Aquatic Eco-Systems

FAT CAT™ Aeration System

Continuous aeration benefits your pond in a number of ways:
It can reduce or eliminate the need for emergency aeration and water exchange; it can reduce the build up of ammonia, blue-green algae and muck; and it helps to keep oxygen near the bottom, where it can keep benthic organisms alive. FAT CAT™—a series of small diffusers tied to one or more floating air lines and driven by a low pressure, low-maintenance air blower. It's simple, efficient, inexpensive to purchase and maintain, and has no propellers, paddles or electricity to damage the fish.

There are a number of ways to aerate shallow aquaculture ponds but, honestly, we know of no other method that works as well or as cost effectively as the FAT CAT™ for small ponds to one acre.

A large area of influence & easy removal for seining.
The FAT CAT™ method uses between 1/2 and 2 horsepower per surface acre. It uses numerous small diffusers—far more effective than a few large ones because the aeration is more uniform. And, because the diffusers are suspended from an air line, they are easily moved to the shore for seining. The technique works especially well for small ponds, such as those used for raising tropical fish and prawns, for quarantine and research purposes and for nursery ponds from 1/2 acre.

Maintain a crop, NOT equipment.
In areas of soft water, the FAT CAT™ diffusers will need cleaning only about once a year; in hard water, up to four times per year. Other than periodic diffuser cleaning, the FAT CAT™ runs maintenance free. Another beauty of the design is its simplicity. For example, there are no valves to control the flow of air to the diffusers! Using as little as 2 horsepower of electricity per surface acre of a shallow pond, the FAT CAT™ can maintain a crop of 8,000 pounds of catfish! As efficient as the FAT CAT™ is, it's important to note that it is not an emergency aeration system (the low-horsepower design is for continuous operation). At high stocking densities, emergency aeration may still be required.

Custom layouts are an AES service.
Pipe sizing, layout and blower size depends upon an individual facility. Send us a layout, showing ponds to be aerated, distances, depths, power locations, desired air header locations, type of power (phase, voltage, hertz, etc.), prevailing wind direction, altitude and other pertinent information as well as a phone or fax number and time you can be reached for discussion. AES will be happy to design a FAT CAT™ system and give you a price quote at no charge.

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