One dissolves into the water column in minutes, the other works at the pond bottom for a fortnight. When to reach for OXO PURE, and when for AQUA OXY.
Both products put oxygen into a pond, and that shared description hides the more useful distinction: they are aimed at different parts of the system, on different timescales. Choosing between them is less about which is stronger and more about whether your problem is in the water or in the mud.
The short version
OXO PURE is a rapid-release tablet for the water column. AQUA OXY is a granular pond-bottom oxidiser that keeps working for a week or two at the sediment. If dissolved oxygen has crashed this morning, that is an OXO PURE problem. If black, sour sediment is quietly setting the ceiling on your season, that is an AQUA OXY problem.
| OXO PURE | AQUA OXY | |
|---|---|---|
| Form | Rapid-release tablet | Granule, 1–3 mm, zeolite carrier |
| Composition | Sodium percarbonate with oxygen precursors | Clinoptilolite, calcium peroxide, sodium percarbonate |
| Where it acts | The water column | The sediment–water interface |
| Release | Rapid | Steady over 7–14 days, plus an immediate burst from the coated percarbonate |
| Typical use | Low-DO events and routine DO support in stocked ponds and tanks | Pre-stocking preparation and mid-cycle sludge remediation |
| Rate | Set to volume, temperature and organic load | 37–50 kg/ha pre-stocking; 37–62 kg/ha shrimp mid-cycle; 25–37 kg/ha finfish |
| Handling note | Broadcast to the water | Oxidiser, Class 5.1 — segregate from fuels, acids and organics |
When it is the water column
Water holds only a limited quantity of dissolved oxygen. Stock and sediment draw it down, and atmospheric diffusion replaces it slowly — too slowly to matter during an overnight low. OXO PURE is built for that gap: a sodium percarbonate tablet with oxygen precursors, broadcast directly to pond or tank water, releasing oxygen straight into the column.
- →Rapid release supports fast recovery during a low-DO event.
- →Useful as routine support in high-density ponds and tanks, holding DO at workable levels.
- →Rate is system-specific — we set it with you against water volume, temperature and organic load.
When it is the pond bottom
Sludge is a slower failure. Organic matter accumulates, the sediment goes anaerobic, and hydrogen sulphide forms at the interface where your stock spends most of its time. Adding oxygen to the surface water does not reach it. AQUA OXY puts the chemistry where the problem is: the zeolite granule carries calcium peroxide and coated sodium percarbonate to the bottom and moderates their release.
Calcium peroxide releases oxygen steadily at the sediment–water interface over seven to fourteen days; the coated percarbonate provides an immediate oxidation burst that converts hydrogen sulphide to sulphate. It contains no live microorganisms, so performance does not depend on temperature or salinity — a practical advantage in a dry-out, or in water outside the range a biological product would tolerate.
Using both across a cycle
Most operations we supply use them at different points rather than choosing one. AQUA OXY goes in during pre-stocking preparation, when accumulated sludge can be oxidised before the pond is filled, and again mid-cycle if sulphide builds. OXO PURE sits on the shelf for the events you cannot plan — a hot still night, a plankton crash, a feed response — and for routine support where stocking density is high.
Neither replaces aeration, and neither replaces measurement. If you are not already logging dissolved oxygen against temperature and stocking density, start there — we set out the parameters worth watching in five numbers that decide a pond season.
What to send us
Tell us your pond volume or area, stocking density, water temperature range and what your DO trace looks like across a day. That is enough for us to say which of the two is worth trialling, at what rate — and sometimes to say that neither is the fix, and the problem is aeration or feed rate. Data sheets for OXO PURE and AQUA OXY travel with every order and are available on request.
Both are for pond and tank water treatment only — not for addition to, or mixing with, feed. Claims are limited to water-quality parameters, and we ask customers to test suitability before adopting at commercial scale.