Global Shrimp OP: 2001 Preliminary Report

Aerated Pond Management

Farmers Use Aeration to Increase Yields, Stop Oxygen Kills;
High Rates Used Only in Intensive Systems
Alberto J.P. Nunes, Ph.D.
Agribrands Purina do Brasil
So Paulo, Brazil
albertojpn@agribrands.com.br
Yont Musig, Ph.D.
Kasetsart University
Bangkok, Thailand
ffisyon@ku.ac.th

Copyright 2001, Global Aquaculture Alliance. Do not reproduce without permission.

echanical aeration is an effective means of improving proM

duction efficiency in shrimp farming.
Aerators create strong water movement and turbulence, breaking up the
air-water interface. This causes oxygenation, mixing, and destratification
of the pond water column, which enhances dissolved-oxygen concentrations and lowers the accumulation of
nitrogenous compounds.
As the shrimp industry modernizes
and culture technologies intensify,
supplemental aeration is turning from
an occasional to conventional practice
at many farms. This article presents
preliminary results of the aerated pond
management survey conducted with
Eastern and Western Hemisphere
shrimp farmers as part of the Global
Shrimp OP: 2001 program.

Operational Profile
The use of mechanical aeration is
rapidly spreading in semi-intensive
and intensive shrimp farms. Of 29 respondents to the survey, 59% of the
operations were located in the Western Hemisphere. Participant countries
included Brazil (8 respondents), India
(4), Australia (3), Indonesia, Thailand,
Belize, Ecuador, France, Honduras,
Japan, Mexico, Nicaragua, South Africa, and the United States.
Surveyed operations were classified as medium to large farms, mostly
older than 6 years (61%), with 11-50
ponds (62%). Farms less than five
years old with 51-200 ponds were less
common, representing 38% and 17%

Placement of paddlewheel aerators in a rectangular growout pond in Brazil.

of the respondents, respectively. The

primary species cultured was Litopenaeus vannamei (48%), followed by
Penaeus monodon (41%), Marsupenaeus japonicus (7%), and Fenneropenaeus indicus (3%).

Pond Characteristics
The bulk of the farms that employed aeration had ponds with the
traditional rectangular configuration
(66%), and area ranging from 0.5-1 ha
(34%) to 1.1-5 ha (38%). Although the
benefits of mechanical aeration appear to be better capitalized in smaller
culture areas using more sophisticated pond shapes, only a fraction of the
farms (3%) used ponds of less than
0.5 ha, and modern configurations such
as square (22%) or round (6%) shapes,
and raceways (6%). Under these conditions, aerators can effectively create
circular currents to assist in the removal of clay materials, detritus, and
other undesirable organic particles
from water.
Most surveyed farms used ponds
with depths of 1.1-1.25 m (24%) to

1.26-1.5 m (34%), but a number of

operations ponds exceeded 1.5 m in
depth (24%). Aeration is discouraged
in very large ponds over 20 ha and
shallow ponds (less than 0.75 m), as it
can result in inconsistent oxygenation
of the rearing area and scouring of the
pond bottom. This can produce dead
or anaerobic areas in the pond, and
disturb toxic materials present in the
top layer of the sediment.

Aeration Rates and Costs

Typical average aeration rates
ranged 3-5 hp/ha (Figure 1). While

Figure 1. Aeration rates for surveyed farms.

THE ADVOCATE AUGUST 2001

39

indicated their power costs did not exceed U.S. $0.07/kWh (Figure 2). Costs
of diesel fuel ranged from U.S. $0.310.40/l (8% of the respondents) to
$0.41-0.50/l. Alternative energy sources
for aeration, such as solar or eolic energy, will be a likely area of investigation in the future.
Figure 2. Cost of power for surveyed farms.

Equipment Purchases
Under specific situations (e.g., intensification, treatment of effluents), the economic and
environmental benefits
of aeration clearly exceed its costs. When
purchasing
aeration
equipment, respondents
indicated aerator efficiency, reliability, and
ease of maintenance
were the most important
areas to consider (Table 1).

higher aeration rates are in use, they

seem to be limited to very intensive or
heterotrophic-based rearing systems.
Most farmers estimate their horsepower rating on motor size (72%),
while very few use the actual draw
power of motor (28%).
Respondents indicated electricity
as their primary source of power for
aeration, originated either from onsite power generation (48%) or utility
(48%). Only one respondent used direct drive from gas or diesel motor.
Almost half the farms evaluated used
a backup power supply for emergencies, followed by 29% with no backup and 25% with partial backup. This
agrees with the finding that 30% of
the respondents indicated power outage as one of leading causes of lowoxygen shrimp mortality in their growout ponds.

