how nanobubbles Improve Water Quality & supports Algae Management

Moleaer's nanobubble technology has successfully supported water and wastewater treatment operations for more than a decade, but many people have never heard the term until recently.

As more communities, lake managers, municipalities, and water quality professionals encounter nanobubbles for the first time, there are a lot of questions: what are nanobubbles? How do they work? Are they different from aeration? And can they actually improve water quality?

The short answer is yes. But understanding why requires looking beyond the algae bloom, odor issue, or water quality challenge that's visible at the surface.

Over the last decade, we've deployed nanobubble technology in more than 650 lakes, reservoirs, canals, stormwater basins, and other surface water systems worldwide. What we've learned is that successful restoration isn't about treating symptoms. It's about improving oxygen levels throughout the waterbody to support the natural biological processes that improve water quality over time.

What are nanobubbles?

Nanobubbles are extremely small gas bubbles, typically less than 200 nanometers in diameter. For perspective, that's roughly 2,500 times smaller than a grain of salt.

Think of them more like a particle than a bubble. Their size gives them unique physical properties that distinguish them from conventional aeration bubbles.

Conventional aeration and larger bubbles rapidly rise to the surface and burst. Nanobubbles behave differently. Because of their size and surface charge, they remain suspended throughout the water column for extended periods of time, allowing oxygen to be delivered where it’s needed, including deeper areas where oxygen depletion often occurs.

The ability to deliver oxygen effectively across a wide range of waterbody types and depths makes Moleaer nanobubbles a powerful tool for improving oxygen levels, supporting natural biological processes, and restoring water quality.

What is nanobubble technology?

Nanobubble technology is the equipment and process used to generate nanobubbles, hundreds of millions of them in every milliliter of water.

At Moleaer, we refer to the equipment itself as a nanobubble generator. Some people use the term "nanobubbler" to describe the same kind of system, one that produces nanobubbles and delivers gases such as oxygen, air, or ozone into water.

Moleaer's nanobubble solutions are used across water and wastewater treatment, agriculture, aquaculture, food & beverage processing, water body restoration and more.

In waterbodies, by improving oxygen transfer and distribution, nanobubble technology can help increase dissolved oxygen levels, reduce chemical use, and improve water quality.

Do nanobubbles treat algae blooms in lakes and waterbodies?

Most water quality problems result from excess nutrient loading; either internally or externally. These excess nutrients cause algae to proliferate. Large quantities of decomposing algae strip oxygen from the waterbody, especially at the bottom, where most of the decomposing algae accumulates, as muck.

When oxygen levels decline near the bottom of the lake (known as the sediment-water interface), anaerobic conditions develop, and biological and chemical processes that support a healthy waterbody are disrupted. Muck continues to accumulate, foul odors get produced, and nutrients that would otherwise remain bound in sediment get released back into the water column, further fueling algae growth, and reducing water clarity.

Nanobubble treatment can help reduce algal blooms in waterbodies by effectively oxygenating the entire water column, but especially the sediment-water interface. This restores aerobic conditions there, accelerates muck decomposition/break-down, reduces foul odors, internal nutrient release, and algae growth, and helps improve water quality and clarity overall.

How do nanobubbles reach the bottom of a lake?

The defining feature of nanobubble technology is, unsurprisingly, the size of the bubble.

Bubbles produced by conventional aeration rise to the surface in seconds. As a result, most of the gas escapes into the atmosphere before it can be used within the waterbody.

Nanobubbles behave differently. Because they remain suspended in the water column and get entrained by currents in the waterbody, oxygen can be effectively distributed throughout the water column and waterbody, including the bottom.

This allows treatment to target the areas where oxygen is often needed most, including the bottom of waterbodies.

How do you evaluate a nanobubble solution before deploying?

As nanobubbles become more widely discussed, it's important to recognize that nanobubble technology is a tool, not a guarantee of results.

Waterbodies are complex biological systems. Depth, sediment composition, nutrient loading, circulation patterns, climate, and seasonal changes all influence performance.

That's why successful restoration depends on more than simply deploying nanobubble equipment.

It requires understanding the waterbody, identifying the root causes of impairment, properly sizing the system, collecting baseline data, monitoring performance, and adapting the treatment program over time.

The technology is important and the restoration strategy is equally important. Moleaer's surface water program is supported by limnologists, scientists, engineers, and restoration specialists who evaluate each waterbody before recommending a treatment strategy.

Not all nanobubble technologies are designed, validated, or deployed the same way.

For lake and water managers evaluating a nanobubble solution, a few questions are worth asking:

• Has the technology or company been independently validated?
• What is the vendors track record for permanent installations in similar lakes, ponds, reservoirs, or canals?
• How is the system being sized?
• Does the technology have a successful record for permitting permanent at scale installations with regional, state and federal authorities?
• Does this vendor have dedicated engineers, service team members and limnologists on staff?
• How will water quality improvements be measured?
• Is there a plan for ongoing monitoring and adaptive management?

