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Key Points to Consider When Aerating a Pond

Key Points to Consider When Aerating a Pond

1. Why am I aerating my pond?
Maybe you have fish in your pond that you want to keep alive during the winter or you want to add fish to your pond as a source of food for your family. You might be considering adding an aeration system to clear the water of algae and reduce sedimentary muck to make the pond better for swimming. These are just a few of the reasons to aerate your pond and for each pond-owner there are specific expectations.

2. How much money do I want to spend?
If you have invested thousands or tens of thousands of dollars into the building of a new pond and you will be no doubt be prepared to invest in a high quality aeration system that is easy to install, guaranteed to perform and constructed of quality materials. An example of this type of system is our Vertex packages which come complete with a high-quality insulated and ventilated cabinet, professional compressor with sturdy manifolds and high-output micro-bubble diffusers. If you are an industrious person you may consider buying separate components to create a "homemade" aeration system. By doing-it-yourself you can save money by investing your time and energy into buying various parts and assembling your own aerator. Often our clients choose this route if they already have a shed to put the compressor in and are handy with tools and can easily build an air controlling manifold valve. We sell a full range of silent-running linear compressors that can aerate ponds up to 6 feet deep.

3. How much work do I want to do myself?
Using a standard PVC 3/4" tubing to connect the compressor to the diffusers instead of a self-sinking tubing will save you about 75% on the cost of your tubing. But, because standard PVC will float on water you will need to tie bricks to the tubing every 5-10 feet so the tubing stays near the bottom and out of sight. With larger installations this becomes increasingly time consuming and physically demanding and when you try and repair or remove such a setup it is a real unfriendly-chore. But by using a self-sinking tubing (which does cost more) you make installation a quick, stress-free process. It is up to you to decide if your time and effort is worth the money saved. Other clients also prefer to build their own protective cabinet for the air-compressor and do not want to buy a complete package that has a housing included so they purchase wood and build a doghouse like structure and install an electric fan inside for cooling and place the compressor inside and put it near the pond. This works, but obviously is not ideal for everyone.

4.Higher quality = higher cost?
If you want the top of the line product you have to be prepared to spend a little bit more to get it. When you average the cost over the life-expectancy of a high-quality aeration system versus a homemade rigging you will find the higher quality unit is often a smarter choice.


Old style system

Here is an old aeration installation that we removed from a 2.5 acre pond. It was installed by a company using primitive but common techniques. To supply air to the the 10 metal six inch diffusers a total of ten lengths of standard PVC tubing were tied together and weighted with bricks and cinder blocks so they would sink to the bottom of the pond. Each of the ten diffusers were weighted with large bricks and had Styrofoam float markers tied to them. This picture shows the tangled messy "system" of tubes and metal diffusers and Styrofoam floats that had been used to aerate the pond. This setup required over 4000 feet of tubing and although PVC tubing was used (that costs around 50 cents per foot) the huge amount of tubing required brought the cost of tubing alone to over $2000. The labor required to bundle and sink the twelve lines must have been astronomical not to mention costly. After the initial installation, when the compressor was turned on, the ten diffusers had to all be manually brought to the surface and adjusted 3 times before the diffusers were set rightly and all bubbling correctly. Even then, with the undersized compressor that was being used, the total discharge of bubbles was minimal. This type of system receives a poor rating as it is inefficient, costly and has the appearance of refuse which most pond owners would not want in their prized pond.


Modern system

The picture on the right shows the replacement aeration system for the pond on the bank ready for installation. Instead of ten small metal diffusers we used three AirStationXL's which each have four 9" diffusion discs made of rugged rubber compounds to resist clogging and eliminate the need for cleaning. This gave the pond a total of twelve diffusers which come fastened to self-sinking bases for rapid installation. The diffusers cannot flip-over and every installation is a one time affair. Only 1000 feet of Torpedo tubing was required and because this is a self-sinking tubing no weights or bricks are needed to keep it on the pond bottom. The metal- free self-sinking tubing may cost more per foot than standard PVC but the benefits are obvious. The three AirStationXL's were quickly installed in three deep areas of the pond. With a boat it took less than 3 hours to have everything in place and the aeration system working. This type of system receives a high rating not only because it is efficient and is constructed of modern, safe materials but also because labor costs and installation times are significantly reduced. Because this system requires much less material (unlike the old system which required extreme amounts of tubing, ropes, metal diffusers, bricks, floats, Styrofoam chunks, hundreds of metal clamps and fasteners) it is less disturbing to the pond owner who wishes to maintain the beauty of the entire pond and keep it safe and healthy.

Sometimes a system may look expensive but when you consider factors like reduced installation time, higher aeration efficiency, greater longevity of the products, reduced maintenance needs and comprehensive warranty programs it becomes clear that overall you often get more than what you pay for.

Here is a picture of the aluminum rustproof insulated Vertex QuietAir Cabinet for housing their BrookWood™ air compressors. This enclosure comes equipped with barrel lock for security, fully gasketed and constructed of aluminum with gray electrostatically-bonded powder coating to provide lifetime warranty against rust. The cabinet is furnished with stamped ventilation grills to insure forced air circulation and an integral cooling fan with thermal protection, producing 290 CFM to guard against excessive compressor operating temperatures. Cabinet provided with HDPE mounting pad (24" x 24" x 2") and Class "A" GFCI protection on all circuits. This cabinet comes standard in the Vertex family of professional aeration systems.


PPM Housing

And here is a picture of our homemade compressor cabinets that we sell that are made of treated wood to house a compressor. It has a rustic flavor than many people enjoy and it's cost is 25% of the aluminum Vertex housing but again you must balance quality and durability with your purchases. For many people the basic wooden box is enough and they won't mind replacing it ever few years if it gets damaged by severe weather or large-toothed animals. For other people a wooden box does not match their existing decor or does not provide the professional look and security that the Vertex enclosure does. Both units have their place. You might have an existing shed or wish to house the compressor in your garage or boathouse. There are no rigid rules when it comes down to it. In the end it's your decision. To create your own aeration system start here with compressors and diffusers.