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Joined: Apr 2022
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Hey all! First time poster but long time leach of info from the site. I’ve recently become the new owner of a 1/4 acre pond and wanted to add aeration to help with the ridiculous amount of muck. I DIY’d a system for it and wanted to get thoughts. I know it’s not ideal as the pond is around 4’ deep because of all the buildup, but I did what I could do for damage control on a budget. I have a hiblow 100ll I plumbed into a tote with foam surrounding for dampening the sound bc it’s directly below our gazebo. I also wired in a temp controller that kicks on computer fan when temps underneath the pump reach around 80 degrees. I plumbed two valves to two buried 3/4 plastic tubes (15ft) to the bank. Then used two 50' 5/8” weighted hose runs out to my DIY diffusers. Right now, my gauge is showing around 4 psi. Is that too much pressure for the hiblow? I’m figuring it’s mostly due to my check valves and soaker hose diffusers. Any rate, go easy on me…working on a budget initially. https://www.amazon.com/photos/shared/W5x4piIvSuCuqVRyezY9tA.nEk5SZBV913Sc1R71um-R9
https://www.amazon.com/photos/shared/8vCsO76PTU-EEvKVU-ItBg.AP_dbsTPZ6MobidyXDxngD
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https://www.amazon.com/photos/shared/eM_AqhVHRkC2mobEJEgapQ.L2dDgkC6UCCD20h23fxnpO
https://www.amazon.com/photos/shared/FZSoFRTKT06uFG8DYhWSNQ.hcViSlcl0q6M127C2NBSj7
https://www.amazon.com/photos/shared/ppy8Dp4CTK-x5UH1Sv4D3A.GlIk8jZyuh4StpPRJfKz6j

Last edited by Kyle Sichting; 04/19/22 11:33 AM.
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Welcome to PB! It looks like you have done well with your DIY system. 4 psi at the pump should be putting out about 2.5 CFM total and it is under the 4.3 psi Max Continuous Operating Pressure.


Fish on!,
Noel
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I had a thought, if you added some more length to the soaker hose, you might be able to get your pump pressure down further and put more CFM through the diffusers. Your system is at a point on the pump curve that for every 1/4 psi you can lose, you gain about 1/4 CFM...

More CFM through the diffusers means more water movement means better oxygen in the water. And, the pump would not be working as hard.


Fish on!,
Noel
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I suppose that would make sense to use more hose...wonder how much more I would have to add to make a noticeable difference. I definitely don't want to be this close to the max pressure. I'm almost talking myself into biting the bullet and getting a couple membrane diffusers.

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I think adding hose would reduce your pressure, but that may just be a good guess. My thought is that it offers more holes for the air to escape and that should relieve some pressure. I would consider adding 5 foot of straight right before the one you have already made and test it in the pond at the same 4 foot depth. If that drops the pressure to your satisfaction, you could reconfigure your diffuser/s to have the added 5 foot. Bump up the length to 10 foot if you get some drop with 5 foot added, but not much, and test again.

You could move the diffusers into 3 foot of water instead of 4 which should drop your pressure by 0.4 psi. Your pond should still get turned over with the diffusers in the 3 foot of water.

The best you can do with the diffusers in 4 foot of water would be about 2psi. I'd be shocked if you could add enough hose to achieve that, however. I'd be very happy with 3 to 3.5 psi and if it stays at 4 psi, it's good, but could be better.

The diaphragm membrane diffusers are definitely a favorite, but I'd hold off since you already have yours made. I have not used the soaker hose heads, but hear that they tend to clog after a while and do not clean up real easy. Watch your pressure gage...a rise in pressure would likely mean that they were clogging. I suspect that would take a season or two...thereabouts.

The membrane diffusers may require a bit more pressure to get them to start to produce bubbles...In the neighborhood of 0.5 to 1psi. I have never tested a soaker hose's pressure requirement. Should you take one of your diffusers out of the pond...note the gage reading while running and the head out of water...then remove the head and record the gage pressure. The difference between those numbers should be the back pressure from the head alone. If it is around 0.5 to 1 psi then the membrane diffuser should swap in it's place with little pressure difference.


Fish on!,
Noel
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So I ran the test today. Isolated my left diffuser head which is most shallow. Ran around 5.5 psi on the bottom. Pulled it up out of water and there was little change. Took diffuser head off and dropped hose to bottom and got around 1.5 psi on the gauge. So in short, between the check valve and soaker hose I’m getting around 4 psi head pressure. I brushed it when I pulled it up to clean sediment and algae and got little change. Guess I’ll be getting a couple matalas or something of the sort. 😞

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The odd results are that you got 1.5 psi at 4 feet of water. Keep in mind that I run numbers for what they are and 4 foot of water should require 1.73 psi to pump water down that deep (0.433 psi per foot of water). Maybe your not in exactly 4 foot of water and pressure gages can certainly be off a bit.

The good news is that your plumbing is not restricting your air flow. So, less restrictive diffusers should put you in a good place. Matala and Vertex are common brands thrown around here at PB. Check out Hoosier Pond Pros for the Vertex brand when you start your search for diffusers. I've had the vertex diffusers in my pond now for about 5 years and got them for esshup (PB member). Here's a link if you want to check it out...

https://shop.hoosierpondpros.com/Aeration_c3.htm


Fish on!,
Noel
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As you now surmise the soaker is very likely requiring or creating the added back pressure on the system. Pores are probably too tight for easy air flow. You can verify the pressure required by the soaker hose by just hooking the soaker hose of various lengths to the Hiblow& gauge or on the end of some of the airline without check valves. With creativity you should be able to isolate the back pressure problem. .

Last edited by Bill Cody; 04/24/22 08:28 PM.

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I replaced the soaker hose with two vertex diffusers as you recommended. I shouldn't have been such a penny pincher to begin with...Have good boils now, much stronger than I had before, and only running at 2.5 psi back pressure. Pump obviously running cooler too.

2 members like this: esshup, Quarter Acre

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