We talk about pond aeration all the time. It's vital to have oxygen throughout your pond in order for it to be healthy and enjoyable. Without it, your fish will die and the sludge and muck on the bottom of the pond will take over, causing noxious odors and unhealthy conditions. Avoid this catastrophic loss and put the proper size and type of aeration in your pond. It may sound technical or way too mechanical for you, but it's super, super easy and can be done in almost 3 easy steps.
First, your aeration system will come in 3 basic parts. The compressor (or the motor as some people call it), the tubing and the air diffuser (or commonly called an air 'bubbler').
What you need to do is have an electrical outlet near the pond's edge. Be sure to stay within local city codes and have a GFCI outlet.
Place the compressor near the electrical outlet.
1. Connect the tubing to the discharge side of the compressor with a hose clamp that comes with it. If the tubing doesn't want to fit on the nipple discharge, get a cup of hot water and dip the end of the tubing into it and let it sit for about 2 minutes. This will soften the poly tubing and make it pliable so you can put it on the discharge nipple. If you have a larger compressor that needs a hose clamp, be sure to loop the hose clamp on the tubing BEFORE you attach it to the discharge nipple. After the tubing is attached, tighten the hose clamp. Don't over tighten.
2. Attach the other end of the tubing to the air diffuser. The air diffuser will have a nipple (probably what's called a male threaded or a male slip nipple). Again, be sure to loop another hose clamp over the end of the tubing before attaching it to the air diffuser (or air stone). Then, after it's attached, tighten the tubing to the nipple with the hose clamp. Be sure not to over tighten so you don't break the nipple within the tubing.
3. Place the air diffuser out into the pond near the deepest, most central part. If your pond is 14' deep, leave a couple of feet left undisturbed for the fish and try to put the diffuser around 12' deep area.
The placement of the diffuser may require you to row out in a boat and lower the diffuser and attached tubing into the water. With our large, rubber membrane diffuser I have found a little trick to lowering them. I use a black, nylon rope that I got at Lowe's. I loosely wrapped it around the diffuser from left to right and top to bottom. (Kind of like you would put a ribbon around a square box. You can then lower it in the water that way. Keep the black nylon on it in case you want to bring the diffuser up. The black nylon won't look obtrusive from a distance but will float so you can see it to pull it up.
4. That's about it, depending on which aerator you get. If you have a larger unit that comes with multiple lines and a valve, then you would need to adjust the pressure for the various lines by turning the handle with that particular line. When everything is set, plug in the unit. You should then see bubbles coming up from your diffusers.
Keep the aerator going 24 hours a day, 365 days a year for optimal aeration.
If you don't have electricity near your pond, you still can very well use an aerator in your pond. Let us know the distance your pond is from the nearest source (like in a nearby barn) and we can help you choose an aerator. In this case, you would plug in the compressor at the electrical source, run a larger tubing to the pond's edge, then connect the tubing to a diverter which can then divert the pressure to multiple tubing lines and diffusers in the water so you can aerate a large pond. The tubing that runs from the barn to the pond's edge can be buried or lay on the ground. We'll help you with that but know that it's something that you may be able to do very easily.
If you have any questions at all, be sure to let us know. We're happy to help you!
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