AQUACULTURE

ENGINEERING
MS324 AQUACULTURE IN PACIFIC ISLAND
COUNTRIES
 LEARNING OUTCOMES:
Students will be able to describe, and demonstrate
understanding of:
 Aquaculture systems –longlines, rafts, cages, ponds, tanks,
raceways
 Seawater systems - open systems, and closed systems
 Site selection – importance of a good site, site selection
criteria
 Seawater intakes - importance of a good intake, requirements
 Water filtration - types of particles, types of filters
 Water reconditioning - bio-filters
 Water disinfection – reducing bacteria, fungi, viruses with UV-
light or chemicals
 Temperature control – heaters, chillers
 Aeration
 Carrying capacity of an aquaculture system
 Electrical safety
What do fish need?
 GOOD FOOD
and
CLEAN WATER!
 ENGINEERING ISSUES

 The main engineering issue facing the

aquaculturist is obtaining clean water for the
fish farm.

 A secondary issue is ensuring that the farmed

fish do not escape.

 NB Feeding fish is a nutritional issue, not an engineering

issue (unless a special automatic fish-feeder is to be used)
 AQUACULTURE SYSTEMS

 Various aquaculture systems are available

to obtain water, and prevent fish escaping.

 These range from extensive to intensive

 Re-stocking (Sea ranching)

 Organismsare released into the natural

environment from a hatchery

 No structures are needed at all

 Longlines and rafts
 Open-water structures – non-motile organism is
suspended in the water column
 mostly used for filter-feeding molluscs like
mussels or for seaweeds (do not need
supplementary feeding)
 need fairly sheltered locations
 do still require good water movement (rely on
the water column for plankton food or for
inorganic nutrients).
Pacific oyster raft
Seaweed longline
 Longlines and rafts
 Degree of control?

 Investment?

 Operating costs?

 Pathological risk?
 Cages
 Open-water structures – contains motile
organism (usually fish) and stops them escaping
 Fish will need supplementary feeding
 Cages require sheltered-water location and
strong moorings, so they are not uprooted by
rough weather.
 But still need sufficient water movement to bring
clean water, and flush fish wastes away.
 If cages are placed in bays with insufficient
water exchange, then water quality deteriorates.
This is harmful to the farmed fish, and to natural
biota in the area.
Grouper seacages
Site selection for cages is important
 Cages
 Degree of control?

 Investment?

 Operating costs?

 Pathological risk?
 Ponds
are closed systems which serve the purpose
of:
 preventing animals from escaping
 enable some control of the animals’
environment
 help protect them from predation or other
hazards.

Ponds may be earthen, or may be lined with a

synthetic material like plastic or rubber.
 Earthen ponds
 soil chemistry must be studied to find out what
effect the soil may have on pond water quality.
 Soil pH, alkalinity, and presence of toxic
substances like heavy metals need to be tested
to ensure they are all at safe levels for the fish
or for humans that eat the fish.
 Slightly acidic soils will need preparation by
liming before ponds are filled, to raise the pH.
 Acid sulphate soils (often found behind
mangrove areas) can have pH as low as 4.5,
and should be avoided.
Earthen pond (tilapia, prawn)
 Lined ponds
 Installationof pond liners makes water
quality independent of soil chemistry
 This gives the farmer a lot of control over
the pond water quality
 It is expensive in terms of capital costs
(money up front) though it can save
money in farm operating costs (pond
maintenance) later on.
Lined pond (shrimp)
 Pond construction
 Ponds need to be constructed in a certain
way, however this differs between species
and culture methods, and from site to site.

 Detailed information about pond

construction will not be given here, but
may be explained during the lectures for
particular species, for example tilapia.
 Ponds
 Degree of control?

 Investment?

 Operating costs?

