Which Water Quality Parameters to Measure Before Choosing a Nanobubble Generator

Nanobubble technology, generating ultra-small bubbles of gases like oxygen or ozone, is revolutionizing water treatment across many fields — from agriculture and aquaculture to wastewater management and sports turf care. But choosing the right nanobubble generator requires understanding your water’s condition first. Measuring key water quality parameters helps you select a machine that delivers the correct gas type and amount for your needs.

Oxygen vs. Ozone Nanobubbles: What’s the Difference?

• Oxygen Nanobubbles increase dissolved oxygen in water, boosting aquatic life health, stimulating plant growth, and improving aerobic microbial processes. They’re great for aquaculture, irrigation, wastewater aerobic treatment, and turf root zone oxygenation.

• Ozone Nanobubbles provide powerful oxidation and disinfection. Ozone reacts with organic matter, pathogens, and pollutants, breaking them down or killing microbes. This is ideal for water disinfection, algae control in ponds, odor removal, and industrial wastewater treatment.

Your choice of nanobubble generator depends on whether oxygenation or oxidation/disinfection is your goal — and that choice hinges on the water quality parameters you measure.

Key Water Quality Parameters to Measure

1. Organic Load: BOD & COD

• Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD) and Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) measure the amount of organic pollution.

• High values indicate a larger demand for oxygen or ozone during treatment.

• For oxygen nanobubbles, high BOD means more oxygen is needed for aerobic microbes.

• For ozone nanobubbles, high COD/BOD suggests more ozone is required for oxidation.

2. Pathogen Levels

• Quantify bacteria and viruses such as total coliforms and E. coli to determine disinfection needs.

• Higher pathogen counts require higher ozone doses.

3. Turbidity and Suspended Solids

• Measured as turbidity (NTU) and total suspended solids (TSS), these affect gas transfer efficiency.

• High solids reduce the penetration of ozone and oxygen, often requiring pretreatment.

4. Ammonia and Nitrogen Compounds

• Ammonia reacts with ozone and oxygen differently and affects treatment efficiency.

• Knowing ammonia concentration helps optimize ozone dosing and understand oxygen demand in biological processes.

5. pH and Temperature

• Both influence gas solubility and reactivity.

• Ozone is more stable at acidic pH; oxygen solubility increases in colder water.

6. Oxidation-Reduction Potential (ORP)

• Useful for monitoring oxidation levels during ozone treatment, ensuring effective disinfection.

How These Measurements Guide Your Nanobubble Generator Choice

• If your main goal is oxygenation to support aquatic life or aerobic microbial processes, focus on BOD, ammonia, temperature, and dissolved oxygen levels to size an oxygen nanobubble generator.

• If disinfection and contaminant breakdown are priorities, measure pathogens, COD/BOD, turbidity, and ammonia to select an ozone nanobubble generator with sufficient ozone output.

• If you need both, measure all of the above. Our Gea machines are capable of both oxygen and ozone output

Botton Line

Measuring the right water quality parameters is crucial for selecting the appropriate nanobubble generator — whether you need oxygen for life support and growth or ozone for oxidation and disinfection. Understanding your water’s contamination levels and chemistry helps you choose the right gas type, dosing rate, and runtime for maximum effectiveness and efficiency.