Recirculation Systems for fish and shrimp with integrated hydroponics

(Aquaponics)

• Candidate Species• System Design and function• Snippets of economics (dangerous without looking at all

details of each situation)• Possibilities to integrate with hydroponics• Aquaponics – Fish farming with a bit of veg’ on the side

Recirculating Aquaculture Systems - RAS

Llyn Aquaculture Ltd

Established Summer 1999 at Afonwen Farm, Pwllheli, Gwynedd, N. Wales Marine and Freshwater Recirculation

Systems Demonstration Farm Design and Consultancy Supply and installation R & D projects

Recirculation Systems – Llyn Aqua Marine systems Brackish water Fresh water

Turbot pilot system - Marine

Llyn Aqua Pilot System.

Design and supply Intensive Fish Productionsystems – research, pilot and commercial.

High Value species Turbot Sole Shrimp Sea Bass Eels Fresh water Perch Arctic Charr

•Low Value (high volume)•Barramundi (Asian Sea Bass)

•Tilapia

General Design Considerations

Design

Choice of Species

Location

Temperature

Biosecurity

SalinitySales stratedgy

Production capaci

Water IssuesAvailability / discharge

Financial IssuesGrantsInvestementSelling priceProduction costsConstruction costsLand costBorrowing cost

Reasons to Recirculate

Limited Water Temperature Control Salinity Control (specialised) Disease control Increase production per unit area / volume

To boldly grow fish where no fish has been grown before

Recirculation System Complexity vs % daily exchange

2,400% 1,000 % 500% 100% 50% 20% 10% 5%

Flow Through Re - Use

Oxygen + AerationSimple Solids Separation

Biological FiltrationMechanical Filtration

Fine Filtration (< 50 micron)UV

Degassing and pH controlFoam Fractionation

DenitrificationOzone

Sedimentation

% of tank volume exchanged per day

Design. Each situation is unique and must have custom design based on tried and tested technology. Water Exchange (new water) Mechanical Filtration – Coarse and fine particle removal

Biological Filtration UV and Ozone Gas Exchange / Oxygen / CO2 /pH Salinity

Water Movement – pumping and pipes Protein skimming / foam fractionation

Reduced water exchange to < 50% vol per day

Fine particle filtration (< 50 micron) – side stream UV ‘sterilisation’ – side stream Foam fractionation (Protein skimming) Ozonation – requires strict control – only to

be used on very ‘closed’ intensive systems. pH Buffering

Pros and Cons - Recirculation Total Control Water Quality Temperature Oxygen Flow rates Disease Control High Productivity Low Labour Effluent Control

High Cost!?

Cons

More Pros•Enables aquaculture to take place where otherwise not possible•Low food miles•Freshness

E.g. Recirc’ vs Flow Through with 5 m3/hr water (120 m3/day)

Flow through – 10 m3 tank vol – 1 tpa production

Recirculation 10 % volume exchanged per day – 1,200m3 tank vol – 120 to 200 tpa production depending on species.

Minimal Water intakee.g. 20 tonnes Sea Bass pa

Fine Filtration – 5 micron

High UV dose - Filter and UV rated 4m3/hr – used at –10 m3 per day.

Pathogen Free

Pumping once per month from sea to storage tank.

Easy temperature control

Species – with system examples Marine (or

Brackish) Turbot Sea Bass Sole Shrimp Barramundi Sea Trout Halibut (cold)

Fresh Water (or Brackish)

Arctic Charr

Perch

Barramundi

Tilapia

Sturgeon

2000 – 2002, 1st sea bass RAS in UK, 20 tonnes per annum (300m2 building)

Purging tank (clean water)

Total water volume of 160 m3 = 125 Kg / m3 / yr

Water Exchange average 10% / day = < 300 l/ kg fish

Sea Bass•Temperature (opt) 18-25

•Salinity 10-40

•Growth to 400g <1 yr

•Growth to 800g Av’ 1.5 yr

•FCR 1.3 to 1.5

•Density - up to 100 Kg/m3

Pros•Temperature

• Well known

• Sales volume

•Fry

Cons•Delicate

•Aggressive

•Competition

•Low price

•£4.50 / Kg

•Large volume

Ongrowing System. Sea Bass 160 Cubic metres.-Llyn Aqua Pilot - 20 tonnes per year = 125 Kg / m3

per year!

Price Drop

00-02 - £5.5 to £6.5/ kg ex farm

03 < £4.50 delivered UK from Greece

2009 – Euro 3.00 per Kg (Greece, Turkey)

Now need to sell at £4.00 to £4.70 per Kg ex farm UK

Turbot and Dover Sole

400 m3/ hr filter in 60 tonne pa charr unit

200 m3 / hr filter in 25 tonne per annum perch unit.

Note purge tanks behind.

•Turbot Ongrowing. Low energy Low volume shallow tanks

Low FCR.

