During the summer months, when water is warm, oxygen can be consumed faster than it can be replenished. Lakes can become "stratified"; the warmer, oxygen-rich upper water laying on top of the cool, more dense, lower-oxygen deeper water.

Such conditions inhibit levels of beneficial bacteria and their breakdown of organics. Bottom muck accumulation increases and excessive nutrients are readily available for plant/algae growth. This thermal stratification also makes conditions favorable for the production of noxious ammonia and hydrogen sulfide gases.

Vertex bottom aeration systems create a vertical current using the rising force of millions of small bubbles to entrain the water column, "turning the lake over" and allowing oxygen to be absorbed at the lake's surface.

By moving the lower-oxygen water up from the bottom and eliminating thermal stratification, oxygen levels throughout the water column are increased. Wide swings in oxygen are stabilized, preventing fish kills. Our systems also improve sport fisheries by allowing fish to expand their territory into formerly oxygen-deprived portions of the lake.