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FISH FARMING TECHNOLOGY: The Use of Feed in Recirculating Aquaculture Systems (RAS)
FISH FARMING TECHNOLOGY: The Use of Feed in Recirculating Aquaculture Systems (RAS)
by Rob J Davies
Aquabiotech
Group
n traditional forms of net-pen culture, the composition and wastage of these pellets is very
relevant to maintaining good growth of the species being grown, managing expenditure and
minimising environmental impacts on the surrounding water bodies. Ultimately, they do not
have a large effect overall on their operation as a system. In RAS however, these frequently
overlooked considerations, especially by new operators, are extremely important and their lack
of understanding can easily lead to the failure and loss of the facilitys economic viability.
As a commercial scale farm manager for several RAS farms over the years, I have seen and
overcome many of the problems associated with using commercial pellets formulated for netpen culture and the implications of overfeeding of these pellets on a filtration system. Unlike
flow- through or net-pen systems, any pellets that are not eaten by the cultured species are retained in the
system and must be processed by the RAS.
This is potentially a major problem as the filtration systems are designed to process faeces and not pellets,
which can be four times as dense. The leeching of oils from the pellets interferes with the foam fractionators
or protein skimmers in the systems that are responsible for removing micro-particulate organic material
from the water body, reducing the optimal water quality and clarity that must be maintained in order to
achieve the fast growth rates required to make a RAS profitable.
Another effect of uneaten pellets is the overloading on the mechanical filtration process
responsible for removing the macro-particulate organic material from the system, this
can cause the overflowing of these filters, which introduce these particles into the
bio-filter (often the next filtration process in the sequence in RAS), diminishing
its capacity to process the toxic inorganic compounds, such as ammonia,
released by the organisms being grown.
If the degree of overfeeding is frequent or severe, this bio-filtration
process provided by nitrifying bacteria (that take up to eight weeks to
establish), can be overcome by heterotrophic bacteria feeding on the
supply of organic material and cause a total failure of the system. The
outcome being that the toxic inorganic compounds, that are no longer
RAS farming is a
lot more complex
than the traditional
methods
and a lack of
appreciation of this
will mean that the
system is doomed
to fail, like so many
have before.
However, there are
strategies, solutions
and safeguards
that are currently
being developed
to minimise the
risk of these
problems from
occurring, such as
working with feed
manufacturers
to develop feeds
especially for RAS.
YANMAR
REMOTE
NET
CLEANER
Cleaner water
means healthier fish
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explained, that can occur from a simple matter of putting too much feed into a tank (or at too greater speed or
in too small of an area for the feeding rate of the organisms to cope with), RAS farming is a lot more complex
than the traditional methods and a lack of appreciation of this will mean that the system is doomed to fail, like
so many have before.
However, there are strategies, solutions and safeguards that are currently being developed to minimise the
risk of these problems from occurring, such as working with feed manufacturers to develop feeds especially for
RAS.
This includes altering the density of the pellet to maximise availability during tank turnover time; modifying
oil content and composition to reduce the effect of uneaten pellets on the micro- and macro-mechanical
filtration processes so that particulates are prevented from compromising the bio-filter; and the development of
technological by-passes, warning devices and innovative equipment and system design.
This is what we offer at AquaBioTech Group, using our knowledge, experience and innovation, taken from
the various different backgrounds of our consultants and the testing of our RAS equipment and development of
new ideas and system designs in our R&D Facility based in Malta.
The special training and after care service contract that we provide as standard to every one of our clients that
we build systems for ensures that the RAS we design and the feeding management strategies that we advise,
minimise the risk of such problems occurring, therefore maximising the potential and economic viability of the
farms and the future of sustainability of aquaculture in general.