any one utilize a windmill to provide aeration all year?
Welcome to the forum dracor. I plan on using windmill aeration when my small pond is finished since a source of electricity isn't close enough.
A windmill works for smaller ponds, but one has to take several precautions when aerating during winter ice cover such as freeze control and a pressure relief valve. A pressure gauge on the system is also very useful when problems occur.
Thanks for the welcome...just found this website and Im elated...I have an acre pond in southern tier New York and it has been in place since the beginning of time....bought the property and new to pond mgmt system so Im a total newbie....have LMB, CC, BG, WC and hope to see bass grow bigger...
Is WC white crappie? If so im sure they will get some peoples notice on here.. Theyre usually not good for a pond.. overpopulate easily and stunt.. So any that you catch dont throw back either fillet or discard it..
sorry, maybe they are black crappie...( have a...they were stocked 3 years ago in 10 breeding pairs (20 fish) but I havent caught any smaller than the ones I put in...they seem to be aggressive yet not plentiful. The Cats were 10 to 12 inches when I put them in and have grown to 24 in on average...bass seem to prefer live bait only...they stay away from lures and plastic yet will hit a minnow on a bobber aggressively
Dracor,
We've had Koenders windmill aerators for 15 years on several of our ponds in SD. They work okay, but do have annual maintenance issues with replacing the check valves and diaphram. Plus one definitely needs some type of antifreeze system incorporated.
What we do is bubble the air coming out of the pump through a solution of antifreeze (propylene glycol is the non toxic one). Then the water-free air exits the top of the chamber and goes out into the pond. On the newer designed aerators they have an alcohol bottle attached to the tubing, so that when it starts to fill up with ice, alcohol dribbles in.
The deeper water you put the end of the aerator, the more backpressure builds up in the system (obviously), and this seems to be harder on the diaphram and check valves. Thus we've placed all ours in 8-10 ft of water.
Of course when it happens to be calm in the winter, the water will freeze over temporarily. Make sure you have the area posted for thin ice.
Bill