Pond Boss Forums AERATION Systems questions Diffusers keep busting leaks

In addition to what Snrub said, here are a couple of excerpts from tech papers you might find helpful


From a paper by M. K. Stenstrom and D. Rosso at UCLA

Both coarse and fine bubble diffusers present a pressure drop. The operating pressure of a diffused air system must include pressure drop in pipelines, the hydrostatic pressure of the water at the diffuser submergence, and the pressure drop of the diffuser.
• A diffuser pressure drop is called the “dynamic wet pressure” and includes both the pressure loss through the diffuser but also the surface tension of the fluid being aerated.
• Coarse bubble diffusers have very low DWP, generally only 5 to 10 mbar. Fine pore diffusers always have more, with ceramic devices having DWPs from 15 to 30 mbar. Membrane devices have higher DWPs, as much as 45 mbar. Consultant manufacturers data and verify DWP when clean water testing

And from Hazen and Sawyer

Regardless of type, model, or manufacturer, the fine-pore diffusers show decreased efficiency and increased pressure drop with increasing air flow rate.

Hope this helps. Good luck. Please let us know what you figure out.

Bill D

Edit: If you are not familiar with mbar pressure units, 45 mbar is about 0.6 psi. The reason I provided these excerpts is to show that aeration is not just buying a compressor somewhere, some hose somewhere and a diffuser somewhere. You need to consider all factors together and the system needs to be designed to match all components to the application.