Pond Boss Forums AERATION Systems questions Oxygen concentrator plus aeration??

1st - I know that standard aeration does not add much O2 to the water via the bubbles produced at the diffuser. I understand the bulk of the work is done during the exchange at the air water interface.

2nd - I am not sure an O2 concentrator would be helpful to anyone besides folks at high altitude like me (10,000').

Standard "air" is only made up of 20% O2. Supposedly the "air" that comes out of an Oxygen concentrator is 90-95% O2. They have O2 concentrators that will produce 10 liters per minute of flow. You can buy these devices used on eBay for a significant discount. I do not know how much O2 is in my air at 10,000' but I know it is less than 20% so I am always fighting an up hill battle with DO levels with one arm behind my back. I am interested in exploring all possibilities for help.

Here is my question. What kind of impact would an O2 concentrator have if it was hooked up to the intake of the compressor that runs the aeration at our place? Is the reason the bubbles only have a small direct impact on raising DO because they are produced from air that contains 20% or less O2? Would this not be similar to fish transporters using bottled oxygen to keep DO up when they move fish?

Just a couple thoughts from someone who know nothing about oxygen concentrators...

Oxygen is explosive in purer forms, be careful to not introduce O2 into a system that could spark. Does the concentrator produce pure enough O2 to burn? IDK.

And, I think you would get better O2 transfer if the concentrated oxygen was NOT mixed with your aeration air but yet delivered to the lake water in the same diffused fashion, maybe in close proximity to the regular air aerator diffuses. My train of thought here is that purer O2 will "want" to be absorbed faster than an air/O2 mix and the O2 bubble to water interface would not be hindered by non-O2 element.

Just my 2 cents and maybe not worth that, but I look forward to the discussion.

I'm not an aeration pro either. FWIW I've always thought one of the main limitations on bubbles providing oxygen to surrounding water is time. The time bubbles are in contact with the water is very limited and transfer of O2 to water is not instantaneous. The main benefit is moving low DO water to the surface where it will be in contact with the atmosphere for an extended time.

Just my 1 cent.........

Thanks for the input fellas! I am definitely not disagreeing or arguing with either one of y'all, just curious. If there wasn't a benefit of running O2 through a diffuser then I wouldn't think the fish haulers would be running bottled O2 into their transport tanks?? The bubbles in their transport tanks are barely exposed to water at all in a tank that is 3' or 4' deep.

QA - I read a little on O2 concentrators and explosions! It sounds like you want to keep it away from any open flames. It also sounds far less risky than having a bottle of compressed O2 around.

For folks at sea level could this not be a way to use less diffusers, sinking line and a less powerful pump? Maybe a way to boost aeration benefits when running at night?

When I buy fish at my supplier, they come in a plastic bag inflated with O2. It extends the time the fish will survive by providing an O2 rich blanket of air on top of the water for gas exchange. I expect the same applies to fish haulers. Their tanks are covered. The O2 bubbles agitate the water but I suspect the real benefit is they provide an O2 rich blanket of air over the water surface.

I could see how injecting O2 into a pond's aeration with ice cover could be beneficial by providing a layer of O2 rich air between the ice and water, instead of just "normal" 20% O2 air.

Perhaps somebody that actually knows what they are talking about will chime in!