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Aeration
101
By John Big John Koeniger
the reverse side of this, we would notice the bal-
Aeration is the addition of oxygen into water loon takes some time to deflate when the air exits
with the use of ambient air or pure oxygen. Ad- the straw. This is due to friction which slows
ditional oxygen is needed in water to offset the down the airflow requiring more pressure, or
deficit created by the breakdown of waste, con- force, to overcome the friction or friction loss.
sumption by fish and/or need of algae. Before we
discuss the different types of aeration and the There are many types of aerators, but for discus-
equipment used to aerate, we must understand sion purposes we will limit this selection to those
Volume, Pressure and Friction. most commonly used in aquaculture, aquaponics
and hydroponics. The most commonly used aera-
Volume refers to an amount of space. Pressure tion devices in these 3 segments of agriculture
refers to the amount of force. If we were to blow include diffused air systems, water pump driven
up a birthday balloon we would see the volume systems and mechanical aeration.
inside the balloon increase as the balloon fills
with air and gets bigger. If we were to let the Diffused Air Systems
balloon go when it is full of air, it would launch
as the pressure releases quickly with a lot of Diffused air systems include those in which an air
force. If we were to stretch the neck of the full compressor of some type is used to provide com-
balloon, it would screech releasing the pressure pressed air to a diffuser which is suspended down
slowly with little force. Friction interferes with into the water. The 3 most common types of air
pressure. If we were to insert a straw into the compressors used are regenerative blowers, rotary
balloon to blow it up, we would not only get a vane compressors and linear piston compressors.
headache, but we would have a difficult time The advantages and disadvantages follow:
24 getting enough air into the balloon to fill it. On
Issue # 51 Aquaponics Journal www.aquaponicsjournal.com 4th Quarter, 2008
charge should remain underwater when using Water mixers work very similar to venturis but do
pure oxygen so that any un-dissolved gas has not allow any ambient air into the equation. The
some chance to diffuse into the water instead of mixers are designed to create a little back pres-
venting into the atmosphere when falling back sure so that system water is mixed with water
into a tank. coming through the pipe to increase flow by as
much as 5 times. Water mixers are relatively
Oxygen saturation cones are round, pot-belly cheap and are easy to install. A small net gain in
fiberglass vessels which are designed internally aeration due to increased water movement could
to allow the water flow to slow while dropping be expected.
down through the cone. This motion creates a
continuous mixing of pure oxygen and water al- Mechanical Aeration
lowing super saturation of oxygen into the water.
Water flow is regulated on the outlet of the cone Mechanical aeration is acheived by the use of a
via a valve and short section of clear pipe. Oxy- driving motor to a spinning blade, prop or paddle-
gen gas is introduced upstream of the cone or in wheel. Normally this type of aeration is reserved
the neck of the cone and is regulated by a flow for very large systems and facilities. Regardless
meter. The clear pipe allows inspection of the of the style, mechanical aerators will need a
discharge water to ensure it contains zero bub- power source in the water and often times include
bles. Dialing in the flow rate this way allows for a submersible motor.
almost 100% efficiency.
Conclusion
Incluye:
La historia de
Acuapona
La aplicacin de
Acuapona
El equipaje y los
elementos necesa-
rios del sistema A network of consultants
Una variedad de
diseos usando se-
ries de escenarios
for:
animados
La seleccin de las
Aquaponics
plantas y los peces
El cuidado de las Aquaculture
plantas y los peces
La operacin diaria Hydroponics
La calidad del agua y el ciclo del nitrgeno
Las consideraciones del ambiente
Los invernaderos, el control ambiental For information on
Las consideraciones para operaciones comerciales our range of services,
Referencias de informacin adicional contact Dr. James Rakocy
at 340-773-6176 or jrakocy@uvi.edu
www.aquaponics.com 27