By: Kasco Staff | May 14, 2026
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As warmer weather approaches, many waterfront owners begin preparing their shoreline for summer enjoyment. Whether it’s clearing weeds around the dock, improving water movement near the shore, or just wanting a cleaner shoreline overall, our AquatiClear™ Circulator is the perfect solution.

But, How Shallow is Too Shallow?

One question we often receive from our AquatiClear customers is, “How shallow is too shallow to operate AquatiClear?” The answer to this depends on the unit’s horsepower and angle of installation, but we generally recommend having 18-20 inches of water above the unit. If there’s less than that, a condition called ventilation can occur where the unit pulls air down from the surface, creating a vortex (tornado) above the propeller. If the AquatiClear unit is fully submerged, ventilation shouldn’t damage it. However, it will create an unpleasant sucking sound, making it harder to enjoy your shoreline.

The Solution? SWIK

To prevent ventilation from occurring in shallow waters, Kasco developed the Shallow Water Install Kit, or SWIK. This is a domed, saucer-shaped float that sits at the water’s surface directly above the AquatiClear unit. The float caps off the vortex and reduces the ability for air to enter the water above the propeller. With the SWIK installed, AquatiClear can operate in much shallower water. However, there still must be at least 12 inches of water above the top of the horizontally mounted AquatiClear unit.

One More Thing – Bottom Contour

While the Shallow Water Install Kit makes shallow-water installations possible, something else still needs to be considered besides water depth – bottom contour. Our AquatiClear Circulators are very powerful, so mounting too close to the bottom can cause erosion of the bottom sediment. This can damage the propeller and put extra stress on the motor shaft seals, so we always suggest keeping a buffer off the bottom and angling the unit horizontally or slightly upward to minimize disturbing the bottom sediment.

If you have questions about AquatiClear installation or if it will work in your application, please give our support team a call at 715-262-4488, or email support@kascomarine.com.