Aquacultural Engineering 20 (1999) 75 84

Water quality trials in four recirculating aquacultural system congurations

Sahdev Singh *, James Ebeling, Fredrick Wheaton
Biological Resources Engineering Department, Uni6ersity of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742 -5711, USA Received 8 August 1998; accepted 22 December 1998

Abstract Four circular, 2000-l, berglass tanks in four independent, indoor recirculating aquacultural systems were stocked with hybrid striped bass ngerlings (60-g average weight) at similar densities (320 sh/tank at the start of the study). The four systems represented four different recirculating system congurations as obtained by the combination of two types of biolters (trickling and bead) and two types of solids removal lters (rotating screen lter and multi-tube settling basin). Fish were fed a commercial sh feed during experimental trials at two different feeding rates, 600 (two trials) and 800 (two trials) g/system per day. Water quality characteristics were observed on a regular basis in all the four trials. This paper presents statistical comparison of water quality characteristics including total organic carbon (TOC) concentration and biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) of the four systems. Effects of biolter, particulate lter, feeding rate, and interactions among them on water quality characteristics and system water exchange rate are discussed. The systems with trickling biolters had lower concentrations of total ammonia nitrogen (TAN), nitrite nitrogen (NO2 N), and TOC in the tank water when compared to those of the systems with bead biolters. The systems with a screen type particulate lter required lower amounts of make-up water as compared to the systems with settling basins. 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Biolter; Feeding rate; Water quality

* Corresponding author. Tel.: + 1-301-405-7871; fax: + 1-301-405-9023. E -mail address: ss284@umail.umd.edu (S. Singh) 0144-8609/99/$ - see front matter 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved. PII: S 0 1 4 4 - 8 6 0 9 ( 9 9 ) 0 0 0 0 3 - 5

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1. Introduction A typical recirculating-water sh production unit, popularly known as recirculating aquacultural system, is a conguration of several chemical, biological, and mechanical processes. It essentially has a sh culture tank, a biolter for ammonia removal, a particulate lter for solids removal, a pump for water circulation, and an oxygenation device. Optional components or accessories may include an ozone application unit for disinfection and organic waste removal, degassing unit for carbon dioxide removal, and/or monitoring and control devices. The culture tank is intensely stocked with sh ngerlings and the culture environment carefully controlled to produce sh at a faster rate using less water than pond, raceway, or net-pen aquaculture. Besides being water conserving, recirculating systems offer several other advantages over traditional aquaculture, including proximity to the market, consistent quality product, and shorter production cycle due to controlled environment and improved feed conversion. Increased production coupled with water conservation is achieved by continuous water treatment and circulation within the system. This makes recirculating aquaculture systems complex bioengineering operations involving intricate relationships among water quality, the system, and metabolic parameters of sh and bacteria. Most engineering research on recirculating aquacultural systems has concentrated on individual components such as biolters and particulate lters. As a result, somewhat satisfactory designs of these critical components are now commercially available from a number of vendors. Effects of lter combinations on tank water quality in terms of both inorganic and organic waste concentrations have received less attention. Comprehensive chemical characterization of inorganic waste (such as ammonia) and physical characterization of solid waste in the early years of research on recirculating systems provided much needed information for designing biolters and particulate lters. However, except for routine biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) measurements, few investigations have been carried out to document organic waste characteristics in the tanks of recirculating systems. Organic waste build up in the culture water can cause off-avors in the nal product (Tucker and Martin, 1991) and affect the systems biolter performance (Pano and Middlebrooks, 1983). Proper design of equipment capable of removing dissolved and ne organic wastes (such as an ozone application unit, foam fractionator, or UV reactor) requires substantial information on organic waste characteristics in recirculating systems. This study addresses some of the above issues. The overall objective was to characterize both inorganic and organic waste concentrations in four different recirculating system congurations, and to determine the relationship between the feeding levels and the waste load in a given system. The data thus obtained helped identify the effects of lter combinations on the sh tank water quality characteristics and the system make-up water requirement. All four systems studied in this project were located in the same room and were identical in terms of sh biomass stocking and feeding rate to ensure statistical validity of the data analysis.

