An ENGINEERS VIEW of RECIRCULATING AQUACULTURE and AQUAPONICS SYSTEMS

1
An ENGINEERS VIEW of RECIRCULATING AQUACULTURE
and AQUAPONICS SYSTEMS
James M. Ebeling, Ph.D. Research
Engineer Aquaculture Systems Technologies, LLC
Michael B. Timmons, Ph.D. Professor Dept. of Bio.
Environ. Eng. Cornell University
2
Overview of Unit Operations
Aeration Air/Oxygen
Carbon Dioxide Removal
Fish Culture Tank
Disinfection
Fine Dissolved Solids Removal
Hydroponics
Sludge
Biofiltration Nitrification
Waste Solids Removal
Sludge
Monitoring System Control
BIOSECURITY
3
Overview of Unit Operations

• Hydroponics
• Raft
• NFT
• Reciprocating

4
Overview of Unit Operations

• Hydroponics
• Floating Raft
• NFT
• Gravel Bed
• Drip

5
Engineering Design Details
Fish Culture Tank
Anything that holds water
6
Engineering Design Details
Fish Culture Tank
Cornell type Dual-Drain Culture Tanks

• "Rule of Thumb"
• Dual-Drain Design
• DiaDepth 31 to 61
• 15 to 25 through center drain
• 75 to 85 through sidewall discharge
•  

7
Engineering Design Details
Fish Culture Tank
Circulation Drains / Pumped Return Lines

• "Rule of Thumb"
• Circulation
• Fry/Fingerlings 15 to 30 Min HRT
• Growout 30 to 45 min HRT
• Broodstock 60 min HRT
• Purging 1 to 2 Tank exhanges per day

Maximum Flow (gpm) Maximum Flow (gpm)
Pipe Dia Drain Line Pumped Return
(inches) (1 to 2 fps) (lt 5 fps)

1/2 1 5
3/4 2 10
1 5 15
1.5 10 30
2 20 50
3 45 125
4 75 200
6 150 500
8
Engineering Design Details
Fish Culture Tank
Predicting Fish Growth
Weight function (length)3
Growth function (Temperature)

• "Rule of Thumb"
• Weight vs Length
• CFtrout 400
• CFtilapia 760
• CFperch 490
• CFstriped bass 720

Trout Tilapia Perch
Tbase 32 65 50
TUbase 28 15 25
Tmax 72 85 75
9
Engineering Design Details
Fish Culture Tank
Fish Culture Density
"RULE OF THUMB" Fish Culture Density Ddensity Dens
ity in kg/m3 (lbs/ft3) L Length of fish in cm
(inches) Cdensity tilapia 0.24 for L in cm
(1.5 for L in inches) trout 0.32
(2.0) perch 0.40 (2.5) hybrid striped bass
0.45 (2.8)
10
Engineering Design Details
Settable Solids Removal

• Settling basins

1 lb of feed ?0.30 lbs of Solids

• "Rule of Thumb"
• Settling Basin Design
• basin floor area of 1 ft2 per gpm of flow
• use 10 inch wide weirs and use rounded edges
• maximize length of settling chamber as much as
  possible
•  

11
Engineering Design Details
Settable Solids Removal

• Swirl separators/
• Radial Flow Clarifers

"Rule of Thumb" Radial FlowDesign Surface-loading
rate for the radial-flow settler 4.6 gpm/ft2 of
settling area
12
Engineering Design Details
Suspended Solids Removal

• Pressurized bead filters

• Screen filtration

Propeller Washed Bead Filter
Bubble Washed Bead Filter

• "Rule of Thumb"
• Suspended Solids Capture Design
• Bead Filter 5 to 6 lbs of feed per ft3 of media
• Screen Filters see manufacturer recommendations

13
Engineering Design Details
Fine Dissolved Solids
"Rule of Thumb" Foam Fractionation Tank Volume
every 1 to 2 hour
14
Engineering Design Details
By-Product NOT a Waste Stream
Solids Disposal

• Land application

• Aquaponics

• GeoTextile Bags

• Composting

15
Engineering Design Details
Biofiltration / Nitrification
Ammonia Oxidizing Bacteria
2 NH4 OH - 3 O2 ? 2 H 2 NO2- 4 H2O
Ammonia Nitrite
Nitrite Oxidizing Bacteria
2 NO2 1 O2 ? 2 NO3-
Nitrite Nitrate

• "Rule of Thumb"
• Nitrification of 1 g of ammonia-nitrogen
• Yields 5.93 g of carbon dixoide
• Consumes 4.57 g of oxygen and 7.14 g alkalinity

