Pond aerator

A pond aerator, better known as an air compressor, is a necessary device for those who have ennobled their site with any decorative pond. The efforts of a landscape designer who fit a fashion trend in the form of a pond or an artificial lake on a personal plot can easily turn out to be useless.

Such a detail of the landscape will not give any decor and visual effect if it is not properly equipped. This is easily explained by hydrologists: stagnant water blooms very quickly, begins to stagnate and exude a bad smell. Even installing a homemade aerator will easily avoid such a nuisance.

Objective reasons for aerating stagnant water in a pond, pool

Blue-green algae, also called cyanobacteria, is an eternal problem for owners of swimming pools and ornamental ponds. This is an objective reality that is around a person in the environment, just like other bacteria and microorganisms. It's just that cyanobacteria are characterized by active reproduction, which is visualized for the unlucky owner of a luxurious fashionable attribute, like green water with an unpleasant odor. The main reason for even the tiniest pond to coat is fusion, especially intense in spring and known as spring water bloom.

Pond aerator

Flowering can drag on and lead to a terrifying state of the reservoir, when instead of the expected clean water, a real swamp in miniature forms in it.

The pond is a picturesque accessory for landscape design, the presence of which is conditioned by the requirements of a certain style and modern fashion. But to make it really aesthetic, you have to work. Experts advise to plant special plants on the shore and populate them in a pond, carry out manual cleaning and filtration, use a skimmer and a water vacuum cleaner, chemicals and bioadditives. You can do without all this if you buy or at least assemble a simple aerator with your own hands.

Pond Aerator

Unfavorable factors such as a film on the water, the growth of cyanobacteria and a putrid odor arise from:

• the death of its microscopic and larger inhabitants from a lack of oxygen and a dense film on the surface;
• sediments on the bottom, formed as a result of the gradual withering away of the natural biosphere, which inevitably forms in any aquatic environment;
• the formation of silt from the remains of non-viable biological flora and fauna;
• the appearance of putrefactive formations, taking the place of other inhabitants and poisoning the water with the products of their vital activity, which is why an unpleasant and sometimes unbearable smell appears.

Methods for supplying air for aeration (principle of operation of a pond aerator)

Aeration is the name of any method of influencing water, during which air (active oxygen molecules) is supplied into it. In a closed artificial reservoir, the natural process does not work or occurs in an insufficient volume.

Therefore, people use different ways to optimize water conditions:

• chemical, in which reagents are introduced into the water that release oxygen molecules during interaction (this is not always safe and requires a careful calculation of the dosage);
• mechanical - there are different ways to move water, but there are also very simple ones - for example, purchasing a ready-made aerator;
• aerators from a drainage pump (they are made by hand for ponds or pools with a large area, they give a powerful stream of water in which there is already the necessary oxygen);
• membrane diffuser (brush or disc aerator), with pump, motor and device for mixing water and air. A good option, especially as a pond aerator in winter if the pond is large.

The difference between small decorative reservoirs, in which fish or aquariums are not bred, where there is always a source of electricity nearby, is that there is no need for aeration in winter, when the water freezes.

Pond aeration device

Features, Advantages and Disadvantages of Pond Aerator

There are many types of such devices:

• floating, with a vertical propeller - the best option for small reservoirs, with a depth of up to 3 m, but budgetary and small in size;
• a shaft equipped with blades (paddle wheel) requires a motor, moreover, it is a surface aerator, useless at a considerable depth and cumbersome;
• horizontal - equipped with motor, shaft and pipe. According to reviews, it is prone to breakdowns and gives less oxygen than other devices;
• at the pump, the propeller is installed horizontally, the motor pump helps to ensure the water does not freeze in winter, it is good in reservoirs where the bottom relief changes;
• the cascade can be made independently or purchased, but despite its natural origin, it is not as productive as a mechanical aerator for pools or ponds;
• compressor or spray, works great at depth and is not very suitable for shallow bodies of water.

Selection criteria for a pond aerator

The choice of a device for a pond or pool must take into account several components. If an energy source is required - how realistic is its supply and what is the safety of this process. Cost and ease or complexity of installation are of great importance. You also need to consider how labor intensive the maintenance is and how often it is required.

Pond aeration

Do-it-yourself pond aerator

Any device can be made with your own hands using your own ingenuity and improvised means. For example, assemble a bottom from an old compressor, high pressure hoses, tees and clamps.

The compressor is connected to the central hose, the bends are made to the nozzles, the sprayers are attached to the bottom of the pond, having previously been attached to the tees. Such a device cannot work all the time, however, as a preventive measure, it is perfect for a small decorative pond.

Rules for the operation and maintenance of a pond aerator

The necessary conditions for efficiency and durability depend on the type of device selected and its size. There are not at all costly care, but ineffective, there are the same of little use, but with a greater waste of time and effort. But if you take into account the selection criteria correctly, you can find excellent options.