 Pathological risk?
 Tanks and raceways
 are built on land (often indoors)
 provide very good control of water quality for optimal
environmental conditions

 The expense of building tanks and pumping water

into them can usually only be justified for the most
intensive types of aquaculture, e.g:
(1) the short period of the lifecycle when fish are
larvae (hatchery operations), or;
(2) for grow-out of very high-value species like
ornamental fish.
Outdoor tanks
Indoor tanks
Raceways
 Tank water systems can be divided into
two categories:

1. Open systems - incoming seawater is

flowing through all the time
2. Closed systems - there is no incoming
seawater
 Flow-through tank system
 Seacages and longlines are called open
systems, because the farm is in the sea
and water is flowing past all the time.
 Land-based tank, raceway or pond
systems are also called open systems if
water is being pumped through all the
time.
 This is called a flow-through system
 Flow-through system
 Water is only used once - it trickles into the
tank, then overflows down a drain and
runs away to waste.

 The advantage is that this guarantees the

cleanest tank water, with continuous
flushing of fish wastes.

 The disadvantage is that large quantities

of good-quality seawater must be available
at moderate cost.
Raceways
 Static system
 The simplest closed system is the static
system (sometimes called a batch culture)
 a tank is filled with water and left with no
water flowing through it. Every so often a
percentage of the dirty water is drained out,
and refilled with clean water.
 A marine aquarium is an example of a static
closed system. It is used in situations where
seawater is very difficult to obtain.
Static system
 Recirculating system
 Another closed system is the recirculating
system.
 Water overflows out of fish tanks, is collected
and treated (mechanical filtration and/or bio-
filtration) then pumped back to a storage tank to
be re-used.
 A percentage of the total water volume in the
recirculating system will need to be drained out
periodically and refilled with new, clean water.
 Recirculation system
 Theadvantage of recirculation is that
water can be used more than once, which
saves money in situations where quality
seawater is difficult or expensive to obtain.

 The disadvantage is that, despite

treatment, the water quality will still slowly
deteriorate as fish metabolites accumulate
in the water.
 Summary of tank systems
 A flow-through system is best - it guarantees
best fish health with a minimum of expense on
water treatments. But it depends upon
availability of a site with an abundance of good-
quality seawater.
 A static system is worst in terms of fish health,
with high operating costs and high-technology
required to keep the water clean.
 A recirculating system is in-between the other
two, in terms of maintaining good fish health at
reasonable cost.
 Tanks and raceways
 Degree of control?

 Investment?

 Operating costs?

 Pathological risk?
 Site selection
 When choosing a site for aquaculture, three
things are very important:

1. LOCATION
2. LOCATION
3. LOCATION

 Bitter experience over the years shows that

selection of the right site is the single most
important factor in determining the success or
failure of aquaculture projects.
 Ideally a project proposer should go through a site
selection process, where a range of technical
factors are considered:
 water not too rough, or prone to heavy flooding
 a water supply is available (river, well, dam,
seawater)
 water temperature in the optimum range for your
species
 water salinity, pH, alkalinity, nutrients etc in
optimum range
 no toxins or pollution
 few diseases or predators in the area
 road access, electricity, telephone, drinking water
supply
 There are also legal factors, such as:
 Who owns the site?
 Can it be bought or leased?
 Is the area zoned in planning laws as
available for aquaculture?

Social factors include:

 Is labour available?
 Are there people nearby who may steal
farmed fish?
 The reality is that few aquaculture sites
are ideal in every way

 Oftenproject proposers do not carry out

any site selection process at all.
There may be good reasons for that.
What could they be?
 Few aquaculture sites may be available in the
area.
 Or the site may have been determined right from
the start, because the land being used is land
already owned by the project proposers.

