We started in aquaculture at Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute in Florida in 1996. We attended their first Active Class in Aquaculture for raising fish and shrimp. The course was about water quality and the kinds of systems for raising fish and shrimp.
This was the early years for the aquaculture community: developing and pursuing indoor recirculating systems to help oceans replenish and meet the seafood demand.
After the class, we returned home to Indiana and tried several systems and designs over many years with some success and some failure. We began with green houses and raceways and many phone calls to people in the industry who were always very helpful with insight and testing.
We progressed through the years, as did the aquaculture community, trying to find the most efficient way to make it work. With our initial business being construction, this enabled us to attempt different buildings and tank configurations and to evaluate and fix problems.
Through the years, the emphasis in aquaculture has been on removing uneaten feed and waste from the system intact, without chopping or mixing, to help maintain your water quality. The system also requires oxygenation, degassing, filtering, water circulation, and, in salt water, the removal of protein.
In attempting to solve the problem of waste removal from the bottom of the tank, we developed the idea for our products.
As we progressed with the devices, we were able to develop their ability to lift waste. We also discovered that we were able to lift water, oxygenate, filter, and degas efficiently by using only low-energy blowers.
We were encouraged by the fact that we could perform these functions and still maintain the low use of energy.
In developing the devices and understanding the environment, we designed to guard against clogging, and we used materials suitable for continuous underwater submersion (i.e., food grade material). Our devices are manufactured using high-density polyethylene (HDPE).
Aqua Hill Aeration Inc. patented HydroBurst and HydroStream technology uses a low-horsepower regenerative blower to inject air into a submerged chamber producing nano-bubbles which oxygenate and de-gas the water as it is lifted to the surface where its recirculated at high volumes. The HydroStream oxygenates and produces water flow in the same way as the HydroBurst but in an elongated configuration.
Originally, we focused on aquaculture, but after displaying our devices at Aquaculture America 2017 in San Antonio, Texas, we realized there were many diverse uses for our devices. They are useful in ponds, wastewater treatment, hydroponics, aquaponics, and anywhere that requires moving, degassing, oxygenating, water with low energy consumption.