0.8 up to 1 Kg

1.0 up to 1.5 Kg

Turbot. 1.5 - 2.0 Kg in 18 - 24 months from egg. 12 – 18 moths from 5-10g fry

•Temperature (opt) to 500g 22 to17

•Temp’ (opt) 0.5 – 2Kg 17 to14

•Salinity 10-37

•Growth to 1 kg 1 to 1.5 yr

•Growth to 1.5 Kg 18 – 24 mths

•FCR 0.9 to 1.1

•Density - up to 40 Kg/m2

•At 30 to 40 cm deep = 100-120kg/m3

Pros•Temperature*

• Luxury Niche

•High Value £6.0 - £7 per Kg

•Higher if sell direct

Turbot Shallow Raceway system

Turbot in Shallow raceway recirculation system. 20 Kg per m2 (7 cm deep) = 285 Kg / m3

Approx’ 600 kg / m3 / year production !

At 10% exchange per day = 60 litres per Kg produced.

(Sea bass = 300 l/kg)

Solids Removal Prevents overloading of bio-filter and build up of

anoxic sludge.Removal down to 50 microns. Sedimentation – Simple / low flow / load Moving screens – Drum or Conveyor beltRemoval below 50 microns Fixed bed – Pressurised sand or beads Fixed bed – slow up-flow / submerged media Both require periodic backwashing.

Example 50 tonne perch farm – Ireland, 2 modules of 25 tonnes per annum

12.000m

0.400m

0.800m

1.850m

0.150m

2.650m

RSJ

1.936m

1.900m

UV

0.800m

2.8

00m

Flui

d Be

dUp

flow

2.950m 3.600m

1.800m

2.250m

1.500m

2.000m

4.0

00m

3.850m

0.23

5m

0.58

5m

4.000m

3.850m 0.300m

6.000m 6.021m

Water filtration area

0.400m

0.800m

1.850m

0.150m

2.650m

RSJ

1.936m

1.900m

UV

0.800m

2.800m

Flui

d Be

dUp

flow

2.950m 3.600m

1.800m

2.250m

1.500m

2.000m

4.000m

3.850m

Concrete drain sumps

0.235m

0.585m

4.0

00m

3.850m

0.30

0m

6.000m 6.021m

200mm 8.500m

Pink pipes above ground until this point 160mm pipe under tanksGreen pipe shows waste water out from sumps

Waste pipe between the two 400 mm pipes here

2.760m

47.500m

Solids removal – Moving mesh with backwash spray - Conveyor or Drum filter.

Drum Filter – High flow / low headOnly 2 – to 5 cm head loss

Mechanical Drum Filter with vortex separator

0.800m

1.850m

0.150m

2.650m

1.936m 1.900m

UV

0.800m

2.8

00m

2.950m 3.600m

1.800m

2.250m

1.500m

2.000m

4.0

00m

3.850m

0.23

5m

0.58

5m

4.000m

3.850m 0.300m

6.000m 6.021m 8.500m

2.760m

Biological Filtration

Low Head Pumps

Biological Filtration

30 tonne per annum system (European Perch) Low Head Llyn Aqua pumps- 6 of 100 m3/ hr @ 1m head. 0.75 KW each.

Trickle Filter & Low Head (1 to 1.5m) Axial Flow pumps

(pre 2000 technology) 8 + 2 temp monitoring.£9,000 in 1999

Llyn Aqua Sensor Monitor (LASM)

e.g 8 oxygen - £4,000 Today

Monitoring and control -4 x LASM units on network – with phone dialer

•2 x 25 tonne systems -

•24 Oxygen

•2 Temp

•6 float switch level alarm

•2 pressure switch – Oxygen

•Power failure

•WWW – viewed and controlled from anywhere on net

Dover Sole – The Holy Grail? Very High Value Very difficult broodstock Slow Growth – 300 –

400g in 1 year (30% of stock)

Feed related – Do not thrive on fish based diet

Stacked Shallow Raceways

Arctic Charr• Temperature (opt)

12-17

• Salinity 0 - 37

• Growth to 1Kg <1 yr

• Growth to 1.5Kg 17 mth

• FCR <1.0

• Density - up to 100 Kg/m3

Down Side

Price drop

2006 £5.30

2009 Euro £4.50

Production cost of £3.5 / Kg.

£3.0 / Kg at over 200 tonnes.

Fresh water – brackish - marine

Relevant Example - 60 tpa Arctic Charr farm - Ireland.

Bore hole water - 12 Deg. C 50 % exchange per day (300m3) Circulation up to 2.5 x per hour through

tanks = 60 times per day New water = 0.8 % per cycle Rate of recycling = 99.2%

60 Tonne per annum Charr. Nursery system – 8 of 15 m3

Grow Out System – 4 of 100 m3

Fish More relaxed at high density – up to 80 Kg/m3 in Nursery and 100 Kg / m3 in Grow out tanks –10 tonnes per tank!