 In this case, the proposers should go through a

species selection process, where different
species are analysed and one chosen with
biology and preferences that match the
environmental conditions of the site.
 Which species or organism to
culture?
 How do you decide which organism to
culture?
 1) Biological characteristics
 2) Economic and Market Considerations
 3) Introduction of Exotic Species
 Biological Characteristics
 Growth Rate (some exceptions if slow growing but very
high value)
 Size and Age at Maturity- better if they reach marketable size
before becoming sexually mature. (many breeders available for
hatchery but not ideal for growth).
 Duration (Days of Culture)
 Production under cultured condition-
 adaptability to captive environment.
 Tropical species perform better at higher temp. but it is difficult
and expensive to do so in a cold environment- may not be
profitable.
 Can be cultured under semi or intensive systems- high
population/ crowding.
 Organisms that are “Hardy”
 can tolerate unfavourable conditions- high/low temp or low DO.
 Resistant to diseases.
 Breeding in captivity- can produce seeds for
stocking in a hatchery.
 High fecundity and frequency of spawning is an
advantage.
 Short larval rearing period is also desirable.
 Larvae that consume inert feeds rather than live feeds
may also be desirable.
 Wild breeders or juvenile availability.
 Feeding Behaviour- a herbivorous or
omnivorous maybe cheaper to culture.
Carnivores would require higher protein diets
and at a higher cost but they also tend to fetch a
higher market price.
 Economic and Market Consideration
 Proven technology-information/ technical
assistance or know-how available.
 Less info may require pilot studies and commercial
trials.
 Are there any priorities- national/ regional.
 Consumer acceptance and availability of
markets.
 If no market exists it maybe developed but this can
take a long time and effort.

 Consideration can be given to an introduced

species whose technologies, economics and
marketability has already been demonstrated.
 Introducing an Exotic species
 Introductions must be done only if it is necessary. Proper
procedures will reduce the risk of undesirable
consequences. Considerations for introduction:
 Fill a need because of the absence of a similar desirable species
in that locality.
 Not compete with valuable native species, contributing to their
decline.
 Not cross with local native species to produce undesirable
hybrids.
 Not be accompanied by pests, parasites or diseases that might
attack native species.
 Live and reproduce in equilibrium with its new environment.

Turner (1949) in Pillay T. V. R. (1990).

 PILOT PROJECT
 A small-scale pilot project can be done to
test the chosen species at the chosen site,
to find out any problems before too much
money is spent.
 A small pond may be dug and stocked, or
a small seacage tried out.
 In seaweed farming, the pilot project may
be as simple as trying a test plot of one or
two lines in a range of reef locations.
 Poor site = ¯└$$$┘¯
 A bad site can be made better, but money will
need to be spent on improving it.
 How much money can be spent will depend
upon economic analyses of the profitability of the
venture. More money needed for improvements
means less money for profit.
 Sometimes poor sites can be made into good
ones, but many end up being abandoned even
after much investment of money and effort.
 Seawater intakes
 Manyhigh-value marine species are
farmed in terrestrial environments, to give
maximum control over culture conditions.

 Larvae hatcheries, and growout of species

like Penaeid shrimp in ponds, requires
seawater to be pumped up onto the land.
 Seawater intakes
 The successful installation of a seawater
intake is the single most important factor in
the success of any land-based marine-
species aquaculture operation.
 More projects have failed because of
problems and expense with seawater intakes
than from any other reason.
 It does not matter how fancy the on-shore
hatcheries and laboratories may appear. If a
reliable supply of quality seawater is not
available, then the whole project is pointless.
 Seawater intakes
 Seawater intakes have to be in the sea.
 They therefore need to be firmly anchored,
and placed where storms or natural
disasters will not uproot them.
 Such adverse events are usually
infrequent, so their severity at a particular
site may be difficult to predict. The farmer
is taking a gamble.
 Intake water quality
 The land-based hatchery or farm will
require good-quality seawater that suits
the biology of the farmed species.
 It is critical that the water body the
seawater is being extracted from will be of
good quality most of the time.
 If rainfall or flooding causes periods of low
salinity or high turbidity (muddiness) then
the farm will be deprived of water and
cannot function.
Intakes located in shallow water will
not provide quality water if:
 thebottom mud is being stirred up by
breaking waves, or;
 brackish water is floating on top of the
more-dense seawater, or;
 rubbish is drawn up the pipe.

