeks).

So no fish kills yet. OP you may have some time to decide.
I’m too far from the barn for running air or electric. Considering solar for aeration, but haven’t pulled the trigger yet.


Nope, you can bury poly line to the pond. I'd use 1 1/4" dia to compensate for the length of run and to minimize any chance of water condensing and plugging the line due to your soil topography. Solar will need sun all day long, How many trees do you want to cut down to get sun to the panels? Batteries will be needed to run the compressor at night. I'll bet you it will cost you way more $$ to run solar than to run a line back there.
Posted By: Tony K Re: to aerate or leave well enough alone! - 11/16/21 12:53 AM
essup, If I may come at this from another angle, I debated between solar or running air line. I ended up going solar, It opens up much more options for us at the pond- night lights, dc bugslapper, underwater green light, air pump, radio, etc. Just wanted to offer another option to consider for those on the fence.
Posted By: highflyer Re: to aerate or leave well enough alone! - 11/16/21 04:04 AM
Originally Posted by Tony K
essup, If I may come at this from another angle, I debated between solar or running air line. I ended up going solar, It opens up much more options for us at the pond- night lights, dc bugslapper, underwater green light, air pump, radio, etc. Just wanted to offer another option to consider for those on the fence.

Tony, can you please describe your system.
Posted By: esshup Re: to aerate or leave well enough alone! - 11/16/21 06:07 AM
Originally Posted by Tony K
essup, If I may come at this from another angle, I debated between solar or running air line. I ended up going solar, It opens up much more options for us at the pond- night lights, dc bugslapper, underwater green light, air pump, radio, etc. Just wanted to offer another option to consider for those on the fence.

Tony:

What was the price of the solar system and like highflyer said, please describe your system.
Posted By: Oddo Re: to aerate or leave well enough alone! - 11/16/21 07:39 AM
Thanks Ewest for your knowledge.

Next year will tell me if those brooder shiners survive in sufficient numbers to feed the stripers...have many pallets in the pond and Xmas tree cover...the small fry have places to hide while growing to 'big bit' size.

shut off one bank of aeration and slowed the other...water temperature is now 43F at 24 inches below surface.

amazingly for me, still catching numbers of BG from 3" to 8" from shoreline out to 4-5' of water on worms; and the smaller stripers are active taking worms; what is different is the rigor of the fight...less; I release them quickly, hopefully less stressed.

for those interested: studied every which way to do solar/battery/wind...last year costs out-of-sight, unreliable, high maintenance, and decrease yearly in solar output [aging of panels, electronics, and batteries]; using lithium batteries lowered maintenance, increased wattage capacity, and increased battery lifespan but life cost was much better]...the dollars did not compute so went coop utility power underground to 200amp240v outdoor panel and main transformer has much spare capacity 500 feet away from street power pole...maybe in ten years or so, it will be cost effective to add solar/battery system...yes there is some concern about the misguided current government push...maybe will have to have my grandchildren aerate with paddle boats!
Posted By: SetterGuy Re: to aerate or leave well enough alone! - 11/16/21 02:42 PM
Originally Posted by esshup
Nope, you can bury poly line to the pond. I'd use 1 1/4" dia to compensate for the length of run and to minimize any chance of water condensing and plugging the line due to your soil topography. Solar will need sun all day long, How many trees do you want to cut down to get sun to the panels? Batteries will be needed to run the compressor at night. I'll bet you it will cost you way more $$ to run solar than to run a line back there.

The main issue I’ll have with running the compressor from the barn is the noise. My wife is a very light sleeper. Any noise drives her crazy. Having the compressor right outside our bedroom in the barn (we have a shed house, which is basically an apartment in the back of a metal barn) will not be acceptable. Maybe I could run electrical for a ways, build a small shed for the compressor, then run buried airlines from there, but that sure sounds like a lot of work. I’ve already found solar panels, and two deep cell batteries, I’d need a lot more to make it a system, but maybe I’d get some use out of it. I think I’ve seen here though that a little aeration is worse than no aeration. I may have that backwards. My water temps stay low because of the shade of the trees. It’s pretty cool 12” deep all summer, and my fish appear to be doing alright. I realize it’s a time bomb though, and sitting here on the fence isn’t helping. I just wish there was an easier answer.
Thx
Posted By: esshup Re: to aerate or leave well enough alone! - 11/16/21 06:28 PM
The compressors are no noisier than someone talking in a room. Add sound deadening material and they are even quieter. Putting it away from the house a bit will help even more.
Posted By: Tony K Re: to aerate or leave well enough alone! - 11/16/21 10:26 PM
It is a small 200 watt DIY system, but has worked well this summer. I plan on improving the system next year.

[Linked Image from i.imgur.com]
[Linked Image from i.imgur.com]
Cost was around $600.00. Not including wood and metal. I used an old satellite dish mount so I could adjust the angle of the panels.
Air pump (on timer) runs an air lift that I am experimenting with.
Posted By: buck dog Re: to aerate or leave well enough alone! - 11/17/21 02:51 AM
Ok guys you have maybe convinced me
So can you please give me some advice on a do it yourself system design.
pond is a valley dammed up thus shape like slice of pie. max depth 20ft avg depth 10ft. size 1.2surface acres.
I will run 230V 30amp electric to pond.
I want to use a gast rotary vane compressor as they seem to be the least PIA and last longest if taken care of.
Disc diffusers vertex or matala 9 inch? I was thinking about using a set of 2 difussers at 18ft deep end towards dam and another set of 2 diffusers at about 10ft towards shallow end. So what do you guys say? will that get it done?
what size gast the 1/4hp or the 3/4 better?
I got a design from a company that wants to sell me a 1/2 hp rocking piston compressor (which I do not want) and use 3 aeration stations 2 deep end at 18ft and 1 station shallow end 10ft.
I am more than capable of the self installation and building of a pump house, electric, etc.
Posted By: esshup Re: to aerate or leave well enough alone! - 11/17/21 03:23 AM
With that 18' water depth, you are better off going with the rocking piston. As much as I like the rotary vane compressors, the vane life is shortened when pumping air at the upper end of their design parameters. I have a customer that rebuilds his 3/4 Gast rotary vane compressor yearly because he's pushing air down to 20' water depth.

