Electronics > Projects, Designs, and Technical Stuff
Pond aerator powered by solar is on the docket
JimRemington:
It never occurred to me to consider commercial decorative fountains, but I understand the shortcomings.
It seemed obvious that if one wanted to use a solar powered water pump to aerate (as does a friend with several large ponds bearing fish), one would draw from the deepest point.
calzap:
To find out more about aeration, I suggest visiting forums.pondboss.com. They have a forum section dedicated exclusively to aeration.
Mike in California
Seekonk:
Wish I had a pond because this is something I'd love to design. I'm a proponent of batteryless PV systems. I have a LG clothes washer that runs off panel voltage with no battery. Most old MSW inverter H bridges will work off any voltage you feed them. Just power the control circuit with about 50ma @12V to control system. Boost up the AC voltage with an auto transformer. Small pilot panel to turn on inverter when sun intensity is high enough.
DaJMasta:
Why not standard bubblers? You can get them in large sizes, and take relatively low volume, low pressure air input - I've got a much smaller pond but a 20W panel and a cheap DC air pump get a surprising amount of circulation (the rising air bubbles actually move a lot of water). Maybe a collection of smaller, inexpensive pumps/air stones would give you some redundancy for failures but still get the flow rate you need.
Another option could be bilge pumps. You can commonly get 12V or 24V pumps with a high flow rate that are fully submersible and inexpensive, then you just need to keep the gunk out. In the same case as a bubbler without getting very small bubbles, gas exchange is more about churning the water to have more time near the surface than the actual value of the extra surface area of the bubbles. Just moving the water from the bottom to the top means the least oxygenated water gets put on the surface, which increases the rate of gas exchange and raises the average oxygenation level.
While I think circulation and/or bubblers will do the trick, especially if it's highly stocked, it's probably good to see what professionals do. I believe most of what I've seen in fish hatcheries in those circular tanks is high flow pumps with air mixed in - something like a powerful DC pump on the shore that sucks up water from the bottom of the pond and introduces a bit of air with a venturi and then dumps it back into the pond. Maybe not pretty/soothing, but effective.
calzap:
Solar-powered aerators are readily available as packaged deals ... lots of them ... just use google. The circular (or rectangular) tanks used at hatcheries have special needs. The stocking rate (numbers of fish or kilos of fish per m^3) in them is usually much higher than what is found in ponds and lakes. They need a high water flow not only to provide oxygen but to remove carbon dioxide, excretory waste and uneaten food particles. In some cases, it's needed to control temperature or disease organisms.
The problem with using a water pump with an intake near the bottom is sucking-in gunk. Unless the pond has a gravel or rock bottom, clogging will be perpetual problem. Even with a gravel or rock bottom, there will still be drifting or swimming objects ... leaves, twigs, fish, turtles, etc.. A grill or grate can help, but even these can become plugged. Many water pumps don't take kindly to a clogged intake. Without safety detectors, a clogged intake can destroy them.
That's why air stones or diffusers are the preferred way of aerating most ponds ... clogging with muck is not a problem. "Diffusers" is a bit of a misnomer ... they are rubber diaphragms with many small holes that release bubbles.
I've used air stones in my pond for 15 years and have been happy with them. I use Thomas air pumps that run 24/7. Only maintenance on them has been replacing the diaphragms and air filters periodically.
One problem folks encounter when installing aerators is that most rubber of plastic tubing (or pipe) floats when it's full of air. Heavy wall plastic tubing that stays down is available but expensive. I use standard wall tubing but have periodic weights in the form of short sections of metal pipe around the plastic tubing.
Again I urge anyone with a serious interest in aeration or anything else to do with ponds to visit forums.pondboss.com. There are folks on that forum who have been managing ponds for decades who are happy to give advice.
Mike in California
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