Pond Aeration Systems

The key to keeping a healthy a pond or lake is aeration; this is done by simply moving water from below the surface up to the surface in mass volume. Any pond that doesn’t have adequate aeration will inevitably have problems. The types of problems a poorly managed pond can experience are unchecked plant and algae growth, foul odors, and fish kills.

How do pond aerators work?

The most common type of pond aerator systems are the “diffused air” type.  A diffused air pond aerator system consists of a compressor (mounted in a cabinet) on the shoreline, weighted tubing, and a diffuser head placed along the pond’s bottom. Air is pumped by the compressor, through the tubing, and released through the diffuser head. Bubbles then rise to the surface.

A common misconception is that the bubbles add oxygen to the water. This is not the case. How diffused air pond aeration systems achieve their goal is by inducing circulation within the waterway. As the bubbles rise, they create a lifting current which brings the bottom oxygen deplete layer of the waterway into contact with the atmosphere. At the surface, oxygen transfers into the water. Over time, the lifting currents induced by the rising bubbles will effectively mix the whole water body to an even dissolved oxygen level.

Proper aeration system design is more than just buying a unit and hooking it up. Your pond’s surface acres, perimeter feet, slope ratio, average depth, and lake volume all play important roles when designing an aeration system. These factors are considered when selecting the proper size system and placement of diffuse to ensure sufficient turnover, or the number of times the entire volume of the waterway is pumped from the lake bottom to the lake surface.

Florida Waterways installs and services the full line of Kasco Diffused Aeration Systems. Contact us today for a custom quote!