Sterner CO2 aerator wins comparative test!
- 24. mars 2021
Sisomar had carried out a comprehensive testing of various CO2 aerators in the market – and the conclusion is clear!
Sisomar is considering setting up CO2 aerators its their fish tanks to optimize operations with regard to CO2 levels, and thereby saving water for future expansion of the aquaculture plant.
«Since the choice of solution is of great significance, and all suppliers were able to document good results on their aerators, we wanted to consider testing the different aerators and see which ones worked best according our needs,» says General Manager Jon Meisfjord at Sisomar.
In September 2020, Sisomar requested three suppliers for the delivery of CO2 aerators for testing at the plant.
Biosafety first
«We set strict requirements for biosafety.» says Mr. Meisfjord.
«What we asked for in our request to the suppliers was that the aerators should be tank-internal, they should not drop in efficiency over time, and the tank environment was and to be affected, which means, among other things, that the aerators had to be be self-cleaning, easy to clean and simple in operation.»
All the three requested suppliers wanted to take part in the test, which was carried out in three rounds.
«After the first round, large differences were detected, among other things, the bacterial counts of the various aerators, and the suppliers were therefore given the opportunity to adjust their delivery.» says Meisfjord, «In round two, two of the suppliers had not tuned the equipment sufficiently, so the experiment in this round was not recorded.”
The third round
In the third and final round, which started on 8. December 2020, the suppliers had had their equipment optimised and tuned. The performances were alike between the various aerators in terms of water volume / capacity.
After this round, Sisomar therefore could assess the various aerators on an equal base, and this third and final round became the basis for the conclusions.
«In the test, regular measurements were taken, among other things, of CO2 values, feed consumption, biomass, mortality and growth. Analyses have been taken out on sample bottles and sent to Labora, an independent accredited laboratory. « Sier Meisfjord. «It is important to us that the documentation has been made by a third party, and that all suppliers have had the same conditions during this test period.»
«Our main focus during the test has been biosafety, we wanted to find out which aerator we would prefer through measurements, production figures and operating experiences.» Explains Meisfjord,
«Our main focus has been that the water quality should be as equal as possible as in a flow-through in terms of quality and volume, and that the water should show a clear decrease of CO2 towards the control tank in the test.”
A close race
In general, one aerator had marginally better results than the rest in the test, but the differences in the measurements were so small that they could be ruled out from other factors, such as differences in fish grading and numbers. It was therefore simplicity in operation and maintenance that was decisive for Sisomar’s choice of CO2 aerator.
«The same aerator that had a better score on the water quality samples was also significantly easier to operate and maintain. Our choice therefore fell on Sterner’s aerator, which will be the aerator we will go for in future investments » Meisfjord concludes, » We thank the suppliers involved for very good cooperation, and appreciate the commitment they have shown.»