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2. Methodology Four indoor, independent, recirculating aquacultural systems, representing four different system congurations as obtained by two different types of biolters (tricking biolter and bead biolter) and two different types of solids removal lters (rotating screen lter and multi-tube settling basin), were used in this research (Table 1). All four systems were located in an aquacultural engineering laboratory of the Biological Resources Engineering Department, University of Maryland, College Park, MD. Each system had a 2000-l circular berglass tank stocked with hybrid striped bass ngerlings (60-g average weight) at approximately 320 sh/tank stocking density at the start of the trials. Fish in all four systems were fed a commercial sh feed every day at around 08:00 h. Initially it was planned to study 600 and 1000 g/day per system as the two feeding rates. The rst trial started on 3 May 1997 and lasted 4 weeks. Fish were fed 600 g feed/day per system, representing a feeding rate of about 3% body weight, during the rst trial. The second trial started on 7 June 1997 and continued until 24 July. Fish were fed 1000 g/day per system initially for about 2 weeks during the second trial. However, due to two power failures and bead biolter malfunction, feeding rate was reduced to 800 g/day per system, representing a feeding rate of about 2.5% body weight, for the remainder of the second trial. Trials 3 and 4 were the replications of the above two feeding amounts (800 and 600 g/system per day, respectively). Between two consecutive trials, the system water was completely changed and lters were thoroughly cleaned of clogged solids in all the four systems. The four 4 6-week trials and 12 week gap between two consecutive trials covered a growth period of about 6 months. Fish biomass in tanks was adjusted to 60 kg/tank for feeding at 600 g/day per system, representing a feeding rate of about 1% body weight, for the fourth trial by removing a certain number of sh from each tank. A 1.21 m 1.21 m 0.68 m (height) berglass, square tank was partitioned into two sections (0.60 m 1.21 m 0.68 m each) to form two settling basins. The incoming water from the sh tank was directed to ow up through a multi-tube clarier media section made of Biostrata material (Aquatic Eco-systems, Apopka, FL) in each of the settling basin. The Hydrotech microscreen lters were obtained from Water Management Technologies, Baton Rouge, Louisiana (Model HDF501-1P) with 60 mm screens. Each of the two trickling biolters was made of three
Table 1 Description of the four recirculating systems used in this study Description Tank size (l) Particulate lter Biolter System 1 2000 Screen lter Bead lter System 2 2000 Multi-tube settling basin Trickling lter System 3 2000 Screen lter Trickling lter System 4 2000 Multi-tube settling basin Bead lter

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polyethylene industrial barrels (89 cm high and 56 cm diameter) lled with 5-cm polypropylene media Bio Barrels (Aquatic Eco-systems, Apopka, FL). The total surface area available for bacterial growth in each of the two trickling biolters was 48.5 m2. Each of the two bubble washed bead lters (Model BBF-2P, Aquaculture System Technologies, LLC, New Orleans, Louisiana) contained 0.057 m3 of plastic bead media with a total of 74.3 m2 of surface area. In all the four systems used in this study, the water from the sh tank owed by gravity through a center stand pipe to the lters at a rate of 150 l/min. In system 1, the water from sh tank owed through the screen lter and then into a sump, where a 0.447 kW centrifugal pump delivered 75 l/min to the bead lter and 75 l/min directly to the tank. In system 2, the sh tank water owed to a settling basin and then was pumped (0.447 kW centrifugal pump) back to the tank through the trickling lter. In system 3, the sh tank water owed through the screen lter and then was pumped (0.447 kW centrifugal pump) back to the tank through the trickling lter. In system 4, the sh tank water owed to the settling basin and then, using a 0.447 kW centrifugal pump, 75 l/min was pumped back to the tank directly and 75 l/min was pumped back to the tank through the bead lter. Temperature, dissolved oxygen, pH, total ammonia nitrogen (TAN), nitritenitrogen (NO2 N), nitrate nitrogen (NO3 N), salinity, carbon dioxide (CO2), alkalinity, and system water usage were the routinely monitored water quality and system characteristics and were used for system management purposes. In all four systems, management related water quality parameters were observed three times a week during the rst trial and every day during the subsequent trials. Tank water samples were collected just before the feeding in the morning (around 08:00 h). Total organic carbon (TOC) concentration and BOD were measured every 5 days using Simadzu TOC Analyzer (Model TOC 5050) and HACH BOD bottles, respectively. The TOC analyzer measured total carbon (TC) concentration and inorganic carbon (IC) concentration in a given sample. The analyzer was calibrated before the start of the trials using the standards provided by the analyzer manufacturer. The TOC concentration of the sample was obtained by subtracting the sample IC concentration from the sample TC concentration. Both TOC and BOD samples were collected from a well mixed region (near the outlet of an air-lift aerator) in a tank. TOC related measurements were taken immediately after sample collection. BOD bottles were lled with collected samples and placed in an incubator for 5 days at 20C. Initial and nal oxygen concentrations, measured by YSI oxygen meter, were used for determining 5-day BOD as suggested by the standard methods (APHA, 1993).

