NANOOXYGEN SYSTEMS | CASE STUDY
Accelerating Grow-In at Fisher Island Club
How ultra-fine nanobubble dissolved oxygen and ozone irrigation transformed rootzone development
and turf establishment during the course renovation.
Fisher Island Club green after 12 weeks of grow-in on NanoOxygen-treated irrigation water: Supreme Paspalum
with full, uniform coverage.
AT A GLANCE
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Stronger roots, faster grow-in
During the Fisher Island Club renovation, NanoOxygen Systems treated irrigation water with ultra-fine nanobubbles carrying dissolved oxygen and ozone. Side-by-side with untreated turf managed under the same programs, the treated greens established faster and more evenly, and the reason was clear the moment plugs were pulled: the treated rootzone was alive with dense, white, actively exploring roots.
The challenge
A renovation grow-in is a race against time. New greens must knit together quickly and uniformly so they can be opened for play, and the speed of that process is set below the surface. On a sand-based green, roots depend on oxygen in the rootzone for aerobic respiration, which powers nutrient uptake, root extension and tissue repair.
When pore spaces stay filled with water, or when organic and biological activity consumes available oxygen, roots become shallow, less branched and less active. The canopy may still look green, but establishment slows, coverage becomes uneven and the turf enters its first seasons with a weaker foundation. In South Florida’s heat, humidity and frequent irrigation, those conditions are common.
The solution: NanoOxygen Systems
NanoOxygen Systems injects ultra-fine nanobubbles into the irrigation stream, turning every irrigation cycle into a delivery system for the rootzone. Two components work together:
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Dissolved oxygen via nanobubbles. Nanobubbles are far smaller than conventional bubbles, so rather than rising and escaping they remain suspended in the water. That allows oxygen-enriched water to travel with irrigation down through the sand profile to where roots are actually growing.
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Ozone. Ozone is a powerful oxidizer widely used in water treatment. Delivered alongside dissolved oxygen, it helps address organic load in the water and supports a cleaner, more aerobic rhizosphere.
The treatment did not replace any part of the agronomic program. Pre-plant preparation, grow-in fertility and cultural practices were identical between treated and untreated areas, so the water treatment was the defining difference in the comparison.
Results
Verified oxygen delivery: Sensaphone monitoring
A Sensaphone remote monitoring system logged dissolved oxygen (DO) every minute at two points: the inlet, measuring the source water before treatment, and the outlet, measuring irrigation water after NanoOxygen treatment. The export covers September 8 to October 6, 2025, the first four weeks of the grow-in, with roughly 41,750 readings per sensor and every reading reported in normal status.
Figure 1. Daily average inlet vs. outlet dissolved oxygen, Sept 8 – Oct 6, 2025 (Sensaphone data log). The shaded band is
the oxygen added by NanoOxygen treatment.
What the data shows
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A consistent, large lift. Outlet DO was higher than inlet DO in 94% of paired minute readings, adding an average of 5.8 mg/L to every irrigation cycle.
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Independent of source-water quality. When source water dropped below 4 mg/L, a low-oxygen condition, treated water still averaged 10.5 mg/L. In Week 2, when inlet DO was at its lowest weekly average (4.7 mg/L), outlet DO still averaged 11.0 mg/L.
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Supersaturated delivery. Warm South Florida water typically holds only about 7.5 mg/L of oxygen at air saturation. Outlet water averaged 11.7 mg/L, the kind of oxygen loading nanobubbles make possible because they stay suspended instead of escaping to the surface.
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Around the clock. Hourly averages for outlet DO stayed between roughly 11.4 and 12.2 mg/L throughout the day and night, so oxygen-enriched water was available whenever irrigation ran.
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Building through the grow-in. Weekly average outlet DO rose from 9.9 mg/L in Week 1 to 13.2 mg/L in Week 4, while the treatment lift held steady at roughly 5 to 6 mg/L per week.
Figure 2. Weekly average inlet vs. outlet DO over the first four weeks of grow-in.
Grow-in: 12-week-old Supreme Paspalum
Both greens were built to the same USGA 85/15 sand-based profile and received the same pre-plant regimen, grow-in fertility and cultural practices. The aerial images below, taken at 12 weeks, show the difference in coverage and uniformity.
Figure 3. Aerial comparison at 12 weeks. The treated green (left) shows full, consistent coverage; the untreated green (right) shows thinner, more variable establishment across the putting surface.
