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ARS Home » Southeast Area » Stuttgart, Arkansas » Harry K. Dupree Stuttgart National Aquaculture Research Cntr » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #176314
Title: EVALUATION OF A SMALL-SCALE RECIRCULATING AQUACULTURE SYSTEM USING A FLOATING BEAD BIOCLARIFIER AND FLUIDIZED BED BIOLOGICAL REACTOR FOR WARM-WATER FISH CULTURE

Author
item Pfeiffer, Tim
item RILEY, KENNETH - HBOI

Submitted to: Aquaculture America Conference
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 12/1/2004
Publication Date: 3/1/2004
Citation: Pfeiffer, T.J., Riley, K. 2004. Evaluation of a small-scale recirculating aquaculture system using a floating bead bioclarifier and fluidized bed biological reactor for warm-water fish culture [abstract]. Aquaculture America Conference. p. 468.

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Recirculating aquaculture production systems need to oinimize operating and capital costs to become competitive for food fish production. The objective of the study is to maximize the production from a basic RAS unit without the use of supplemental oxygenation. The culture units are two 3.65 meter (12 ft) diameter panel fiberglass circular tanks with a sloping bottom. Culture volume for each tank at 1.0 m depth is 10,500 L (2775 gal). Tilapia are produced through a two-phase system with 3500 25-g fish stock into the first tank and four hundred 350-g fish stocked into the second tank. Removal of the heavy settleable solids from the tank bottom is capture in the 0.6 m diameter (265 L) swirl separator as the solids laden water slows passes through on to the sump. Flow from the swirl separator joins the high volume flow from the elevated sidewall drain of each tank as it flows into the 1000 L sump. Flow from the sump is pumped (1.5 hp) through a 0.3 m3 (10 ft3) prop-washed floating bead bioclarifier (PWBF) for additionally solids removal. Backwashing of the bioclarifier is an automated process. Supplemental biological filtration is provided by a fluidized bed biological filter, FBB (1.5 m diameter) which uses a silica sand media. Water gravity flows back to the culture tanks. The performance of the swirl separators, PWBF, and FSF were monitored with the increasing feed loading rates. The solids removal, nitrification, and oxygen demands of this system were measured at five feed rates ranging from 0.9 to 4.5 kg feed per day.