Pond Boss Forums AERATION Systems questions Help with design please

Hello! I’m revisiting my pond aeration now that I’ve finished construction on my barn. Currently I have an AP 100 in a deck box supplying a single vertex disk in my kidney bean half acre pond. The plan is to run 75’ of 3/4 pex from the barn where the pump will be located to the pond where I’ll have a header to break off to a 200’ run of 3/8 for the farthest disk and about 75’ of 3:8 the the closest. What I’m not sure about is what size pump and what retailer. My pond is roughly 10’ deep and that AP 100 only seems to have enough oomph to make a decent boil with the single disk. Could I just get a second unit and run them tandem to keep cost low? If not I would like to get a pump that would be able to handle 3 single disk. before I drop a bunch of money I’d really appreciate some input! Thanks so much guys!

Well I’m pretty sure I know where I’m going to purchase my pump, looking at the Gast 0523. And if i understand the charts right I should be able to run 3 diffusers all roughly at 10’ with a total run length of 375’.

Don't run 3/8" go with the 5/8" ID weighted tubing. You will have higher back pressure and less volume with the smaller air line.

Here are a couple of links to old threads that might be of interest.

Pressure calculation

Diffuser cleaning

Maybe the friction loss website I’m using isn’t correct but I can see where with 3/8’s it adds up quick. If I upgrade to 1/2” my longest run (200’) using 1cfm (vertex) for the diffuser I’m looking at a friction loss of .26 which seems negligible. Is there a calculator you guys use to determine friction loss? Thanks for the replies!

I use the following calulator (Online Compressed Air Pipeline Pressure Drop Calculator - Imperial Units)...

https://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/pressure-drop-compressed-air-pipes-d_852.html

Using 1 CFM, 200' hose, and 5 psi pump gage pressure...

A 200' long piece of 3/8" ID tubing will eat over 3 psi (You don't want this),

1/2" wants 3/4psi (not bad),

5/8" ID line only wants about 1/4psi (much better)...

BIG DIFFERECE

With 75' of 3/4" (1/2psi) and the 5/8" tubing above (1/4psi), along with some losses for fittings (1/4-1/2 psi), diffuser losses (1/2 - 1 psi), and at 10' deep (5psi)...you get about 6.5 - 7.25 psi back pressure. The 0523 will be putting out about 4 CFM at this presure. This is good for 3 OR 4 diffusers at 10 foot deep.

Edit: Pay attention to your fittings and manifold ports. You want the inner diameter of these items to be close to the ID of the lines they are feeding. Otherwise, they create restrictions that add to your back pressure. For example, The bore in a 3/4-inch full bore ball valve is 3/4-inch in diameter. The bore in a 3/4-inch size standard bore ball valve is 1/2-inch.

Thanks for dropping some knowledge, that calculator is much easier to use. I appreciate it!

I can agree with what is said above. I have exactly the setup QA describes above. Gast 0523 80 foot of 5/8th inch weighted Hose and 3 vertex fusers in 9 feet of water and they run like mad!! My pond is 1 acre. You will be happy you went with the Gast I sure am!!