3. Results and discussion Daily and 5-day measurements, as mentioned above, of all the four systems were entered on a personal computer spreadsheet program and analyzed using SAS for Windows (version 6.12) package. Replications (two trials with 600 g feeding and two trials with 800 g feeding) were pooled together to increase the number of

S. Singh et al. / Aquacultural Engineering 20 (1999) 7584 Table 2 Effect of biolter on mean tank water waste concentration1 Waste concentration (mg/l) TAN (n = 244) a NO2N (n = 241) TOC (n = 100) BOD (n = 36) 0.27 9 0.17 a 11.95 9 6.09 a 5.27 9 2.22 a Trickling lter 0.70 9 0.23 Bead biolter 0.89 9 0.34 b 0.71 9 0.85 b 18.05 9 9.31 b 5.30 9 2.65 a

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1 Columns containing different letters indicate signicantly different water quality variable means at h = 0.05, n = number of observations.

observations. Experimental design was based on single factor analysis of variance (ANOVA). Statistical methods using ANOVA involved rst specifying biolter type, particulate lter type, and feeding rate as qualitative treatments (factors). Then the statistical models, tested at 5% level of signicance, included the treatments and interactions among them as the independent variables and individual water quality characteristics as the dependent variables. Interactions among the three treatments were found not to be statistically signicant. Fish growth, though not measured quantitatively on a regular basis, in all the four systems seemed normal as evident by negligible mortality and active feeding behavior (disappearance of feed within 1 2 min) observed on most days of the trials. A small sample of sh population (about 30) was weighed before the fourth trial so that the sh biomass in tanks could be adjusted to 60 kg/tank for a feeding rate of 600 g/day per system, representing a feeding rate of about 1% body weight. Such a measurement near the end of the study and the average sh weight at the time of stocking were used to calculate the average daily weight gain (g/sh per day) for the four systems. The water quality in all four systems remained within an acceptable range for sh growth most of the time as can be seen from the tabulated results discussed later in this section.

3.1. Effect of biolter

Table 2 shows the effect of biolter type on tank water quality as obtained by the ANOVA results. The systems with trickling biolter had signicantly lower mean TAN (0.70 mg/l), NO2 N (0.27 mg/l), and TOC (11.95 mg/l) concentrations in comparison to those (TAN 0.89 mg/l, NO2 N 0.71 mg/l, and TOC 18.05 mg/l) in the systems with the bead biolter. Also, as demonstrated by calculated standard deviations (S.D.) in Table 2, the variation in these three water quality characteristics in a given system were smaller for the systems with trickling biolter. Lower mean values of waste concentrations accompanied with smaller variations clearly indicate that the trickling biolter performed better than bead biolter during these

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trials. Part of these differences may be attributed to the differences in the ways these two biolter types function. In a trickling lter the media remains stationary most of the time and the water ows around it. The biolm attached to the media remains largely undisturbed as no lter backwash is required. While in a bead lter the media is frequently backwashed (two times per week in these trials) to remove entrapped solids, causing a signicant disturbance or damage to the biolm in the process. As is evident, the biolter type had the strongest effect on average NO2 N concentration and the variation in NO2 N concentration over the study period. Based on these data, it appears that there is a signicant delay in re-establishment of Nitrobacter population, bacteria responsible for NO2 N to NO3 N conversion, on the media after a bead biolter backwash. The analysis also shows that the tank BOD levels remained unaffected by the biolter type.

3.2. Effect of particulate lter

Table 3 shows a comparison of the water quality characteristics by particulate lter type. It was anticipated that the particulate lter type may have some effect on TOC and BOD levels as different particulate lters are effective with different particle sizes. However, the ANOVA results shown in Table 3 do not indicate any statistically signicant difference between the screen lter and the settling basin with respect to TOC and BOD concentrations. While, as expected, TAN levels were not affected by the particulate lter type, the observed difference in NO2 N concentrations can not be explained based on the current state of knowledge on bioltration and functioning of the particulate lters used in this study.