1 kg feed ? about 0.03 kg ammonia
16
Engineering Design Details
Biofilters Options
Moving Bed Biofilter
Bead Bioclarifiers

• "Rule of Thumb"
• MBBR Design
• 17.14 g TAN/ft3 /day curler media _at_ 25 to 30 Deg
  C
• 13.26 g TAN/ft3 /day _at_ 15 to 20 Deg C
• 10.14 g TAN/ft3 /day _at_ 5 to 10 Deg C
• 3 to 5 min HRT
• 50 fill factor max 65
• Air flow 0.125 scfm/ft3 of reactor

About 1 g TAN / m2 of media per day
17
Engineering Design Details
Aeration / Oxygenation
Rule of Thumb 1 kg feed ? about 1 kg Oxygen
18
Engineering Design Details
Oxygen Sources
19
Engineering Design Details
Disinfection

• "Rule of Thumb"
• UV
• 30 mW-sec/cm2
• 10-30 second contact times

"Rule of Thumb" Ozone 0.025 and 0.045 kg O3 per
kg feed
20
Engineering Design Details
Monitoring System Control
Monitoring System Control

• The most sophisticated
• monitoring and alarm system
• is an attentive human
• operator!

21
Engineering Design Details
Monitoring System Control
Water Level
Local audible alarms for Low and High Water Level
Alarm Low Water Level
High Water Level
Low Water Level
22
Engineering Design Details
Water Quality Lab
Nothing Special- BUT dedicated to Water Quality
Anlaysis
23
Back-up Systems

• Loss of Oxygen
• More fish are probably lost in recirculation
  systems due to lack of oxygen than to any other
  single cause!
• A three tier emergency oxygen supply is not an
  extravagance (Just ask NASA!)

normally open, electrically operated solenoid
valve
24
Aquaponics

• Advantages of Aquaponics with RAS systems
• Dissolved nutrients recovered by plants
• Minmizes water exchange rate
• Secondary crop improves profitability

• Disadvantages of Aquaponics with RAS systems
• Large ratio of plants area to fish rearing area
• New set of skills Green Thumb
• Limits treatment options for both plants and fish

25
Aquaponics
Hydroponics Water Quality
Macronutrients (required in relatively large
quantities)   carbon (C) oxygen (O) hydrogen
(H) carbon dioxide gas (CO2) nitrogen (N)
potassium (K) calcium (Ca) magnesium (Mg)
phosphorus (P) sulfur (S)
Micronutrients (required in considerably smaller
amounts)   chlorine (Cl) iron (Fe) manganese
(Mn) boron (B) zinc (Zn) copper (Cu)
molybdenum (Mo)

• pH Control
• Calcium hydroxide
• Potassium hydroxide
• (Never Baking Soda)

26
Aquaponics
Hydroponics NFT System
Nelson Pade, Inc.
ET Farms Aquaponics.
Aquaculture Systems Tech., LLC
Contienental Organics.
27
Aquaponics
Hydroponics Raft System
Nelson Pade, Inc.
Friendly Farm Hawaii.
Lettuce Factory, Ithica, NY
28
Aquaponics
Hydroponics Reciprocating System (flood and
drain)
To ensure adequate aeration of plant roots,
gravel beds are operated in a reciprocating (ebb
and flow) mode, where the beds are alternately
flooded and drained.
29
Engineering Design Details
Hydroponics Raft System
Design Crieria daily feed input/plant growing
area (Hydroponics makes up 75 of the system
water volume)
Raft System channel (raceway) with a 1 ft
depth, usually 4 ft wide covered by a floating
sheet of polystyrene ( 4 ft x 8 ft x 1 ½ inches)
for plant support.
"Rule of Thumb???" 60 to 100 g of fish feed/day
m2 of raft area 60 to 90 min water turnover
rate Aeration airstones or diffusers
30
Engineering Design Details
Hydroponics NFT System
Design Crieria daily feed input/plant growing
area (Hydroponics makes up small fraction of the
system water volume)
NFT System shallow flow of water, 1 lpm with 1
slope
"Rule of Thumb" Waste Treatment 15-25 g of fish
feed/day m2 of raft area 1 lpm for rate 1 slope
31
Engineering Design Details
Hydroponics Reciprocating System (flood and
drain)
Design Crieria daily feed media
volume (Hydroponics makes up small fraction of
the system water volume)
Volume ratio of 1 ft3 of fish-rearing to 2 ft3 of
media
"Rule of Thumb" Waste Treatment 1 ft3 of fish
fish rearing volume to 2 ft3 of media (1/4 to ½
inch in diameter)
32
SBIR 2013 Aquaponics FamilyAquaculture
Systems Technologies, LLC
Home/Student Aquaponic Systems Home/Student Aquaponic Systems Home/Student Aquaponic Systems Home/Student Aquaponic Systems Home/Student Aquaponic Systems
  Tilapia Tilapia Tilapia Lettuce
Home/Student 1000 100 lbs/yr 100 lbs/yr 100 lbs/yr 2,000 heads/year
Home/Student 2500 250 lbs/yr 250 lbs/yr 250 lbs/yr 5,000 heads/year
Home/Student 5000 500 lbs/yr 500 lbs/yr 500 lbs/yr 10,000 heads/year
         
