Lake Aeration Guide
Aeration is the method used to oxygenate water. It's usually applied in larger bodies of water where conventional filtration isn't practical. The question is, why is it beneficial? Why would you need it? What does adding air to water do?
Or so they say....
A little bit of oxygen and sunlight and life appears.
Algae has been around for more than a billion years.
It’s everywhere.
Leave a glass of tap water in the sun, and you can bet in a few days you will have algae. Algae, like most plants, needs oxygen to live, grow and multiply. So, oxygenating water can seem like an unusual method for reducing green water.
To explain why aeration is so effective, let’s talk about one of algae’s ancestors; bacteria.
Bacteria also consumes oxygen, they also multiply just like algae. However this type of bacteria has the key advantage of being invisible to the naked eye, unlike problematic green algae. It’s also got a few extra billion years on its evolution to refine its efficiency.
Q.E.D give water oxygen and beneficial bacteria will outcompete and starve out the algae. The dead algae will then feed other strains of bacteria. This army of ‘friendly’ bacteria will continue to thrive in the presence of oxygen.
An Aerator is a machine dedicated to introducing oxygen to water. These come in two main guises; diffused aerators and surface aerators. There are also other methods of introducing oxygen to a waterbody, but we will concentrate on the main two types as these are used in the majority of situations.
When matched to the water volume, the result is the same. Both help to circulate, oxygenate and keep green water to a minimum. The key difference lies in its appearance.
Surface aerators discharge water into the air, which then lands back into the waterbody, creating a circulation of oxygenated water.
Surface aerators have an additional benefit over diffused aeration by creating lots of surface disturbance. This is perfect for deterring mosquitos from laying their eggs in the water and inhibits the growth of surface weeds such as duckweed.
Perhaps the most notable advantage of a surface aerator is that they look great! Just because it’s doing a boring job, doesn’t mean it has to look boring too. Surface Aerators come in a huge array of decorative effects.
Diffused Aerators use shore-mounted air compressors, weighted air hoses and submersed porous pads that dissipate the air into a fine spread of bubbles under the water. As these bubbles rise, oxygen is ‘diffused’ throughout the water, hence the name.
They’re generally considered more efficient than surface aerators but require a greater operating depth, in order to allow the air to diffuse effectively. The porous pads usually require at least 8ft of water depth to allow productive diffusion of oxygen into the surrounding volume, whereas most surface aerators are able to operate efficiently in significantly shallower water.
Perhaps the most notable feature is the fact they have little-to-no audible or visual presence, so are ideal for situations where tranquillity is preferred. Without the need for tethering cables or mains electricity in the water, diffused aeration is well suited to fishing and boating lakes.
There’s plenty to talk about for either type of aeration. Sometimes it can be unclear which option is most suitable. Our technical team are trained to ask the right questions and ensure the best type of aeration is recommended and specified to suit your pond or lake.
If you’re ever unsure, we’re here to give expert advice.
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