Oxygenator or Aerator: Which Is Better?
Oxygenators and aerators constitute commercial products designed to increase the flow of oxygen in water. Companies market these products for various purposes, most commonly for maintaining healthy fish and aquatic plant tanks or man-made garden water formations like ponds and artificial waterfalls. Determining whether you should purchase an oxygenator or aerator requires understanding a very important difference between these two terms and the general purpose and functional ability of each. Does this Spark an idea?
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Oxygen in Water
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The oxygen content of water proves an important factor in the health of the water itself and the organisms living in the water. In natural water formations, the presence of fish, the movement of water, contact between air and water and the presence of plankton and algae, which create oxygen through photosynthesis, naturally monitor the presence of oxygen in water. In tanks, ponds and other man-made aquatic environments, little natural means of adding oxygen to water exist. The presence of organic material such as plant and fish waste, which lacks the oxygen required for decomposition, pollutes water. Oxygenators and aerators provide a means of introducing oxygen to water for the purpose of maintaining healthy oxygen content.
Aerators
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Technically, any product designed to introduce oxygen to water constitutes an aerator. Two types of aerators exist, with many brand products falling under the banner of each. Hydraulic aerators shoot streams of water from a sprinkler-like apparatus. These streams hit the surface of the water, contacting air and absorbing water. The turbulence created in the water by these devices increases the rate of oxygen absorption from the air. Air diffusion aerators use compressors, blowers and perforated surfaces in introducing air bubbles to water. These bubbles dissolve into water, increasing oxygen content while also causing turbulence that increases oxygen absorption from the air.
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Oxygenators
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Oxygenators serve the purpose of introducing large amounts of pure oxygen into water supplies. These devices differ from aerators in that they contain actual pure oxygen while aerators simply increase air flow in water, thus introducing oxygen to the environment. Pipeline oxygen injection devices inject pure oxygen in liquid or air form directly into a water supply through a pipe. U-bend devices carry bubbles of pure oxygen directly into a current. Devices introducing pure oxygen into water generally only appear in intensive fish culture situations like fish farms and only prove effective when movement exists in the water.
The Oxygenator
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The Oxygenator constitutes a brand name product manufactured and sold by O2 Marine Technologies. Designed specifically for fishers, the company markets the product for use on boats and at fishing expos for keeping bait and fish alive by oxygenating water in temporary enclosures. This product uses air diffusion technology, creating very small bubbles of air that purportedly dissolve almost immediately into the water around the device. According to the product description, the device apparently also possesses the ability to split oxygen molecules from hydrogen molecules on the chemical composition of water, creating air from water.
Oxygenators Vs. Aerators
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The question of choosing an oxygenator or an aerator comes down to your needs for the device. Anyone other than those running intensive fish culture environments with running water expresses little to no need for a device introducing pure oxygen into a water stream. O2 Marine Technologies, meanwhile, markets its Oxygenator brand product exclusively to fishermen. Anyone else, including home gardeners with ponds and fish and aquatic plant aficionados, ought to use an aerator. Finding the best brand and model for your purposes entails speaking with employees at a supply store regarding the specifics of available products and your needs.
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References
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