Small Farm Urban Aquaponic Systems Small Farm Urban Aquaponic Systems Small Farm Urban Aquaponic Systems Small Farm Urban Aquaponic Systems Small Farm Urban Aquaponic Systems
    Tilapia Lettuce Lettuce
Urban 1000 Urban 1000 1,000 lbs/yr 20,000 heads/year 20,000 heads/year
Urban 2500 Urban 2500 2,500 lbs/yr 50,000 heads/year 50,000 heads/year
Urban 5000 Urban 5000 5,000 lbs/yr 100,000 heads/year 100,000 heads/year
         
Commercial Boutique Aquaponic Systems Commercial Boutique Aquaponic Systems Commercial Boutique Aquaponic Systems Commercial Boutique Aquaponic Systems Commercial Boutique Aquaponic Systems
    Tilapia Lettuce Lettuce
Micro-Boutique 100 Micro-Boutique 100 5,000 lbs/yr 100,000 heads/year 100,000 heads/year
Micro-Boutique 250 Micro-Boutique 250 12,500 lbs/yr 250,000 heads/year 250,000 heads/year
Mini-Boutique 500 Mini-Boutique 500 25,000 lbs/yr 500,000 heads/year 500,000 heads/year
Boutique 1000 Boutique 1000 50,000 lbs/yr 1,000,000 heads/year 1,000,000 heads/year
Maxi-Boutique 2000 Maxi-Boutique 2000 100,000 lbs/yr 2,000,000 heads/year 2,000,000 heads/year
33
Home/Student System
34
Home/Student System
Sump
Center Standpipe / Outside Sleeve
Tank Stand
AirLifts
Unions Rubber Couplings
35
Home/Student System
36
Mary Queen of Vietnam New Orleans
37
Student System
Stock No Component Qty Unit Cost Total Cost
         
PT-4825 48" dia, 25" deep 150 gallon tank 3 261.67 785.01

3300SEQ21 Sequence 1000 1/8 hp 115/230v, 60 Hz 1 542.00 542.00

FRT-90.C Fiberglass Sump tank 24"x24"x36" 1 425.71 425.71

BBF-SX4000GR 2 ft3 bubble washed bead filter 1 1,251.98 1,251.98

AL-100 Alita AL-100 air compresser 1 420.00 420.00

  PVC Fittings Parts 1 351.02 351.02

Total 3,775.72
Plus, lots of labor and buy-in by friends and
families, plus fish!
38
BioPlan System Conceptual Design

• Preliminary design of the Micro-Boutique
  component
• Weekly production goals 87 kg (200 lbs) live
  weight
• 4.55 metric tonnes per year (10,000 lbs/yr)
• Target size of 750 g ( 1.6 lb)
• Harvested every six weeks

• Production Plan
• Fry/quarantine 4 wks
• Two Fingerling Tanks (stocked at six week
  intervals) 12 wks
• Mixed-cell Raceway Growout (four cohorts at six
  week intervals) 24 weeks
• Growout harvested every six weeks (
  partial-harvest every 3 weeks)

