I know now that was a poor decision and have this terrible incident as a grim reminder for anyone else that might see this thread when starting up an aeration for the first time.
Most things you read on the web talk only about adding aeration and the huge benefit, but few places get into the proper way to introduce the system.
I'm about to dive into aeration, skimming posts to learn about psi and cfm requirements. I'm 100% sure that your post saved me from doing exactly the same thing. I was planning on running two diffusers in a small 26yr old pond, 24/7, from day one.
Thank you.
-Jerry
