Ever tried using an oxygen cylinder to oxygenate your pond?

16 years ago

Has anybody ever tried oxygenating their pond water using a cylinder of oxygen (as in welding oxygen?) I'm a pond loving welder and when the temperature climbs in the pond during the dog days of summer, I worry about our goldfishes oxygen needs. I've been dreaming up a way to keep the oxygen levels high even when the air temperature is in the nineties, but before I make my fish sick or worse I would like to hear the forum's opinion:

A.Has anybody tried this before?

B.What is the group's general opinion: would this work,

or why do you think it wouldn't?

C.Do you see any dangers to the fish if any?

Oxygen cylinders cost about $8 - $10 for the contents and about $6 - $8 per month to rent. I had planned on using a $70 regulator (steps down the high pressure down to low pressure and allows you to regulate the pressure going to the pond.) A hose and a healthy airstone would complete the "system". Welding oxygen is 99.99% pure and has to be free of oil or contaminants for use in welding applications. Industrial oxygen (welding oxygen) is what you see at the fish stores when they pump up the fish bag. I would just have the O2 air stone bubbling away during hot weather 24 hours a day and hopefully have well oxygenated water and fish.

PS: Just in case anybody tries this, PLEASE PLEASE, make sure your oxygen tank is securely fastened upright so that it can NOT fall over - take it from a welder, if the cylinder was to fall over while you where using it and damaged the brass valve, it will become like a missle and can maim and kill. People have witnessed cylinders being propelled 100s of yards and effortlessly piercing concrete walls. (I don't want any fellow pond lovers hurt because of my crazy ideas) If you use oxygen, read some about it to protect yourself, your family, and your neighbors to understand all of it's unique dangers, like it's ability to rapidly accelerate combustion.

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Comments (5)

sleeplessinftwayne
16 years ago
LOL! As a welding addict I love your solution but, seriously, I think you are going to extremes when there are easier and safer methods. The addition of a pint of Hydrogen Peroxide to 1,000 gallons of pond will up the O2 nicely as will a fountain spray. Shading the water is more efficient for cooling. How are you going to put the oxygen into the rubber bellows to pump it in to the water?
BTW, I use a tank holder but I still don't trust it so I put it in a cinderblock surround so it doesn't tip. Sandy
luvdemfeeders
Original Author
16 years ago
Hi Sandy Thanks for some interesting information- if I just read more on this site from smart people like yourself, I wouldn't have to spend all my time thinking up crazy ideas. Wow, a pint of hydrogen peroxide per 1000 gallons? Any certain kind of hydrogen peroxide, just like what you buy in the drug store? Do you put this in just once, like pond salt, or do you keeping adding more as time goes on? I'll definately have to try that that this weekend! My pond does have a good (2500 GPH) water cascade coming from a temporary suspended filter. I'm rebuilding the permanent waterfall(filter) and stream right now. It's also completly covered by shade trees. I wasn't sure what you meant about the rubber bellows. I had planned on just running a hose from the regulator directly to an air stone at the bottom of the pond. I'll probably still try my O2 cylinder idea- I'm a welder/frustrated inventer, I love putzing around with ideas! Thanks for your great ideas, I'd love to learn more!
Chris
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Please note: I didn't say that i bleed off the regulators before use! I said i bleed them down after use! I also said-my regulators are old, and gradually bleed off after use, and after the tanks are shut off! When i turn the tanks on, i open the oxy tank valve, then turn the tee-handle (or knob) on the regulator slowly, allowing the oxy pressure to build up slowly. When i'm done using the torch, etc., i turn off the tanks, back out the tee handles, (or knobs) on the regs, and the little bit in the hoses seeps out gradually! Or, i open the knobs on the torch. I lose very little gas or air, because a tank of oxy or acetylene will last me several years! Last time, this summer, when i went to get a new tank of oxy, the guy there said:" You still have those tanks? I thought you had given up using them!" I have them on a lease program. About every five years, they send a bill for $35 to renew it. Aww, i could have bought the tanks, but i have dealt with that company for nigh onto 40 years, and they have to make a living out of them, so i just kept the lease! By: Rusty Jones P.S. One time, in a place where i worked, they never shut off the tee handles on the regs. so, one day, i turned the tank on, and the regulator blew! Wow!! did ya ever see a guy with a wooden leg run so fast? I was out the back door and half a block down the alley, before somebody stopped me! Whew!! Thought the world had come to an end! everybody got a good laugh out of that!
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sleeplessinftwayne
16 years ago
Hey, Chris. I am simply passing on the wisdom I have received from this forum's members. The peroxide is the common 5% that you can find most anywhere. The usual time to add it is when you start to feel panicked because the fishies are gasping at the surface. It can be added to fairly frequently because once it is added to the pond water it starts to break down right away. That is a pretty small percentage in the pond. Since I don't live in Texas anymore my pond doesn't get very warm.
I was referring to the small rubber 'bell' or bellows that pulls air into an air pump or compressor and then pushes it into the air tubing that goes into the pond. There is another name for it that sounds somewhat sexual but I can't think of it at the moment. Maybe you are using a different device.
There are some great ideas here and sometimes some pretty poorly thought out ones but eventually you get them sorted out. Sandy
ccoombs1
16 years ago
Peroxide is appropriate for an emergency, but not really appropriate for long-term use. Anything that changes any water parameter rapidly is not good for fish. Rapid change causes stress, stress causes illness. By adding peroxide, the dissolved oxygen (DO) is changed very quickly. Another problem with long-term use of peroxide is that peroxide is an oxidizer. It can cause damage to delicate gill tissue. A much healthier,long term solution is to spend $70 for a Dolphin AV-50 air pump and a few bucks more for a few good air stones. This will aerate the water safely and maintain higher oxygen levels.

Here is a link that might be useful: peroxide use with koi
sleeplessinftwayne
16 years ago
Diaphram!!! That was the word. Sorry for the blank in my vocabulary.
Thank you,ccoombs1 for adding details to my flip comment that it would be used when the fishies were gasping at the surface. I did not want to go into a lot of detail since the OP sounds like he would do research before going overboard and this use is fairly common. Sandy

Ever tried using an oxygen cylinder to oxygenate your pond?

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Ever tried using an oxygen cylinder to oxygenate your pond?

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sleeplessinftwayne

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