Emerson, Georgia Aeration Installation

The warmth of summer brings both joys and frustrations for lake owners in the Southeast. Long days mean plenty of daylight to get some after work fishing in. The warm water has fish’s metabolism firing on all cylinders so that means they ready to eat.  However there are some downsides to the shift in weather. Many of our clients will notice aquatic weed growth emerging as well as surface algae. Besides hampering aesthetics and making it hard to bounce a worm along the lake bottom, aquatic weeds do not harm the fishery often. There is a much more silent threat pond owners need to be aware of. It’s called lake stratification. The thermocline is the boundary between warmer surface water and cooler deep water. These areas do not usually mix naturally. The surface water is oxygenated by contact with the atmosphere and supports aquatic life. The deep water soon loses its oxygen through digestion of organic matter on the pond bottom and cannot support desirable aquatic life. Fish kills and bad odors can result from lake stratification. Fortunately lake owners have a solution in the form of bottom diffused aeration.

This is a close up of a bottom defused aerator. The black circular membrane has tiny holes in it that allow compressed air to be released into the water column.  Small lakes may only need two of these units will larger lakes will need many more. A small compressor on the shoreline creates the pressure. 
Tyler is attaching the hose to the unit so air can be sent from the compressor to the unit. The hose is self weighted so it doesn’t need extra weight to get to the bottom.
The weighted hose comes on large spools so here Tyler is making sure the boat operator has plenty of hose. We don’t want to put a lot of pressure on the units where they are connected. With such a high pressure system any weakening of the materials could be costly. 
The final step of the process is to connect the hoses to the compressor. The compressor is very discrete and quiet.
In addition to wanting the aeration unit installed the property owner also wanted to get several Texas Hunter fish feeders installed. With his goals of producing trophy bluegill Purina Aqua Max fish food was the only choice. With 45% protein this feed will quickly add size to bluegill, catfish, or feed trained bass.
Texas Hunter fish feeders are on of our favorite units to install. They are simple, well built, and carry a five year warranty on parts. We give property owners the option to install the feeders themselves because of their simplicity. However, at AES we know most owners are very busy so we can install, fill, and program feeders for the owners.

At the end of the project the owner was pleased to know his pond will be protected this summer. Lakes are investments whether it be time or money. If you would like to protect your investment this summer contact us and we will get you covered.