The deeper the intake (more than 5m), the

better the seawater.
 Intake screen
 Intakes require a screen to prevent rubble
or debris being drawn up the pipe and
damaging the pump.
 Mesh screens cannot be too fine,
however, or bio-fouling (barnacles, oysters
etc) will block the holes and prevent water
being pumped.
 Roughly one-inch holes in the screen are
usually adequate.
 Exercise:
 Studythe photos of the two seawater
intakes shown on the next slides.

 Discusstheir advantages and

disadvantages.

 Decide
which intake will give best
seawater with least problems.
And if that water is no good, then
we have to do this …
 Water filtration
 Even good seawater sources usually
require some sort of water treatment
before it can be added to the fish tanks.

 Filtration
is the term for straining particles
out of water.
There are usually three things that need to
be filtered:

1. Sediment, that could clog the gills of

animals
2. Zooplankton, especially predators of
hatchery larvae, or larvae of biofouling
organisms that can settle, grow, and clog
up hatchery pipes
3. Bacteria, that may cause diseases
 Stages of filtration
 Filtration
is usually done in stages, from
coarse to fine. The number of stages
depends upon the hatchery requirements.

 The first stage is the intake screen,

usually filtering out particles of size about
an inch (25mm).
 Sand filter
 The second stage is usually a sand filter, to
remove the worst of the larger sediment
particles, the bigger zooplankton, and eggs
of various kinds.
 This requires filtration of particles in the
range of 75-100 microns (thousandths of a
millimetre).
 Sand filters require periodic back-flushing,
whereby the water flow is run backwards to
unclog the sand and clean the filter before
water is made to run forwards again.
 Cartridge filter
 The third stage is to remove phytoplankton
and zooplankton, usually done by a
cartridge filter.
 Different cartridges can be fitted to provide
different pore sizes, and for phytoplankton
removal are usually in the range of 2-10
microns.
 To remove bacteria or very fine sediment
particles (if this needs to be done) a
cartridge filter with pore size of 1 micron
or less is required.
 Itis important that coarse filtration is done
before fine filters are used, or the fine filters
will clog very rapidly.
 Filter cartridges used for removal of bacteria
will eventually clog, so their performance
must be regularly inspected.
 Even if not clogged, the filter cartridge should
be removed every couple of days and soaked
in a chlorine bath to disinfect it before re-use.
This is because of "bacterial creep" whereby,
through cell division, living bacterial cultures
can grow their way through from one side of
the filter material to the other.
 Other types of filter technology are
available, for example diatomaceous-earth
filters, filter bags, micro-screens, and
sedimentation tanks.

 However the methods described above

are the main ones.
 Water Reconditioning
 Reconditioning refers to removal of toxic
metabolites (fish waste products) of which the
various forms of inorganic nitrogen are the most
critical.
 Marine organisms excrete nitrogenous waste in
the form of ammonia, mainly through their gills.
 Faeces and uneaten food in the water are
broken down by bacteria, releasing more
ammonia.
 Ammonia exists in two forms in seawater. Un-
ionized ammonia (NH3) is very toxic to fish.
Ionized ammonia (NH4+) is not very toxic.
 Monitoring ammonia
 It is important that large-scale hatchery
operators monitor levels of un-ionized
ammonia and ensure that it remains less than
values known to be toxic for their organism.
 Remember, however, that analytical chemists
are in the habit of measuring total ammonia
(NH3 + NH4+) so you will need to make a
special request for them to measure un-
ionized ammonia only.
 If ammonia reaches problem levels (>1ppm)
in an open system, then the flow of incoming
water will need to be increased.
 Bio-filtration
 In a closed system, removal of ammonia can be
achieved by bio-filtration.
 Ammonia released by fish enters the nitrogen cycle
in seawater. Naturally-occurring aerobic bacteria
called nitrifying bacteria can convert ammonia
first to nitrite, which is also highly toxic to fish
(>1ppm), and then to nitrate which is not very toxic
(up to 100ppm before it is toxic).
 This process is called nitrification, and results in
ammonia-rich water being converted to a less toxic
state.
 In hatchery tanks there are usually insufficient
nitrifying bacteria to handle the large output of
wastes from high stock densities of fish.
 Bio-filters
 Bio-filters can be included in recirculation
systems to provide a greatly increased
aerobic surface area for growth of nitrifying
bacteria.
 The bio-filter may consist of rolled-up plastic
netting, or specially molded plastic "bio-
balls", and have water trickled through it like
a waterfall.
 Live rock is also a bio-filtration medium, now
very popular for use in marine aquarium
tanks.
 Water Disinfection
 Disinfection is reduction in the number of
bacteria, fungi and viruses to safe levels.

