I finally started my pond

bordercollie said:

Hi,Now that is a good set up. What do you think about Pex? It comes in a 100" roll and is about $45 for 3/4 " at Lowe's. It has a high burst strength and is very sturdy. I uncoil mine in the sun before putting it in the trench and the heat works the coil out straight. You would need the crimping tool though. I redid the plumbing on my folks house when I made the bathrooms handicapped accessible and it paid for it's self the first hr of use.I like pex a lot although it should not be exposed to sunlight for long.Bordercollie

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I have no clue about Pex. The key here is cheap, reliable and able to plumb easily into air hose fittings. Can Pex be buried? I have used some connectors in remodeling for hot water. They are a simple compression fitting and no special crimpers needed. I like poly pipe as it can be buried, is cheap, and easy to work with with no special tools. I have ran it underground before as conduit for 12-3 wire. If I run 1/2 inch pressurized poly pipe , it will only be around $25 for the pipe. hugs, Brandi

Pex can be buried and ball valves etc. can be crimped anywhere. I think it can be made to fit air hose fittings or at least I have but they might not be "code". The 1/2" is $25 for a hundred ft. at Lowes. I know what you mean about $$. My folks had a $3 fitting crack and the guy charged over $80 to do 5 minutes of work and a 10 minute drive. And that was for old folks on a fixed income. That is why I bought my kit. Anyway I would run the air thru pex without hesitation. I have never seen the stuff you listed but I imagine it would work. as you said it's not going to be used for high pressure. Keep us informed , Bordercollie

Brandi - so far as i know, yes you can run both blues & channel cat in the pond at the same time.
as to the air line, i don't see why you wouldn't be able to run siloflex or similar 1/2" pipe and just pressurize it -- 5 PSI isn't going to stress it any. (depending on price, you could even run 1/2" PVC and pressurize it)

as to buried PEX - the water line coming into my house is 1" PEX 4' down. it's even freeze rated.

Pex is great stuff. I used it to replumb the house a couple of years ago. It's so much faster and easier than PVC or copper. I installed the manifold so if there is a problem with a leak, you can shut off the hot or cold water going to that particular room or faucet and the rest of the house is still functional. It works. It can also be buried and is freeze tested, whatever that means.

Using it for an air line shouldn't be a problem.

Bindian , I forgot to mention this- although I doubt it applies to you since you would be using the air for aeration. Sometimes folks have an automatic oiler when they use air tools. If so ,this oil might might not be good for pex nor other plastic pipe. If it is as hot there as it is here 104 with heat warning -index over 112, I hope you get some rain and that your aerator gets to working soon. It wouldn't hurt to run it on the ground for a while if you need to. Bordercollie

bordercollie said:

Hi,Now that is a good set up. What do you think about Pex? It comes in a 100" roll and is about $45 for 3/4 " at Lowe's. It has a high burst strength and is very sturdy. I uncoil mine in the sun before putting it in the trench and the heat works the coil out straight. You would need the crimping tool though. I redid the plumbing on my folks house when I made the bathrooms handicapped accessible and it paid for it's self the first hr of use.I like pex a lot although it should not be exposed to sunlight for long.Bordercollie

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If you don't want to invest in a crimping tool, you can use these fittings: http://www.probite.com/ I just used them to plumb an outdoor faucette in my garage. The fittings are more expensive, but are so easy to use. The fittings can be used on pex, copper, and CPVC.

Many towns in our area are burying pex from the water meter on the street to the pressure reducing valve in the house crawl space. The water pressure ahead of the pressure reducing valve is in the 100+ PSI range.

Lowe's and Home Depot both sell similar type fittings.