Below the surface: the root story
The aerial difference has a clear explanation underground. Plugs pulled from treated and untreated turf tell the
story at a glance.
Figure 4. Side-by-side plugs: untreated (left) vs. NanoOxygen-treated (right). The treated plug carries a dramatically longer, denser root system.
NanoOxygen-treated turf
The treated material shows a fundamentally different belowground picture. The difference is architectural, not cosmetic:
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Root architecture. Greater branching density and a fibrous, web-like habit, with fine roots continuous across the sample rather than sparse, maintenance-level rooting.
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Active growth. Cream-to-white root tissue and distinct growing tips throughout, indicating roots in active extension.
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Crowns and rhizomes. White-to-yellow, metabolically active tissue with clean, well-defined transitions from crown to rhizome to root, supporting lateral spread and recovery.
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Rootzone structure. Sand grains remain distinct and granular rather than smeared together, the appearance expected when pore space and gas exchange are preserved.
Figure 5. Treated plug face: granular, open sand profile with visible roots and crown structures.
Figure 6. Highly visible fine-root branching and active downward root extension.
Figure 7. Second angle showing crown/rhizome structures and a dense network of fine roots.
Figure 8. Extracted root mass with interconnected roots, crowns and rhizomes.
Figure 9. Profile section showing rhizome and crown expression in an open sand matrix.
Untreated reference turf (Holes 6 and 7)
The untreated turf was functional and maintaining surface cover, but the overall system appeared less efficient and less vigorous:
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Canopy. Reasonably dense, but with elongated, lax leaf blades and subtle non-uniformity in tone up close.
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Leaf tissue. Tip necrosis, fraying and mild chlorosis, consistent with cumulative plant stress.
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Roots. Present but not proliferating; tan-to-brown coloration suggesting older, less active tissue, with fewer fine root hairs.
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Rootzone. More cohesive sand around roots, suggesting retained moisture films and slower gas exchange.
Figure 10. Untreated plug: moderate rooting, darker root color, cohesive sand adherence.
Figure 11. Untreated leaf tissue showing tip injury and stress expression.
Figure 12. Untreated canopy close-up: dense but relatively lax leaf arrangement.
Figure 13. Untreated green: functional surface with widespread light chlorosis.
SIDE BY SIDE
Treated vs. untreated at a glance
A Sensaphone remote monitoring system logged dissolved oxygen (DO) every minute at two points: the inlet, measuring the source water before treatment, and the outlet, measuring irrigation water after NanoOxygen treatment. The export covers September 8 to October 6, 2025, the first four weeks of the grow-in, with roughly 41,750 readings per sensor and every reading reported in normal status.
Why it works
Roots burn oxygen to generate ATP, the energy that drives ion transport, root elongation, membrane maintenance and repair. In a sand rootzone, oxygen can still run short whenever water fills too much pore space or biological demand spikes, and the finest absorbing roots are the first to suffer.
By delivering oxygen with the irrigation water itself, NanoOxygen Systems supports the outcomes seen at Fisher Island:
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More persistent fine roots and root hairs, because the plant can sustain high-turnover absorptive tissue.
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Greater root branching, because growth points are less constrained by low-oxygen episodes.
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Cleaner crown and rhizome function, with energy directed into active growth rather than survival.
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A healthier aerobic rhizosphere, supported by stronger oxygen availability and the oxidizing action of ozone.
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More efficient nutrient and water uptake, especially during periods of high environmental demand.
What it means for Fisher Island
Members judge greens by what they see and how they putt. Agronomists know that surface performance is the outward expression of what happens in the rootzone. A stronger root system translates into:
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Faster opening after renovation, with greens reaching full, uniform cover sooner.
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Better stress tolerance, including mowing stress, heat and rapid evapotranspiration.
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More consistent color and growth, without pushing the canopy to its physiological limit.
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Faster recovery from mechanical injury, salinity and weather events.
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Greater surface stability through stronger crown and rhizome continuity.
About this case study
Findings combine field observation and photographic documentation of canopy, rootzone profiles and extracted plugs, aerial imagery of the 12-week grow-in, and Sensaphone dissolved oxygen logs. Treated and untreated areas were managed under identical programs. DO data covers inlet and outlet water from September 8 to October 6, 2025 (one-minute intervals, reported in mg/L); figures are calculated from the raw export. Continued monitoring of DO through the full grow-in, along with root mass, root length density and coverage percentages over time, will further quantify the benefits documented here.
Conclusion