3.3. Effect of feeding rate

Feeding rate showed signicant effect on tank water TAN and TOC concentrations as depicted by the ANOVA results in Table 4. With a 33% increase in feeding rate from 600 to 800 g/day per system, the mean TAN concentration increased by
Table 3 Effect of particulate lter on mean tank water waste concentration1 Waste concentration (mg/l) TAN (n = 244) a NO2N (n = 241) TOC (n = 100) BOD (n = 36) 0.40 9 0.53 a 14.16 9 7.94 a 5.26 9 2.55 a Screen lter 0.79 9 0.30 a 0.57 9 0.74 b 15.84 9 8.84 a 5.31 9 2.33 a Settling basin 0.80 9 0.30

Columns containing different letters indicate signicantly different water quality variable means at h = 0.05, n = number of observations.

S. Singh et al. / Aquacultural Engineering 20 (1999) 7584 Table 4 Effect of feeding rate on mean tank water waste concentration1 Waste concentration (mg/l) TAN (n = 220) NO2N (n = 220) TOC (n = 60) BOD (n = 46) 600 g/day 0.63 9 0.26 a 0.47 9 0.77 a 10.33 9 6.11 a 5.33 9 2.22 a 800 g/day 0.93 9 0.28 b 0.52 9 0.53 a 17.00 9 8.50 b 5.20 9 2.81 a

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1 Columns containing different letters indicate signicantly different water quality variable means at h = 0.05, n = number of observations.

about 48% (from 0.63 to 0.93 mg/l) and the mean TOC concentration by about 67% (from 10.33 to 17.00 mg/l). It is interesting to note that the mean TAN and TOC concentrations increase more rapidly than the increase in feeding rate. However, it is difcult to say whether the specic TAN production rate, which is generally assumed to be about 3% of the feeding rate, increased with the feeding rate or the biolter performance in terms of ammonia removal deteriorated with the increased feeding rate. While biolters are primarily designed for TAN nitrication, they are prone to limited establishment of heterotrophic bacteria population that consumes organic substances. Therefore, the larger increase in mean TOC concentration in proportion to the increase in feeding rate may also be due to either increased specic TOC production rate or reduced TOC removal in the system. The feeding rate did not show any signicant effect on NO2 N and BOD concentrations (Table 4).

3.4. O6erall comparison

Table 5 shows an overall comparison of all the four systems used in this study with respect to tank water quality, average daily make-up water requirement, and average daily sh weight gain. The tank water quality comparisons are based on the ANOVA results and help show the effect of biolterparticulate lter combinations. Daily make-up water requirement and average daily sh weight gain can be used as the general indicators of overall recirculating system performance. The system 1 equipped with a rotating screen lter and a bead biolter had the highest mean water temperature (23.19C) most probably due to its lowest make-up water requirement (1.35% system volume/day). The make-up water temperature was generally lower than that maintained in the room where all the four systems were located. The high water temperature may have contributed to the highest average daily sh weight gain in the system 1 as compared to the other systems despite the highest mean tank TAN concentration (0.90 mg/l) in the system.

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Table 5 Statistical comparison of selected water quality characteristics of four systems1 S. Singh et al. / Aquacultural Engineering 20 (1999) 7584 Tank water quality characteristic TAN (n = 120) Mean 9 S.D. (mg/l) NO2N (n = 120) Mean 9 S.D. (mg/l) TOC (n = 50) Mean 9 S.D. (mg/l) BOD5 (n = 18) Mean 9 S.D. (mg/l) DO (n = 122) Mean 9 S.D. (mg/l) Temp. (n = 120) Mean 9 S.D. (C) Avg. water use (% system volume/day) Avg. weight gain (g/sh/day)
1

System 1 (screen lter and bead lter) a 0.90 9 0.36 a 0.53 9 0.72 a 17.84 9 9.07 a 5.03 9 2.79 a 5.83 9 0.66 a 23.2 9 0.7 1.35 1.5

System 2 (multi-tube settling basin and trickling lter) b 0.73 9 0.27 b 0.26 9 0.19 b 13.43 9 7.28 a 5.05 9 2.14 b 6.92 9 0.60 b 21.7 9 1.1 4.00 1.4

