Surface Aeration
Power House aerators are surface floating units designed to provide daily and/or emergency aeration in ponds. Power House produces models available from 1/20 hp up to 3 hp models. These sturdy units come with the motor, float, and mooring lines, and are available with either 50 or 100 foot cord. They come ready to aerate the water with a vertical stream of water. They can be equipped with a “flow kit,” which allows the user to mount the motor horizontally to create a flow or directional current in the water. Installing automatic timers with aerators makes operation more convenient. Contact us for more information and pricing.
Operating Surface Aeration Systems
Surface aeration systems such as the Power House models are designed to provide emergency aeration to the pond at times of low dissolved oxygen. In most cases, it is not necessary to run the aerators 24 hours per day. During the day, microscopic algae produces oxygen through photosynthesis. This is usually enough oxygen to maintain a healthy environment. At night, the algae begins respiration. As a result, the amount of oxygen in the water is reduced. It is usually at night and in the early morning when oxygen levels are at their lowest.
Unless you want to manually turn your aerator on each night, it is best to install an automatic timer to operate the aerator. Begin running the aerator in the spring from 10:00 pm to 8:00 am each day. This is more necessary in the hot summer months when water temperatures are high and algae blooms tend to be most dense. The aerators can be turned off once water temperatures decline in the late fall. It is not necessary to run the aerator during the winter months.
Operating Diffuser Aeration Systems
Diffuser systems are designed to mix the water throughout a pond, preventing the pond from forming layers (becoming stratified), of warm, oxygen rich water and cool, oxygen poor water. If a pond is allowed to stratify, there is a risk that the pond can experience a turnover, which occurs when constant wind or a cool rain shower forces the two layers of water to mix. The turnover can cause a fish kill because of the reduction in oxygen concentration in the water.
The destratifier prevents the pond from forming layers, reducing the possibility of a turnover. When beginning to destratify, the system should only be run for a short amount of time. The goal is to slowly mix the layers so that we don’t force a turnover by mixing the layers too quickly. On the first day, run the destratifier for 15 minutes. Then on the second day double this amount of time to 30 minutes. On the third, double this amount to an hour. Follow this pattern until you are running the system for 24 hours per day after one week. The system should be run constantly for the warm months of the year. The system can also be run year round.
Diffuser Systems
Vertex aerators are designed to destratify ponds as well as provide aeration. The diffusers from this system are placed on the pond bottom. Air bubbles, produced by a compressor mounted on the pond bank, travel down weighted tubing to the diffusers. As the air bubbles travel to the pond surface from the diffusers, they create lift, bringing water with them. This concept is known as “air-lift,” and the current created by it mixes the water which prevents the pond from becoming stratified. Vertex diffuser systems are available in several sizes. Vertex also produces fountain systems for aesthetic uses.
Contact us for more information on sizing and pricing for aeration and foundation installation. Be sure to ask about our other pond management and lake management services. We proudly serve communities in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Texas.