39
RAS Production BioPlan
The production BioPlan on a weekly basis
40
Design Process Fry/Quarantine
Length Weight Biomass Feed Rate Feed
Week (inches) (gms) of Fish (kg) bw/day (kg/day)
Initial 1.09 0.5 991 0.5 10
1 1.38 1.0 991 1.0 8.4 0.08
2 1.66 1.8 991 1.7 7.4 0.13
3 1.94 2.8 991 2.8 6.3 0.18
4 2.23 4.3 991 4.2 5.3 0.22
Single cohorts -
Normal growing fraction of the fry heavily culled
(25 to 33) remaining to other markets
41
Conceptual Layout Fry/Quarantine
42
Design Process Fingerling
Length Weight Biomass Feed Rate Feed
Week (inches) (gms) of Fish (kg) bw/day (kg/day)
5 2.51 6.1 744 4.6 5.0 0.23
6 2.80 8.5 740 6.3 4.8 0.30
7 3.08 11.3 737 8.3 4.5 0.38
8 3.37 14.8 733 10.8 4.2 0.46
9 3.65 18.8 730 13.7 4.0 0.55
10 3.94 23.6 727 17.1 3.7 0.64
11 4.22 29.1 723 21.0 3.4 0.72
12 4.51 35.4 720 25.5 3.2 0.81
13 4.79 42.5 717 30.4 2.9 0.89
14 5.08 50.5 713 36.0 2.7 0.96
15 5.36 59.5 710 42.2 2.4 1.01
16 5.65 69.5 706 49.1 2.1 1.05

43
Fingerling Pod Conceptual Layout

8 ft fiberglass tank, 3 ft deep, solids capture
is via a propeller-washed bead filter,
biofiltration is accomplished with a small Moving
Bed BioReactor
44
Design Process Growout

Length Weight Biomass Feed Rate Feed
Week (inches) (gms) of Fish (kg) bw/day (kg/day)
17 5.93 80.6 706 57 2.1 1.19
18 6.22 92.7 706 65 2.0 1.34
19 6.50 106 705 75 2.0 1.50
20 6.79 121 705 85 2.0 1.66
21 7.07 136 705 96 1.9 1.84
22 7.36 154 705 108 1.9 2.02
23 7.64 172 704 121 1.8 2.21
24 7.93 192 704 135 1.8 2.41
25 8.21 214 704 150 1.7 2.61
26 8.50 237 703 166 1.7 2.81
27 8.78 261 703 184 1.6 3.02
28 9.07 287 703 202 1.6 3.24
29 9.35 315 703 222 1.6 3.45
30 9.63 345 702 242 1.5 3.67
31 9.92 377 702 264 1.5 3.88
32 10.2 410 702 288 1.4 4.10
33 10.5 445 701 312 1.4 4.31
34 10.8 483 701 338 1.3 4.52
35 11.1 522 701 366 1.3 4.72
36 11.3 563 700 395 1.2 4.92
37 11.6 607 700 425 1.2 5.1
38 11.9 652 700 457 1.2 5.3
39 12.2 700 700 490 1.1 5.5
40 12.5 751 699 525 1.1 5.6

45
Growout Mixed-cell Raceways

The mixed-cell raceway is 12 ft wide by 36 ft
long and 4 ft deep with an HDPE liner.
46
Growout Pod Conceptual Layout
The mixed-cell raceway is 12 ft wide by 36 ft
long and 4 ft deep with an HDPE liner. Solids
capture is accomplished with a PBF-5S Propeller
Washed Bead filter and biofiltration with a MBBR.

47
Mixed-cell Raceway Advantages
Traditional 3 Tanks 12 ft diameter x 4 ft
deep fiberglass tanks Raceway Single
Raceway 12 ft x 36 ft x 4 ft deep raceway
Traditional Design Loading based on final
harvest size 750 g Raceway Loading based on
three size cohorts 192 g, 410 g, 750 g
Traditional Biomass Density of one of the three
Tanks at harvest 50 kg/m3 Raceway Biomass
Density of Raceway based on three size cohorts
38 kg/m3
48
Mixed-cell Raceway

49
Construction Options
50
Construction Options Cinder Block
51
Measured Drawings
52
Measured Drawings
53
Measured Drawings
54
Measured Drawings
55
Aquaculture Component Conceptual System Layout
A single building, approximately 30 ft by 50 ft.
56
Horticulture Floating Raft Culture
a small greenhouse approximately 30 ft by 75 ft
in length.
57
Commercial Hydroponics
58
Conclusions
SAFETY
Think! Plan! Respond!
Plan for it! Prepare for it!

• Low voltage - 24 VAC or 12 or 24 VDC
• National Electric Codes

The Good!
Electricity and Water make a Fatal combination!
The Bad!
59
Academy/Commercial Training
Dr. James M. Ebeling 18 years Cornell
University Short Course HBOI Short Course
Dr. Michael B. Timmons Cornell University
Professor
Coming next year The Aqua in Aquaponics Design
Management of Recirculating Aquaponics Systems
60
Questions?
For copy of presentation JamesEbeling_at_aol.com