Mechanism or Working of Recirculating Aquaculture System (RAS)
In a Recirculation
Aquaculture System the water is treated continuously to remove the waste
products excreted by the fish, and oxygen is added to keep the fish alive and
well. From the outlet of the fish tanks the water flows to a mechanical filter and
further on to a biological filter before it is aerated and stripped of carbon
dioxide and returned to the fish tanks. This is the basic principle of
Recirculation Aquaculture System.
Several other facilities
can be added, such as oxygenation with pure oxygen, ultraviolet light or ozone
disinfection, automatic pH regulation, heat exchanging, denitrification, etc.
depending on the exact requirements. Fish in a fish farm require feeding
several times a day. The feed is eaten and digested by the fish and is used in
the fish metabolism supplying energy and nourishment for growth and other
physiological processes. Oxygen enters through the gills, and is needed to
produce energy and to break down protein, whereby carbon dioxide and ammonia
are produced as waste products. Undigested feed is excreted into the water as
faeces, termed suspended solids (SS) and organic matter. Carbon dioxide and
ammonia are excreted from the gills into the water. Thus fish consume oxygen
and feed, and as a result the
Water in the system is
polluted with faeces, carbon dioxide and ammonia. Only dry feed can be
recommended for use in a recirculation system. The use of trash fish in any
form must be avoided as it will pollute the system heavily and infection with
diseases is very likely. Dry feed is delivered in different pellet sizes
suitable for any fish stage, brood stock, grow-out, etc.
In a Recirculation System,
a high utilization rate of the feed is beneficial as this will minimize the
amount of excretion products thus lowering the impact on the water treatment
system. In a professionally managed system, all the feed added will be eaten
keeping the amount of uneaten feed to a minimum. Uneaten feed is a waste of
money and results in an unnecessary load on the filter system. The composition
of such feeds aims at maximizing the uptake of protein in the fish thus
minimizing the excretion of ammonia into the water.
flow diagram of RAS |
1 comments:
Click here for commentsA big thank you for your blog post.Really looking forward to read more. Deciding on custom fish tank
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