I have been running my aeration system in my 10 foot deep pond 24/7 this year and it is the same temp from the bottom to just a few inches from the top or at least within a few degrees. I have also done O2 tests when the system had been running 24/7 and the O2 levels do get better towards the top, but they are much more consistent from top to bottom with the aeration running more than not. I do not get a thermocline in my 1/4 acre pond and my lowest diffuser is 3 feet off the bottom in 10 foot of water. My systems turns my pond over about 4 times a day. I have abandoned the thought of over-heating my pond with 24/7 aeration. I do not have any hard data to support this decision, but I feel that it is better for my pond to have higher DO than lower temps. And, I'm not convinced that it actually heats up the pond.

My heat transfer is very rusty (let's just say non-existent - lol), but the pond soaks up the day's heat regardless of aeration...with aeration on during the day, the pond soaks that heat and it is distributed throughout the churned water column. Without aeration on during the day, the pond soaks up that heat and it stays near the surface. My surface temps get several degrees warmer with the air off. Now, when the air gets turned on at night, all that heat gets mixed into the depths of the pond and what have we done? Pushed that heat back into the water column.

One could argue that the heat could dissipate off the surface at night before the air gets turned on and they could be right. I'd love to see a simple study on that. How many hours would it take? Maybe start the air at midnight and back off at sunrise...maybe?

All I really know is that I got tired of watching my DO and water temps cycle every day and I decided to leave it on 24/7. I believe my fish like to have more consistency in their water conditions compared to slightly cooler (maybe) water and cycling DO and Temperatures.

The end of this week will be a good time to check my pond temps and see what 24/7 aeration has done compared to last years off/on settings. This will be the hottest and most humid week of the year for me.

Fish on!,
Noel