 Sterilization
is the complete elimination of
such organisms, however this is usually
not needed, or is not possible, or is not
even desirable if bio-filtration is being used
in the system.
Disinfection is needed for two situations:

1. Surface disinfection of tanks, pipes, scoop-

nets, filters, hoses, buckets or other equipment
2. Disinfection of the water itself

 The first is easier to do, because after

disinfection with toxic chemical agents, the
equipment can be rinsed off with clean water.
 The second is more difficult because chemical
agents must be removed before animals can
be placed in the disinfected water.
 Chemical disinfectants
 include chlorine, ammonium compounds, formalin,
and iodine compounds.
 Chlorine is the most common one used in
hatcheries, usually applied as sodium hypochlorite
solution (common household bleach, for example
Janola).
 After surface sterilization the bleach must be
removed by liberal rinsing with a freshwater hose,
or by exchange of 6 - 10 tank volumes before
animals are introduced to the tank..
 To disinfect water, chlorine can be added at 1 -
5ppm concentration and then removed by allowing
the water to stand in the tank for a couple of days
with air bubbling through it.
 Ultra-violet light
 can be used to disinfect both surfaces, and water.
 UV light causes chromosome damage to bacteria
and prevents them from replicating.
 Inoculation of micro-algal cultures often requires
sterilization of work surfaces and equipment before
and after the inoculation steps are carried out.
 Water passing through a pipe can also be disinfected
by having it flow through a transparent portion
surrounded by a jacket of UV lamps.
 It has the advantage that nothing gets added to the
water that can affect cultured organisms. It has the
disadvantage that high flow rate or high turbidity of
water will reduce its effectiveness.
 Temperature control
 Despite being located in the tropics, hatcheries in
Pacific island countries often have incoming water
that is either too cold or too hot.
 Sea shrimp Penaeus monodon larvae require tank
temperature close to 27-28 degreees Celsius.
 In Fiji during the cool months, hatchery tank water
can fall as low as 23 degrees Celsius, and needs to
be heated.
 During the hot months it can rise to 32 degrees
Celsius, and needs to be chilled.
 One of the properties of water is that it is thermally
very conservative (resistant to temperature change).
This means that a lot of energy is required to change
the temperature of a volume of water even by one
degree.
 Chiller
 A seawater chiller is a refrigeration unit used to
cool seawater.
 It works the same way as an air conditioner, but
acts on seawater.
 The seawater inflow pipe runs through a heat
exchanger alongside another counter-flowing pipe
containing a refrigerant maintained at a set
temperature by the chiller's refrigeration unit.
 This works best in a recirculation system, where
chilled water an be re-used, rather than on a flow-
through system where the water is chilled once
then thrown away.
 Heater
 A seawater heater can be as simple as an electrical
element, the same as that used in an electric kettle
for making tea.
 The element is usually contained in a glass or
titanium tube, that is immersed in the seawater tank.
 At one end of the heater is a thermostat unit for
temperature level adjustment. The heaters are
sealed units that can be placed completely
underwater.
 Three 300Watt units or one 1000W unit are usually
enough to raise one tonne of seawater from 24
degrees to 28 degrees Celsius.
 Heat exchanger
 Tocreate large volumes of heated or
chilled water in a flow-through system, a
heat exchanger must be used.