Bob

Thanks guys! I am going with this http://www.thepondguy.com/product/1879/287?catalog=&source=&cfid=&cftoken=

Bordercollie,
I don't run oilers on my air lines. Since I run pneumatics at work, I oil with Marvel Mystery Oil as needed. At home I will be using the air compressor for all kinds of applications, including painting. FYI.............Snap On tool oil can gum up a drill.
hugs, Brandi

Strange thing happened yesterday. I decided to throw the fathead minnows and mosquito fish a handful of catfish food. Imagine my surprise when I saw some blueish grey fins swim up to take a bite or two. Three small Blue catfish. I confirmed it today with another handful of food. Three cats about 5-6 inches long. I am totally amazed by this..........and very happy.
hugs, Brandi

That's great news!!! Some things money can't buy make huge smiles and loads of joy .... I bet they will appreciate that aerator too. Bordercollie

bordercollie said:

That's great news!!! Some things money can't buy make huge smiles and loads of joy .... I bet they will appreciate that aerator too. Bordercollie

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Bordercollie,
Yes, it is great news. I also see now a 4 inch perch making a nest. I guess it will go into hiding when the new cats arrive on the 21st.

I woke up last Thursday morning with a neck muscle spasm, so I didn't do anything with that aerator at all. I didn't even feel like talking my son into mowing my grass, along with the heat. Maybe next weekend.
hugs, Brandi

congratson the baby blues!
bummer about the neck spasm, I've had them and they suck.

Erik said:

congratson the baby blues!
bummer about the neck spasm, I've had them and they suck.

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Erik,
Thanks. This is the second neck spasm. I know how to handle them now. The first one gave me an ambulance ride to the ER. Not fun at all.
hugs, Brandi

Yea, Take care of that thing. Neck and back spasms are the pits. Hopefully you have the ac blasting and someone to help you out. Bordercollie

bordercollie said:

Yea, Take care of that thing. Neck and back spasms are the pits. Hopefully you have the ac blasting and someone to help you out. Bordercollie

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I will have to do that.
hugs, Brandi

Bindian said:

Erik,
Thanks. This is the second neck spasm. I know how to handle them now. The first one gave me an ambulance ride to the ER. Not fun at all.
hugs, Brandi

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yeah the first one I ever had didn't release for about 9 days until the ortho figured out meds that would work on me (some days it's no fun being essentially immune to codeine, darvocet, percocet, demerol, etc...)and I ended up with a month or 2 of physical therapy.
the next one I took 2 750 mg Relafen and a skelaxin and started feeling better within 30 minutes. (yes, that's a double dose and can tear a big hole in your stomach - NOT recommended, but it worked!)

Erik said:

yeah the first one I ever had didn't release for about 9 days until the ortho figured out meds that would work on me (some days it's no fun being essentially immune to codeine, darvocet, percocet, demerol, etc...)and I ended up with a month or 2 of physical therapy.
the next one I took 2 750 mg Relafen and a skelaxin and started feeling better within 30 minutes. (yes, that's a double dose and can tear a big hole in your stomach - NOT recommended, but it worked!)

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OUCH! Mine only last about 4 days.
hugs, Brandi

I learned quick after that one - now they only last a couple days for me as well.
and I've figured out how to catch them early enough that they don't get bad,

Okay, official Blue catfish count stands at four survivors. Luke confirmed that number on two different days. Today I went down to Danbury Fish Farms and picked up 13 Blue and 12 Channel Catfish 6-8 inches long. Well, I do think I was given (in a plastic bag filled with oxygen and in a transport box all taped up all nice and pretty).........................25 Channel Catfish. Yep, I asked the guy that put them in the truck if they were 13 Blue's and 12 Channel and he said, "Yes".

Luke and Terry helped me get them in the pond. Later, Luke ran airhoses out to the pond from the barn and we dropped the homemade air diffuser tywrapped to a stone laden bucket down to the bottom. I bought a low pressure regulator to cut the air pressure down to about 5 PSI, but the needle now sits on about 0 or 1 psi. I set the pressure by trial and error by watching the bubbles. The 60 gallon tank on the air compressor takes about an hour before the compressor motor kicks on.

As the photos show the bubbles really move the water. I like the last photo best.
hugs, Brandi

Brandi, that is a real nice pond. Real relaxing place, looking at the pictures!!

urednecku said:

Brandi, that is a real nice pond. Real relaxing place, looking at the pictures!!

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Urednecku,
Thanks! If only it was cooler to sit out there and enjoy it at sunset. I went out there near midnight and it was nice.
hugs, Brandi