Oxygen concentrator for shipping bags

[veggieshark]

I haven't found a shipping section, and a couple related posts were here, so posting here:

I am completely inexperienced in shipping fish, but in order to enjoy breeding them I figure I have to learn how to ship them to people. Even though I read everything I found about shipping, I am still scared of doing something wrong. I figured some people don't use oxygen, but a majority of instructions stress on the benefit of this. An oxygen tank in the house would be a hazard, and I am reluctant to keep one. I am wondering if an oxygen concentrator would be useful for oxygenating fish shipping bags. I suspect they might work slowly, and some may also not produce good quality oxygen, i.e., too much impurity. What is your thought/experience on this?

While on the topic, is it possible to add a piece of established sponge filter or a plant and expect benefit from it, or would they decay and cause more harm then benefit? (I know some add a water conditioner or an ammonia absorbing polymer in the bag, though I don't know how exactly the latter works.)

 

[APColorado]

When I use to ship fish/shrimps. I would fast the fish/shrimp and use breather bags, one drop of prime and include a heat pack when appropriate.

 

[AvalancheDave]

I don't ship fish but I have an oxygen concentrator and have used it to oxygenate water on many occasions. I also have dissolved oxygen meters so I can tell if it's working.

It was very useful the last time I moved and had 125 gal of fish in 10 gal of water. I couldn't put much water in the tank in my trunk due to sloshing and air stones aren't that effective when the water is shallow...unless the oxygen concentration is very high.

It only takes like 15 minutes to supersaturate my 40 gal tank.

I think 5 minutes per bag with an air stone in the water would easily do it.

Edit:

Here's a graph of dissolved oxygen levels during a recent water change. I drain the water until there's only a few inches left which makes the fish panicky. The regular air stone doesn't really cut it when the water is really shallow so I shut it off and turned on the oxygen concentrator. Afterwards, when water was deeper the air stone was able to keep levels near 6 mg/L.

 

[coralbandit]

I use oxygen .
I keep my tanks secured and obviously don't smoke or keep lit flame around it ..
I have little concern for the safety of the tank .
I fear my newish furnace as the greatest risk in my home to me and my families safety to be honest .
Interesting idea the oxygen concentrator .
O2 is very affordable if you ship enough ..
With two tanks [purchased] and refills I have not spent what a oxygen concentrator cost in the last 3 years .
I ship about 10-20 bags a week ..
The time it would take to 'treat' each bag would greatly diminish my shipping ability time wise IMO .
They have been many people who say breather bags and heat packs can be a problem when used together as they both consume O2. In a small sealed box I can believe the possibility of failure exist .
If one fails the fish fail .

 

[AvalancheDave]

Oxygen concentrators have the advantage of safety and not needing refills. They do require prescriptions to purchase new but there are a ton of secondhand ones on sale on Craigslist, for example.

I bought mine new many years ago and the vendor didn't even ask for a prescription even though they're supposed to.

Five minutes per bag is almost certainly overkill. Oxygen concentrators output 5 L/min or more so they can fill a small bag in no time. But I would want to saturate the water too and that might take a bit more than a few seconds. I don't think people take the extra step to saturate the water when filling from an oxygen tank. It likely doesn't make a difference.