Scientists at Altai State Agrarian University (ASAU) have developed an aerator to saturate water with oxygen and prevent fish kill. The device is designed for year-round use in stagnant water bodies, the university's press service reported. The development is confirmed by patent materials.
The main purpose of the device is to combat winter kill: it is during the cold season that the concentration of dissolved oxygen sharply drops in stagnant water bodies, and fish die. The aerator solves the problem by directed mixing of water layers. In winter, warm water from the bottom layers is supplied under the ice — thus creating an ice hole. Then both channels open, and oxygen-saturated water from the surface mixes with the bottom layers.
Structurally, the aerator consists of a hollow body, a shaft with an impeller, and two guide channels — to the surface and to the bottom zone. Special dampers allow opening the channels simultaneously or alternately, directing the flow to the desired part of the reservoir. An important advantage of the development is its effectiveness regardless of thermal stratification, i.e., the distribution of water temperature and density by depth. For stagnant water bodies, this is critical: the layers there hardly mix naturally.
For ASAU scientists, this is not the first development in the field of aquaculture: previously, specialists created a device for aerating water bodies, designed only for the cold period. The new aerator expands the capabilities of fish farmers — it works all year round and covers both seasonal tasks.