It seems like looking after your pond is hassle enough. On top of that, you now have to worry about taking care of the products that are taking care of your pond. But in reality, how hard is it to maintain a MARS Aerator?

The short answer:

Not hard.

But since that answer doesn’t seem quite sufficient, I’ll expand a bit.

Long(er, but not too long) answer:

What causes most machines to break? That’s easy—something inside the machine malfunctions. For whatever reason, one part of the machine simply ceases working. A crank stops cranking, a wheel stops spinning, or a gear stops turning. This one part, regardless of its size or placement, can put the kibosh on the entire system. Before you know it, your pond is once again covered in a gelatinous green glop, mosquitoes are breeding like rabbits, and an inhumane stench is practically visible as it rises off the surface of the water.

Here’s an example of this very problem. A fountain (not that you should have one for aeration purposes—click here if you have questions about that) usually incorporates the use of a motor, which powers a rotating impeller. Now, if practically any part of the motor or impeller decides to go on the fritz, a kink is thrown into the whole operation. Think about a motor. It is constructed of rotors, axles, magnets, rings, and a slew of other parts that can all get knocked out of place. Add the fact that these motors are surrounded by water, and the equation becomes even more dangerous.

The same is unfortunately true for surface aerators as with fountain motors. If just one of the aforementioned factors goes out of whack, the motor stops working. And so does your fountain or surface aerator. What happens next? The water looks terrible (even though it probably didn’t look that good in the first place with these products). Sadness and despair reign supreme about your pond. You are forced to either endure the pains of an unattractive, unhealthy pond, or shell out the cash for maintenance.

Or are you?

Enter the MARS Aerator. (cue triumphant music)

Following a fairly simple installation, the MARS Aerator merely rests at the base of the pond. Unlike with fountains and surface aerators, the MARS is solely constructed of polyvinyl chloride, stainless steel hardware, and diffusers. As such, there is nothing to stop functioning on the MARS itself. No cranks, wheels, gears, rotors, or axles. Air simply runs from the shore, through the hose, and to the MARS Aerator. From there, it travels out the diffusers, and into the water. This being the case, there are only two things actually moving in the surrounding area: air and water.

So, what does this all mean? It means that the MARS Aerator is much less likely to break, in large part because there is very little to actually break. When nothing breaks, maintenance all of a sudden becomes a much easier task.

The real gist of the situation is that with no moving parts the MARS Aeration unit itself should easily last for years without a problem. In order to keep things running this smoothly, it is recommended that the MARS diffusers be cleaned every two-three years. This is obviously a bit of routine maintenance that may be a hassle, but it’s much better than having to replace units or parts every couple months or so.

Also, the on-shore compressor runs constantly, day and night. It will unavoidably take on some wear and tear, but at least it isn’t surrounded by water. Fortunately, issues with the compressor are usually elementary enough that a simple part replacement will have your MARS back up and running before any of the bad guys in your pond have a chance to take hold again. For example, it is recommended that the compressor filter be changed out for a new one approximately every six months. However, if something tragic were to happen to the compressor, the MARS Aerator (the more important and expensive part) is left unscathed, anxious to get to work again once air is pumped through the hose.

But I digress…

The Bottom Line:

Due to an absence in moving parts the MARS Aerator causes very few problems, and most of the problems that might occur are a quick and easy fix. An example of one of these problems might be the on-shore compressor that pumps air through the hose and to the aerator. After 2-3 years you may find slight problems with the compressor, but repairs are simple and will hardly ever exceed $100.

Tags: fountains, Maintenance, surface aerators