Supplied by Bruce Wells
Secretary Australian Freshwater Crayfish Society
Dondingalong, via Kempsey, NSW

Bruce Wells has been using Leeaky Hose and the Iceland AirWick product for four years. He currently has three 1.8 metre deep ponds in production with Tropical Redclaw and Southern Blue claw crayfish. It is driven by a 1.5kWh pump at a pressure of 49kPa feeding through 13mm poly pipe to the run at the bottom of the ponds. He says that by changing the pulley on the pump it will deliver sufficient volume to aerate a fourth pond. He currently runs the pump for about 10 hours each night.

The Leeaky Hose is installed through house bricks keeping it some 15cm off the mud, which allows the crayfish sufficient clearance to walk under.

Benefits of Leeaky Hose

1. Capital outlay. By using Leeaky Hose to aerate and circulate the water he has dispensed with the need to run electrical power to the ponds to run paddle wheels or other devices, which normally require 3-phase power.
2. Water circulation. While concise rates of circulation have not been recorded, Bruce says the circulation can be proved by the lack of variation in water temperature. "In Spring and Autumn we can have 25° days and a frost at night. With paddle wheels or no circulation this would leave us with water surface temperature of 14° while the bottom temperature was 4°C.
"By running Leeaky Hose overnight there is 0.5° or less difference, and a water temperature of around 10°C."
3. Stocking levels. Bruce believes the improved aeration allows pond stocking to be doubled.
4. Algae. Algae is not a problem as his water is turbid (cloudy). He takes the sign of any algae growing as a sign that he is over-feeding. Overfeeding will also deplete oxygen as it is absorbed by the decomposing food.