 Thesecan be several metres long with

pipework operating on the counter-flow
system. They require a lot of electricity to
operate, so your power bill will be high.
 Aeration
Air bubbled through the water column has
two purposes:

1. Increases dissolved-oxygen (DO) level in

the tank water, and;
2. Creates water movement, to keep larvae
up in the water column and evenly
spread out in the tank space.

Aeration can be provided by compressors,

or by blowers
 Compressor
 Provides air at high
pressure but at low
volume
 Good for making
bubbles in deep water
 Bad at making the air
“wet” (a source of tank
contamination”
 Wear out quickly
 Blower
 Provides air at low
pressure but at high
volume
 Good for supplying a
lot of tanks, but the
water must stay
shallow (less than 1m
approx.)
 Delivers very dry,
clean air
 Not many wearing
parts
 Carrying capacity
 Carrying capacity refers to the amount of farmed
organism that can be placed in an aquaculture system
without adversely affecting growth or survival.

 There are a variety of units for measuring carrying

capacity, including:

Volumetric density = mass of animal (kg)/volume of water (L)

Volumetric abundance = nos. of animal (kg)/volume of water (L)

Areal density = mass of animal (kg)/area of water (m2)

Areal abundance = nos. of animal/ area of water (m2)

 Itis difficult to provide any general rules for
carrying capacity, since every aquaculture
system is different in its characteristics, and
every species is different in its requirements.

 Aquaculturists will need to become familiar

with the published literature on the tolerances
of their organism, and;
 will have to monitor water quality on a regular
basis to ensure that safe carrying capacity
limits for that species are not being exceeded.
 Water quality monitoring
 The two most important water quality parameters
are the level of un-ionized ammonia, and the level
of dissolved oxygen.
 Excessive un-ionized ammonia indicates that too
many fish are excreting wastes into the water.
 Low dissolved oxygen indicates too many fish are
taking up oxygen from the water.
 It also indicates that too many fish are excreting
wastes, since the bacteria that decompose fish
wastes are themselves aerobic and consume
oxygen.
 Levels of ammonia increase if pH increases,
and the amount of dissolved oxygen is reduced
if temperature increases.
 There are therefore four water quality
parameters that conscientious aquaculturists
measure regularly:
- un-ionized ammonia NH3
- dissolved oxygen
- pH
- temperature

For marine organisms, a fifth parameter must

also be monitored - salinity.
 Electrical safety
 Electricity and seawater do not mix very well.
 Seawater is a salt solution that is a good
conductor of electricity.
 A current leak that might only give you a
"tingle" in a freshwater system could be
deadly in a seawater system.
 You must be very careful when using
electrical equipment or appliances in a
seawater aquaculture system.
 Good advice when using electricity:
 All electrical circuits should have ground fault interrupters,
either in the switchboard itself or by plugging your appliance
into a portable transformer unit.
 Make sure your electrical appliances and all power cords are in
good condition
 Avoid splashing seawater around, and regularly hose down the
place with freshwater, to prevent salt cake buildup on surfaces
and around electrical sockets
 Do not place any electrical equipment under water pipes, or
tanks, or anywhere that water can fall or splash onto it, or drip
from condensation on outside of pipes. Even aeration of
seawater with air stones can cause a salt aerosol spray to drift
through the air and onto electrics.
 Overhead placement of electrical sockets are better than wall-
mounted sockets.
 Every so often, mains power should be turned off and power
sockets and extension leads be rinsed thoroughly in fresh water
and dried out again with methanol, to remove salt build-up.
 Reading (in PIMRIS Library)

 Hugenin & Colt “Design and operating

guide for aquaculture seawater systems”

 TVR Pillay “Aquaculture Principles and

Practices” Chpt. 4, 6.

 Swift DR “Aquaculture Training Manual”