The Vertex Aeration system comes with a compressor, air stations, hoses, and fittings. Installation is easy to do if you follow these steps. Regular maintenance includes cleaning filters, air stations, checking pressure, and inspecting the cooling fan. The system provides quiet, efficient subsurface aeration for healthy water bodies.
Summary
How to Install a Vertex Aeration System
We’re going to walk you through installing a Vertex Aeration System. We recently installed one of these in a small farm dam, and it was easy to do — even though it was raining the entire time. If you’re lucky, you won’t need to deal with the rain while you’re getting your system up and running.
We’re going to walk you through what’s in the box, how to assemble and drop your air stations, how to connect the hoses, and balance the airflow so your system runs smoothly for years.
What’s in the Box
Each Vertex Aeration System comes with everything you need to aerate your dam efficiently and quietly, all there in the box. We’re talking about a two-station system running off a ⅓ horsepower compressor, which is perfect for smaller dams.
In the box, you should find:
– A compressor unit: a compact, powder-coated aluminium cabinet with sound insulation
– Two air stations: these have a metal base with twin diffusers
– A self-weighted, ⅝ inch PVC air hose
– Hose clamps or fittings
– Power cord
– Fan-cooled enclosure
Step 1: Assemble the Air Stations
Your air stations will have a powder-coated metal base that’s solid, rust-resistant, and safe for lined and unlined dams. The large flat base is a great piece of design because it settles gently into the mud without sinking.
The diffuser discs screw onto the threaded fittings at the top of the base. You won’t need plumber’s tape — you can screw them on by hand with no tools necessary. Check each disc sits straight and snug.
These diffusers are designed with flexible rubber membranes that release fine bubbles through tiny slits. As the air comes through, the discs will wobble gently — this helps prevent muck buildup. I’ve seen these come out of dams in the US that have been there for eight or nine years, and although they’re not clean like new, they’re not covered in gunk either. The action of wobbling around, as well as the air coming out, means that not much settles.
Step 2: Connect the Hose
There’s a barbed fitting on the air station for the hose to connect to. To get it connected, you’ve really got two options:
– PVC glue
– Stainless hose clamps
We prefer stainless hose clamps because they’re a bit more secure, but PVC glue lets you keep metal out of the water. Which one you choose is up to you.
Vertex uses a ⅝ inch self-weighted PVC hose. It’s very heavy, and it sinks down to the bottom, and you won’t have anything floating around the spaghetti on top of the dam.
As long as the Vertex logo on the box is facing the right way up, you know that when you pull the hose out, it’s going to coil straight out of the box. It’s not critical, but it’s very useful — especially if you’re working from a kayak or boat.
Step 3: Lowering the Air Stations
Each air station has rope holes at either end of the base. You need to run a rope through both holes to lower it gently into the dam, and once it hits the bottom, it’ll settle flat thanks to its specially designed base.
If you’re not happy with where it ends up, just pull it back up and try again. A good option with these types of air stations is leaving the rope attached, so you lift it back up when you need it. You can tie it to a buoy on the surface. If you don’t want to see it there, you can use a polypropylene rope, which floats. Tie it up into a ball, and you know it’s floating around somewhere close. Not many of our clients do that, but it is an option.
In a small dam, you can lower the air stations easily using a kayak or a small boat. In a larger dam, you might find it easier to feed the hose from the box as you go along, cut it to length at each drop point before connecting it and moving onto the next one.
Step 4: Burying the Hose
After you’ve connected your hoses, trench them into the ground from the water’s edge to where the compressor sits. You don’t need to sleeve them unless you’re worried about mowers, and if the trench is deep enough to protect the hose, you can bury it directly.
In a remote setup, you might find your trench extends hundreds of metres back to the compressor. That’s normal.
At the dam edge, it’s a good idea to install a valve box to keep things neat and protected.
Step 5: Setting Up the Compressor
The compressor cabinet for the Vertex Aeration System is powder-coated aluminium, so it’s completely weatherproof — and it’s backed by a lifetime rust guarantee. It plugs right into a standard 10-amp power point, and you can lock it if you need to. The sound insulation kit keeps noise to a minimum, so it’s a great choice for setups close to homes.
There’s an on/off switch at the back so you can isolate power without unlocking the cabinet if you ever need to.
Step 6: Balancing the Air Flow
When you have the system up and running, check the water surface. You should see bubbles, and you’ll probably see one air station bubbling more strongly than the others. That’s because air naturally escapes through the shortest, shallowest hose run.
But you don’t want that long-term. You need to adjust the air valves inside the cabinet to even things out. Try these steps:
– Turn down the stronger valve a little.
– Open the weaker one slightly.
– Make small adjustments as necessary, such as a quarter turn.
– Try to get a similar-looking “boil” (bubbling) at each station
The Vertex Aeration System is a low-pressure (under 5 PSI) system, so balance is the way to get real efficiency from it.
Step 7: Final Checks
After all this, you should be set up. Once the valves are balanced and your hoses are buried, you’ll have a clean, efficient Vertex system quietly aerating your dam. For one last visual check, you’ll want to see all this:
– The compressor humming quietly in its cabinet
– Hose nearly buried in the trench
– Bubbles rising evenly from each air station
Step 8: Troubleshooting and Maintenance
Vertex systems are tough and durable, but they need some maintenance now and again. You should do these checks every few months:
– Check and clean the air filter: Turn the compressor off, remove the plugs, and twist off the filter cover. Rinse or blow out the filter, dry it, then reinstall it. It’s a good idea to keep a spare filter on hand so you can rotate them out.
– Blast clean each air station: You want to do this occasionally to clear out any potential buildup. Close one valve completely and open another fully to push air through one station at a time, which should clear out anything that’s built up.
– Watch the pressure gauge: When pressure gets too high, that could be a blockage. The pressure relief gauge will hiss loudly when this happens. But if it’s too low (zero PSI) and you’ve got no bubbles, that means the piston seals or cups in the compressor could be worn. You can replace them easily enough with the rebuild kit, or ask a professional to do it for you.
– Cooling fan: The compressor cabinet has a cooling fan that pulls cool air in, and spits hot air out. Over time, it can wear down and need replacing. Overheating or reduced air output usually indicates this, but you’ll need to test the fan separately to confirm it’s still working.
For rebuilds, the manufacturer’s recommendation is every couple of years. In practice, people wait longer than that, but you don’t have to.
Need Help or a Professional Installation?
If you want some help setting up or if you’re looking for a professional installation, we can help. Just get in touch. We’ll get your system set up and ready to go with no fuss — even in the rain.