Figure 3. Aerators operating in

distribution channel to increase
dissolved-oxygen levels of reuse water.

Aerator Positioning
The arrangement of aerator equipment in a pond is an important factor
to be considered. It affects water-circulation patterns, and determines oxygenated zones and areas of sediment
deposition in a pond. Shrimp tend to
avoid pond areas with low dissolvedoxygen levels or a build-up of ammonia or hydrogen sulfide.
In this survey, aerator positioning
often related to the configuration and
area of the pond. In round and square
ponds, farmers placed aerators near
corners (17% of the respondents), between outside edge and center of the
pond (26%) to create currents with a
circular pattern. This allowed a reduction in the sludge area as sediment accumulates in the center, where a
drainage system is usually located.
In rectangular ponds, aerators were
often installed near each other 45-90
from pond walls around the outside

Operational Cost Restrictions

One of the greatest restrictions to a
more widespread use of aeration
seems to be related to its operational
costs, particularly power expenses. Interestingly, aeration is becoming quite
popular in countries like Brazil, where
electricity derived from hydroelectric
plants is common in rural areas and relatively inexpensive compared to other
power sources. In Brazil, it is estimated that one kWh generated by diesel
fuel is at least three times more expensive than electricity from utility sources.
Sixty percent of the respondents

Table 1. Factors considered during purchasing of aeration equipment.

Values indicate number of respondents.
Factors

First
Priority

Second
Priority

Third
Priority

Fourth
Priority

Fifth
Priority

Aerator cost
Aerator reliability
Aerator efficiency
Ease of maintenance
Credit availability

3
8
16
2
0

7
10
8
4
0

7
4
4
13
1

10
5
1
9
2

2
0
0
1
20

40

THE ADVOCATE AUGUST 2001

perimeter (29%). For 21% of the respondents, the aerators were all pointed in the same direction towards prevalent winds. In exceptional cases, some
farmers place aerators in water distribution channels to increase dissolvedoxygen (D.O.) levels prior to supplying new water to ponds (Figure 3).

Objectives of Aeration
Farmers used aeration for a number of reasons, but primarily to increase yields (41%). One-quarter of
all the operations indicated they attained shrimp yields of 3,001-5,000
kg/ha/cycle. Higher yields of 5,000
kg/ha/cycle to more than 15,000 kg/ha/
cycle, were not uncommon among respondents, representing 22% of all the
participating farms. Only 11% of the
operations indicated they obtained
500-1,000 kg/ha/cycle yields.
Most growout stocking densities
were in the 21-30 shrimp/m2 (32%)
and 31-50 shrimp/m2 (32%) range.
More intensive stocking conditions,
51-100 shrimp/m2 and over 100 shrimp/
m2, were limited to 7% and 11% of
the respondents, respectively.
At 28% of respondents, prevention
of oxygen kills in semi-intensive ponds
came as the second primary reason for
aeration use. Depletion of oxygen is
common in more-intensive culture
systems or under conditions of extreme temperatures, where there may
be an unusual increase in photosynthetic activity. This causes a rapid increment in D.O. concentrations during
daylight, followed by a reduction or
complete depletion in the night. In
fact, excessive phytoplankton bloom

Electrical switch boxes at pond side control individual aerators and prevent equipment
damage from electrical power fluctuations.

was considered one of the biggest causes for low-oxygen mortality in aerated ponds by 30% of the respondents.
In areas with an incidence of disease outbreaks, water exchange must
be avoided, and D.O. concentrations
can only be sustained with supplemental aeration. Intensive aeration is
more commonly used to continually
resuspend organic material and create
heterotrophic microbial communities
to purify water and recycle protein
(19%). Other purposes for aeration in-

42

THE ADVOCATE AUGUST 2001

cluded water circulation (6%), destratification of zero-exchange ponds

(3%), and reduction in sludge area
(3% of responses).

Research
Aeration can be used in a number
of culture systems and situations, either as a remedial measure or practical
method to enhance production output.
Still, there are several areas critical
for research.
Surveyed farmers indicated their

highest priorities for research were

improved gas exchange efficiency,
and study of the importance of aeration versus water circulation. Research on automatic aerator control by
D.O. sensors, and variable operating
speed (day versus night) followed as
priorities. Other areas included aerator arrangement and performance tests.
As shrimp farmers become more
knowledgeable about the benefits of
pond aeration, management strategies
and less-expensive technologies should
evolve, making aeration a more accessible and widespread tool in shrimp
aquaculture.

Aeration can be used

in a number of culture
systems and
situations, either as
a remedial measure
or practical method
to enhance
production output.