For summer aeration, use the diffusers that produce the finest bubbles available. You will move more water to the surface that way. For shallow water winter aeration (or it could be called ice prevention) use the coarsest bubbles possible with as much CFM as you can to create the most waves.
Posted By: buck dog Re: to aerate or leave well enough alone! - 11/18/21 01:53 AM
Ok esshup,
so I am stuck with rocking piston 1/2 hp compressor it seems. So does anyone have experience and advice on who makes the longest lasting trouble free??? Matala? Gast? Vertex? or are they all about the same Chinese crap last 3-5yrs and will need rebuild every 12-18 mos? Yes I know I have to keep it as cool as possible and watch the intake filter, etc to prolong the life.
thank you
I have been running a vertex system (compressor and three diffusers in two ponds) for 14 years with no maintenance and no trouble.
Posted By: buck dog Re: to aerate or leave well enough alone! - 11/19/21 08:41 PM
Theo,
Can I just put the compressor in barn and run say a 1 inch PVC line 350ft to the waters edge and then split it off at a manifold to 2 or 3 diffuser set ups on 1/2 or 5/8 weighted airline. probably cost less than running 230v and buying a cabinet for compressor etc. Also how loud is a 1/2hp rocking piston compressor compared to say a lg garage air compressor?
Originally Posted by buck dog
Theo,
Can I just put the compressor in barn and run say a 1 inch PVC line 350ft to the waters edge and then split it off at a manifold to 2 or 3 diffuser set ups on 1/2 or 5/8 weighted airline.
Yes. I run air a little over 600 feet to one pond (from a shed at the other pond) through 1" black plastic water line, and then select the deep water (Summer) or shallow water (Winter) outlet with 1" ball valves in a manifold clearly assembled by the Son/Grandson of plumbers. I switch from the 1" line to weighted airlines just inside the pond's shoreline.

I would ensure that the location in the barn was dust/dirt/vermin free (say with a sealed cabinet with filtered air input, if necessary).

Quote
Also how loud is a 1/2hp rocking piston compressor compared to say a lg garage air compressor?
I believe my aeration compressor is quieter than my tire compressor. (A cabinet with sound insulation would help that.)
Posted By: esshup Re: to aerate or leave well enough alone! - 11/26/21 05:02 PM
Originally Posted by buck dog
Ok esshup,
so I am stuck with rocking piston 1/2 hp compressor it seems. So does anyone have experience and advice on who makes the longest lasting trouble free??? Matala? Gast? Vertex? or are they all about the same Chinese crap last 3-5yrs and will need rebuild every 12-18 mos? Yes I know I have to keep it as cool as possible and watch the intake filter, etc to prolong the life.
thank you

Look at Thomas
Posted By: Bill Cody Re: to aerate or leave well enough alone! - 11/26/21 06:28 PM
If noise of a rocking piston is a concern in the garage in Indiana consider running the pump only at night. With your plan of diffusers and water depth running the pump 6-8 hours a night should be very adequate for turning over the deep water basin of your 1.2 acres. Consider upgrading from a 1/3 or 1/2hp to a 3/4hp that will provide more air volume and faster turnover.
Posted By: esshup Re: to aerate or leave well enough alone! - 11/26/21 08:57 PM
Originally Posted by Bill Cody
If noise of a rocking piston is a concern in the garage in Indiana consider running the pump only at night. With your plan of diffusers and water depth running the pump 6-8 hours a night should be very adequate for turning over the deep water basin of your 1.2 acres. Consider upgrading from a 1/3 or 1/2hp to a 3/4hp that will provide more air volume and faster turnover.

Or build a cabinet and put sound deadening foam in it. Remember to put a fan in there that will suck fresh air through the cabinet to keep it cool. A cabinet with sound deadening foam is no louder than someone talking dB wise.
Posted By: buck dog Re: to aerate or leave well enough alone! - 11/29/21 01:38 AM
Bill, thanks for the info I was definetly considering going with 3/4 hp. the pump will be on the cement floor in corned of nice clean pole barn. if I think it is turning the place into a echo chamber I will build a case around it. I have a bunch of ventilated sofit boards I was thinking of using? where can one get a proper fan that will do the job and last at least a yr?
do i need a fan on it if I dont enclose it??
Posted By: buck dog Re: to aerate or leave well enough alone! - 11/29/21 01:44 AM
esshup,
thank you for the heads up on thomas compressors and insulation board for sound.
I am waiting on a fellow to get back from killing all the deer in the woods to get with me on plan and prices for stuff i will need.
Posted By: esshup Re: to aerate or leave well enough alone! - 11/29/21 07:13 AM
Anytime. If you build an enclosure, it's better to have one entrance and a few exits on the opposite side so the fan blows air over the compressor. If the compressor is not in an enclosure, you don't really need a fan. You can help with some of the noise by putting it on rubber feet or on a piece of horse stall mat.
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