The answers to these questions matter because, often, implementation is as important as the technology itself in terms of determining outcomes. Additionally, effective watershed management to reduce nutrient loading into waterbodies should always be conducted in conjunction with nanobubble treatment.

What Does Successful Lake Restoration Look Like?

While every waterbody is different, successful projects share a common outcome: improved oxygen conditions that support improved water quality and long-term restoration.

Lake Elsinore, California
Lake Elsinore struggled with recurring harmful algal blooms (HABs) and water quality impairments for decades. Following deployment of Moleaer's nanobubble technology as part of a broader lake restoration program in 2024, the lake remained open throughout the 2025 recreational season for the first time in more than three years.

Water clarity improved, dissolved oxygen levels remained elevated through the winter, and the lake supported recreational activities that had previously been disrupted by poor water quality.

Read more about Lake Elsinore

Pokegama Lake, Minnesota
In Pokegama Lake, Moleaer's nanobubble treatment was deployed in a bay characterized by excessive algae growth and muck accumulation. Early monitoring showed a 30% reduction in cynobacteria compared to a control area, supporting the role of oxygen restoration in improving water quality over time.

These results reinforce an important point: restoring dissolved oxygen doesn't simply treat today's algae bloom. It addresses conditions that allow blooms to persist year after year.

Read more about Pokegama Lake

The takeaway for water managers

Nanobubble technology is a proven tool available for improving oxygen and supporting long-term water quality restoration.

But successful outcomes depend on more than generating bubbles. They depend on understanding the waterbody, correctly sizing and locating the treatment, adequate maintenance to ensure necessary treatment time, applying the right solutions based on field experience, measuring performance, and adapting the treatment approach over time. Utilizing nanobubble treatment as the foundational component of a broader, multi-pronged restoration approach that includes watershed management to reduce external nutrient loading is also key.

As attention around nanobubbles continues to grow, water managers should focus on the fundamentals: independent validation, water quality data and demonstrated results in similar environments.

That's ultimately what separates a technology demonstration from a successful lake management plan that utilizes nanobubble treatment as the foundational element of a restoration program.

Contact our team to learn more about Moleaer nanobubble solutions to breathe life back into your lake.

Frequently asked questions about nanobubble technology

What is a nanobubbler? 

A “nanobubbler” is a device that generates nanobubbles, gas bubbles roughly 2,500 times smaller than a grain of salt, by infusing gas into water at very high pressure. The resulting bubbles are small enough to remain suspended in the water column rather than rising to the surface. At Moleaer, we refer to this as nanobubble technology or a nanobubble generator.

Do Moleaer’s nanobubbles help with algae or algal blooms? 

Nanobubble technology supports algal bloom suppression indirectly, by restoring oxygen levels at the bottom of a lake or pond. In this part of a waterbody, sustained oxygen delivery supports and accelerates aerobic biological activity that breaks down muck, reduces the nutrient release that fuels algal blooms, and improves fish growth and populations. Results depend heavily on proper system sizing and site-specific factors.

Is nanobubble technology chemical-free? 

Yes. Nanobubble technology introduces gas, typically oxygen,air, or ozone into water mechanically, without the use of chemical additives, making it a chemical-free alternative to traditional chemical-based water treatment methods like alum, or disruptive and expensive treatments like dredging.

How is nanobubble technology different from traditional lake aeration? 

Conventional aeration produces bubbles that rise to the surface within seconds, resulting in lower gas transfer efficiency. Nanobubbles are small enough and have a strong negative surface charge, preventing them from coalescing into larger bubbles allowing them to remain suspended in the water column. As a result, they remain suspended in the water column for extended periods, significantly increasing gas transfer efficiency compared to conventional aeration.

Because nanobubbles stay suspended rather than rising to the surface, oxygen can be distributed more effectively throughout the waterbody, including near the sediment-water interface where oxygen depletion often begins. When combined with natural water movement, this enables oxygen to reach areas that are difficult to address with traditional aeration alone, supporting more effective and long-lasting water quality improvement.

What's the difference between oxygen nanobubbles and ozone nanobubbles?

Oxygen and ozone nanobubbles use the same nanobubble mechanism, gas delivered in bubbles roughly 2,500 times smaller than a grain of salt that stay suspended in water rather than rising to the surface, but the gas inside serves different purposes.

Oxygen nanobubbles increase dissolved oxygen, supporting natural biological and chemical processes that drive long-term water quality improvement in applications like lakes, ponds, and wastewater treatment. Ozone nanobubbles combine the benefits of nanobubble delivery with ozone's strong oxidizing properties. In surface water applications, ozone can quickly react with organic matter and other compounds in the water. As ozone naturally decomposes, it converts to oxygen, which can contribute to improved water quality and overall ecosystem resiliency.

The right approach depends on the specific waterbody, water quality challenges, and restoration goals. Successful ozone applications require a thorough understanding of the waterbody, appropriate system design and dosing, and ongoing monitoring to ensure desired outcomes are achieved.