Large tanks – more economical from Concrete. < 10 m3, GRP or HDPE.

•Halibut Raceways – Norway

•Flow Through farm

•Failed due to disease

Total Flow 1000 m3 / hr

Crystal clear purging system – 1 week prior to slaughter. Empty guts and remove any ‘off flavour’

Low visual Impact - no more than mushroom farm.

Fresh Water European Perch.•Temperature (opt) 18-25

•Salinity 0 - 10

•Growth to 200g 10 mths

•Growth to 400g Av’ 12 - 18

•FCR 1.3 to 1.5

•Density - over 100 Kg/m3

•Very Niche market - Switzerland

Concrete block – 50 Tonne Perch, Ireland

Tropical Shrimp (white)L. Vannamei•Temperature (opt) 26 - 30

•Salinity 3 - 40

•Growth to 20g 4.5 mths

•£8 (20g) to £12 (25 – 30g) / Kg

•FCR 1.0 to 1.3

•Density - 7 to 10 Kg/m2

•Niche market – top quality, never frozen, super fresh, live, no preservatives, harvest and deliver same day.

•Not to compete with bulk frozen imported

Super Intensive ‘ICE’ (Indoor Controlled Environment) shrimp

Up to 8 Kg / m3

28 Deg C

25 Kg / m2 / yr output

Salinity 5 to 40 ppt

‘ICE’ Shrimp – Indoor Controlled Environment

PROS•Fast turnover

•2.5 cycles per year

•25 Kg / m2 tank per year

•High price - £8 + /kg ex farm

CONS•High space required

•High Temp

•Cheap competition

High space means high construction cost – 100 tonnes - £1.25 million

Tilapia – The Chicken of the ‘sea’PROS

•Fast turnover (<10 mths)

•>200 Kg / m3 / year

•Salinity 0- 5ppt

•Some strains – full Sea water

•Low protein plant based feed –35%

•Production cost ca. £4.0/Kg

CONS

•High Temp 26 - 30

•Cheap competition

400 tpa farm – ca £1.45m

Tilapia competition < £1.0 / Kg

Aquaponics -Plenty of freshwater examples on the internet

Silver Carp + Rice

‘Backyard’ aquaponics

Llyn Aqua Integrated System – 2001, EU funded R & D programme - GENESIS

Solids separation

Fish Rearing Systems

Sludge

Primary SettlerSecondary Settler

Aerated LagoonRetention time

Surplus water

Waste Water+

Discharge

300m3 300m3

Floating

Sinking

40 m30.3m deep 2m deep2m deep

3.032m

Septic tank

Sedimentation, worms?Periodic pumping

Phytoplankton

30 days

RT = 4 days

Phytoplankton / Artemia

New

Salicornia + Clams ?

New Area

To Natural Wetland

or recycled back to fish

Spread on Land

Sand Gravel with simulated tide

Lly Aquaculture - Cold Climate Integrated System

12.000m

10.000m

??

Ca. 5 m3 per day??

3.000m

10.000m

Nutrient Assimilation - Clean discharge.

Mean water quality During May May Water Quality (Mean of Weekly samples)

0

0.1

0.2

0.3

0.4

0.5

0.6

Position

ppm

Nitr

ite &

Nitr

ate

02468101214

ppm

Pho

s &

Am

mon

ia

Nitrite 0.28 0.001 0 0 0Nitrate 0.55 0.12 0 0.05 0.03Ammonia 8.3 2 1.8 1.1 0.5Phosphate 11.6 10.6 5 8.1 6.1

2 3 4 5 6

Manila (Sept) Native (Sept)

Phytoplankton

Euglena Spp. High Nutrient -

Brackish

Phytoplankton

Prasinophyte Platymonas Spp.??)

Rotifer Population DensityRotifer density 2003 / 2004

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

08/04

/2003

22/04

/2003

06/05

/2003

20/05

/2003

03/06

/2003

17/06

/2003

Pos' 3Pos' 4Pos' 5Pos' 6Harvest - mPos 5. 2004

Manila Clams Native Clams

Early Salicornia (Samphire) trials

Salicornia – Species selection, development of ‘strain’, and seed production.

Replicated density trialsUp to 10 Kg / m2 per year

Wholesale - £5 per Kg

Western Australia. Barramundi and peppers.

Abalone - Fish/shrimp - plankton

Abalone - Shrimp - Sea Weed (Ulva)

Israel: Integrated System

Algae grown in discharge water from recirculation system

Used as feed for Abalone and Urchins

Israeli Integrated modelAbalone + Urchins

Bore hole sea water

Intensive sea bream RAS

Nutrient rich water

Algae

Algae as feed for Abalone

Salicornia beds