Aeration

There are three major reasons for aeration: Movement, spread of biological activity, and maintaining aerobic conditions.

Contrary to common thinking, bacteria don’t swim well. The most Olympic bacteria swimmer might make it one to one and a half inches in it’s lifetime. It mostly “goes along with the flow”. This is one reason that aeration is important. The created movement helps bring the bacteria to the contaminant food source so it can feed, procreate, and thereby reduce those contaminants. This movement helps to maintain the food chain within reach until it is gone.

The movement also spreads the biological activity beyond the initial colony start point. Just like people, bacteria do better when they are not constantly competing for the available food source. With an initial five billion per gram colony forming unit ( CFU ) it is a good thing to “strip” the excess from time to time for further growth as food source provides. The growth rate is exponential with time as the environment provides. By placing the bacteria source in a moving stream, a much greater area is treated with corresponding good results.

Most bacteria are facultative. This means that they will exist in either oxygen or carbon dioxide atmospheres. Some do better in one or the other. Most of the “good” bacteria are primarily aerobic, do best in oxygen environments. By maintaining good aeration, the dissolved oxygen levels are maintained even with great bacteria reduction. It is the anaerobic (carbon dioxide based systems ) that smell and are the most hazardous. Most “bad” bacteria are primarily Anaerobic. They don’t do well in aerobic (oxygen) based systems.

With aeration systems , it is important to consider the power consumption, “turnover”, and the amount of oxygen uptake the system provides. IPS-CareFree Enzymes offers diffusers that are among the highest in oxygen uptake, lowest in power consumption, and excellent in turnover rates.

The Revolution in Aeration

IPS-CareFree Enzymes diffusers are stationary aeration devices to combine the efficiency of fine bubble diffusion with thorough mixing. IPS-CareFree Enzymes accomplishes this using less energy than any diffuser on the market. All IPS-CareFree Enzymes diffusers require less maintenance and approximately 30% less energy to operate than other diffusers.

IPS-CareFree Enzymes unique designs and microporous membrane inhibit the fine bubbles from coalescing. Because these designs (using patented technology) have less flow interference and vortex the fluid, higher turnover rates per volume of air has been shown. This effect is accomplished by "pulling" the liquid up from the bottom and "lifting" it to the surface.

The intense mixing action produced by the diffusers will reduce or eliminate the need for mechanical mixing. The significant continuous turnover achieved by the diffusers effectively destratifies stagnant bodies of water.

One IPS-CareFree Enzymes diffuser can replace up to 20 of other manufacturer's fine bubble diffusers. They can be installed wet or dry, and it is ideal for retrofitting failing or antiquated systems.

Today's increasingly high energy costs, have sent wastewater treatment professionals looking for an energy efficient high performance aeration solution. IPS-CareFree Enzymes is the cost-efficient choice.

IPS-CareFree Enzymes Diffusers in Ornamental Ponds

General Guidlines

Aerate and mix completely. You should not have zones or areas in your pond that are stagnant. Combine different diffuser designs to thoroughly mix and aerate your entire pond.

Spacing is critical for complete turnover. Diffusers installed in deep areas may be spaced at a greater distance than those in shallow areas.

In order to have an effective aeration system, scfm and psi requirements must be sized properly to your pond and diffuser.

Healthy ponds and large volumes of water may need turnover rates as little as once a day. Unhealthy or shallow lakes may require up to 5 turns per day. The benefits are uniform oxygen distributed throughout the water column, more fish, water clarity and a body of water that is less likely to have sudden upsets.

Mix and Match

Most ornamental ponds have more than one personality. Ponds can have shallow areas with one deep hole, or one end of a pond can be clear and sandy while the other is cloudy and overgrown with weeds.

IPS-CareFree Enzymes has designed a line of diffusers that work with the many facets that a pond may have. This allows you to "mix and match" our diffusers to create a custom aeration system that is designed specifically for your pond.

The Pond Bubble Diffuser - 6"

Equivalent to 4 air stones - will not cause back pressure

Bottom to top aeration - brings stagnant deep water to the surface for natural aeration.

For ponds greater than 3 feet deep it is necessary to supply oxygen, especially in hot climates.

Submerged aeration maintains the ponds natural appearance.

Operates on ponds from 100 gallons to 5,000 gallons of water.

Oxygen is key to bacterial growth, breaking down debris and maintaining a healthier ecosystem.

