Pond Boss Forums AERATION Systems questions 2.35 acre pond aeration

I just built a 2.35 acre pond. Average depth is 8ft, deepest point is 14ft. 100 by 100 shallow cove that is 4ft deep. I have read every post on aeration that is available here. I understand most of it. Lift, CFM, psi, turning over 6 million gallons each day. There are so many products out there. I have power at the pond. I really wish y’all would just chime in your opinions and tell me what pump and how many diffusers you would use. Sorry if this sounds lazy, even after all of the information, I still feel lost.

I think most will probably recommend the Gast 0523. Its rotary vain and has the backbone to handle 3 diffusers, which is most likely to be what's also going to be recommended for a pond your size (one for your shallow slough, the others out on the main BOW). You may be able to get by with two diffusers.

I went a different route, but my pond is small and didnt require that much push.

I have to ask, is your pond in the open or is it tree lined?

If you can get a good wind across it, you may not need it, tho aeration is never a bad thing.

Thanks, my pond is in the open, but I still want to aerate.

As Mike says the Gast pumps are pretty popular around here. The 0523 might be a bit on the small side for a 2 acre plus pond depending on your budget and your desires. One Vertex diffuser, according to their lift rate chart, in 12 feet of water will turn over 2.8 million gallons per day. You would want 2 diffusers for sure just to approach the minimum recommended rate of 1 full turn over per day, but 3 gets you in the good zone. The 0523 would be working at the top end of its performance curve if you put one diffuser in the pond a t 12 feet deep and the other two in less water. I think you would be better off with the next size up...Gast 0823 3/4 hp. This would allow you to put in up to 7 diffusers and not run out of flow, and you'll be turning the pond over just more twice a day which is a good place to be.

Bottom line is that the 0523 with 3 Vertex diffusers would barely fit your pond size. This assumes that you can keep the hose diameter large and the lengths short. Smaller diffuser line diameters (1/2 and below) and longer length runs (over 75 ft each) really start to use up pump capacity. My choice would be the 0823 and 6 diffusers. IF you have room in the budget and wanted more diffusers than 6, the Gast 1023 would be the next step up where the 0823 will not fully run 7 diffusers, but the 1023 pump would handle 9 diffusers optimally (I would not use this pump with less than 8 diffusers).





AND, welcome to the forums!

Thanks! Does everyone use Vertex diffusers because they are the only ones with published specs??? Also, if I use 6 diffusers, 1 at 4ft and the other 5 between 8-12ft. I should be able to turn almost 14 million gallons a day. Does this mean I can get away with only running the pump 12 hrs per day?

Can anyone offer any pros or cons to this set up from Tractor supply? I figure with a 5yr warranty, it cannot be terrible.
Airmax PondSeries PS40, 115V, 400 ft. Airline
SKU # 126184799

There are other brands of diffusers, but vertex is the only one I have seen lift rate charts for, one of the reasons I bought them.

You, will likely, only want to run your aeration system during the cooler hours during the heat of the summer, so running 12 hours a day will be about right during those months. We get summer highs that stay in the 90's and get to the low 100's here in Missouri and I watch the water temps at 18 inches below the surface. When the water temp gets to be 80 to 85 degrees F AND the daytime air temp is above that...I only run the air at night to reduce the heating up of the pond.

Bottom line: regardless of the time of the year, turn over once a day is your minimum goal, so you could run the system only 12 hours per day to meet that goal. I would consider running more when daytime highs will allow, but that's just my hunch - more is better.

I turn my pond over (with 24 hour air) more than 4 times a day, but It appears to contribute to the muddiness of my pond. I have not totally blamed my system on the muddy water, it could be that I have light fluffy clay solids that like to suspend. This winter was pretty bad and I only had one diffuser running for up to 2 hours a day. They say that the muddy waters caused by starting up a system will go away , but not mine, yet.

Pros

I have the Airmax PS20 in my pond and really like it. This will be my 5th year and the only maintenance I've had to do is the manufacturer recommended "Burping" (run full pump output thru 1 diffuser at a time)a couple times a year. The boil is just as strong now as it was year one. The diffusers are Teflon coated tubes vs the membrane disc type diffusers some manufacturers use. The rocking piston pump (RPP) gives me the muscle to place diffusers at much deeper depths than possible with a vane type pump without concern about over working the pump. IIRC the PS40 is effectively 2 PS20s in a single housing.

Cons

The only thing I would do different is upgrade to the larger 5/8 tubing (the default was 3/8 with the package I bought) to further reduce back pressure on the pump.

The air inlet filter is small and is a special. The replacement filter cartridges are relatively expensive. I replaced mine with a Bill Cody designed retrofit to a larger filter assembly with a readily available cartridge which pretty much eliminated this expense.

I have a Kasco system that uses two 1/2hp pumps and 6 diffusers for a pond that is a little over 3 acres. I like the system. The reason for 6 diffusers is due to bottom contours (its is not a bowl shape) and has two different pools along with underwater channels, flats, roadbeds etc.

After running it 24/7 for the first two yrs I have since cut it back to 12 hrs per night during the summer months to reduce heating the water up from top to bottom. Bob Lusk said we need cool refuge and by running the system at night I get that refuge Bob speaks about. Another thing I learned was my aeration would disturb the clays on bottom and would keep some clay suspended in the water making the water a little cloudy. After trying different methods of reducing the disturbed clays I finally built stands that held the diffusers 21" off the bottom and that stop all that clay suspension that was caused by the diffusers being on bottom. It also helped in reducing water temps on bottom during the hot summer months. Bob Lusk said don't let the diffusers kick up the bottom clays and dirty the water, he said that is not good for the fish and pond.


Hope all this helps, no expert but just passing along what I have experienced and learned.

I like and sell the AirMax systems. There are lift charts for them, and is higher per CFM than a membrane....plus a whole lot less maintenance/turbidity issues.

If your diffuser is causing turbidity, it is improperly installed!

Bill, you can easily convert to the 5/8" lines

Hey quarter acre. Would a gast 1022 be good enough for his pond? I just purchased a gast 1022 3/4 horse and my ponds a tad bigger than his. Looking to see if it would work. Thanks

Thanks for the input, I went with the AirMax PS40 with 4 diffusers and 5/8 weighted hose. The zero interest for 24 months was a bonus, now I can use that cash on sod.