Also why does the planted part of river need to be narrower and longer again? I was thinking of having the air lift “exhaust” into an area almost like a wetland: wide. shallow, and maybe 100 feet long, filled with plants. What do you think of this? What is the right depth so that filtering plants can grow, and yet it doesn’t “fill in” too fast?

Also any particular reason why I should pull from as deep as possible? I figure if I get the intake part way down water should still get sucked in from all around, including the deeper areas. What do you think?