De-icing - Less to operate than heaters. Fish are more prone to hibernate over the winter when water is allowed to stratify.

Power by an inexpensive aquarium pump-

Runs on as low as a .17CFM to a 3CFM air pump, will not cause backpressure.

Effective in water from 2' to 6' deep.

System Features:

Effective in circulating water up to 5,000 gallons
Requires no maintenance
Easy installation
Self-Weighted
Reduces nutrient levels
Safe, no electricity in water
Indoor or Outdoor use

Air Sticks are completely flexible

Air Sticks

3 ft, 2 ft and 1 ft

The 'Small' Web - Self-Weighted Diffuser

HK 60L - 60 liter per minute

(will run one diffuser)

HK-100L - 100 liter per minute

(will run 2 diffusers)

Frequently Asked Questions

What makes an IPS-CareFree Enzymes diffuser work so efficiently?

The IPS-CareFree Enzymes design allows for the unrestricted low head loss delivery of air evenly over the surface of the membrane. Once the air overcomes the surface tension of the effluent and membrane, numerous small bubbles are emitted uniformly over the entire surface of the membrane. They then rise slowly to the surface. These small bubbles:

Rise more slowly than larger bubbles
Have greater cumulative surface area than larger bubbles
Are emitted over the entire membrane
Coalesce less than larger bubbles
Create increased interface over larger bubbles
Channeled correctly by design, effect a larger volume and larger surface area than larger bubbles
Entrain (mix) more liquid than larger bubbles

This natural phenomenon along with the fact we have 10 times the surface area and 14 times the linear lift area of conventional devices assures superior performance. All of this explains why IPS-CareFree Enzymes diffusers have better certified test results than other diffusers on the market today.

Another noteworthy IPS-CareFree Enzymes design trait that is difficult to measured, is the effect of continuous turnover. There are no accepted certified tests currently available from the mixing or aeration industries that measure this added benefit. Comparible tests show the IPS-CareFree Enzymes diffusers superior to other designs.

Nature and successful wastewater processing plants are dependent on continuous turnover. There is additional air uptake from the surface of a body of water that is not taken into account. Common sense dictates that IPS-CareFree Enzymes diffuser efficiency is substantially greater than its certified ASCE test results (ASCE recognized testing does not measure the effects of surface absorption). This phenomena is due to our design, which causes rapid continuous turnover. This helps eliminate stratification by bringing bottom water to the surface and aggresively promotes increased air absorption from an active agitated surface.

What exactly is the IPS-CareFree Enzymes system?

It is a clean, oil-less air blower system that furnishes volumes of air (SCFM) to the lowest backpressure, fine bubble diffuser on the market today.

Why is it important to use clean, oil-less air?

Air or gas that contains dirt, dust or oil will foul the transport system as well as clog the diffuser over a period of time. Also, the oil-less air should not further contaminate the effluent that is being cleaned up by the system.

Why is the IPS-CareFree Enzymes System considered relatively trouble free?

By using noncorrosive foul resistant materials that shed debris by design, the IPS-CareFree Enzyme system will withstand nonstop heavy-duty applications. By having a preventative maintenance program of increasing the PSI and CFM through the diffuser on a regular basis, the biological/mineral build up is minimized. Another reason the system resists fouling is the flexible membrane acts as a filter when you shut your system off.

What are some areas of application for these IPS-CareFree Enzymes products?

Aeration - pre & post, Lift Stations, Algae Control, Mixing - gentle & turbulent, Aquaculture, Nitrification tanks, Agitation, Odor Control, Biological contaminant reduction, Oxygen ditches, Catch basins, Packaging plants, Channels, Pretreatment tanks, Chemical processing, Ponds, Conditioning tanks, Process water - industrial, Cooling tower sumps & ponds, Pulp & paper mills, Degreasing tanks, Rendering plants, Diffusion - gas, Rivers, Digesters - aerobic & anaerobic, Reservoirs, Equalization tanks, Retention ponds, Floc tanks, SBR (sequential batch reactors), Gas injection, Scrubbers, Grease traps, Sewage treatment, Grit chambers, Sludge holding tanks, Groundwater remediation, Stratification - removal or planned, Lagoons, Strippers (VOC), Lakes, VDR (variable depth reactor), Holding tanks, VOC removal, Ice control, Wet wells, Leachate treatment and wastewater treatment.

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