System 3 (screen lter and trickling lter) b 0.67 9 0.17 b 0.28 9 0.14 c 10.47 9 4.17 a 5.48 9 2.35 c 6.28 9 0.82 c 22.1 9 1.0 2.55 1.4

System 4 (multi-tube settling basin and bead lter) a 0.89 9 0.32 c 0.89 9 0.93 a 18.26 9 9.64 a 5.58 9 2.54 a 5.75 9 0.77 b,c 21.9 9 0.9 5.21 1.2

Columns containing different letters indicate signicantly different water quality variable means at h = 0.05, n = number of observations.

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On the other hand, the system 4 (equipped with a settling basin and a bead biolter) performed the worst among all the four systems as indicated by the highest daily make-up water requirement (5.21% system volume/day) and the lowest average daily sh weight gain of only 1.2 g/sh per day. The system 4 differs markedly from the other systems as it had the highest mean tank NO2 N concentration (0.89 mg/l) coupled with a high mean tank TAN concentration (0.89 mg/l). The long term exposure to the elevated levels of TAN and NO2 N may have resulted in the slowest sh growth rate in the system 4. Also, both bead biolter and settling basin (system 4 conguration) require frequent backwash, resulting in the highest make-up water requirement. Libey (1993) also compared screen lter and settling basin performances in terms of water usage and demonstrated that a screen (drum) lter required only 13.4% of the water utilized by a multi-tube settling basin. The mean tank DO concentrations in the systems having trickling biolters (system 2 and 3) were signicantly higher (6.92 and 6.28 mg/l, respectively) as compared to those observed (5.83 and 5.75 mg/l, respectively) in the systems having bead biolters (system 1 and 4). This observation has a simple explanation. In a tricking biolter the large surface area of the media is exposed to the ambient air, allowing signicant aeration of culture water owing on the media. In the bead biolter the media is insulated from the ambient air and thus oxygen transfer is limited. Mean tank TOC concentrations of 17.84 and 18.26 mg/l were essentially identical for the systems 1 and 4, respectively, both having bead biolters. Systems 2 and 3 (with trickling lters) had lower mean tank TOC concentrations, 13.43 and 10.47 mg/l, respectively. However, it is difcult to say whether higher DO levels in the systems 2 and 3 helped breakdown some of the TOC produced in the system. Overall the water quality in the systems having trickling biolters was better than that in the systems 1 and 4 (having bead biolters) with respect to mean TAN, NO2 N, TOC, and DO concentrations. The average daily sh weight gain in the systems 2 and 3 (1.4 g/sh per day) was comparable to that in system 1 (1.5 g/sh per day). The mean tank BOD concentration in all the four systems remained around 5.25 mg/l. None of the treatments (including feeding rate) and their combinations showed any statistically signicant effect on mean tank BOD concentration.

4. Conclusions Four different congurations of a recirculating aquacultural system were studied with two different feeding rates. Two types of biolters (trickling and bead) and two types of solids removal devices (multi-tube settling basin and rotating screen lter) were used to assemble four different congurations of recirculating system producing hybrid striped bass in 2000-l circular berglass tanks. The primary objective of the project was to study the effect of biolter, particulate lter, feeding rate, and lter combination on selected inorganic and organic waste characteristics.

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Daily and 5-day measurements of selected water quality characteristics were analyzed statistically. From the production point of view, the four systems seemed to maintain water quality within a range suitable for sh growth at the two feeding rates used in this study. Based on the results obtained, lower mean values of tank TAN, NO2 N, and TOC concentrations accompanied with smaller variations over the study period clearly indicate that the systems having trickling biolter performed better than the systems having bead biolter during these trials. Also, the systems with trickling biolters maintained higher DO levels as compared to the systems with bead biolters. The average daily sh growth rate in the systems with trickling biolters were identical, and they compared well with a system having a rotary screen and a bead biolter. However, this latter system had signicantly higher water temperature during the trials due to a low water exchange rate. The systems with screen lters for particulate removal required considerably less make-up water than the systems equipped with settling basins for particulate removal. Tank water BOD levels were unaffected by all the treatments and their combinations in this study.

Acknowledgements This research project was funded by a competitive grant from the Maryland Agricultural Experiment Station (MAES).

References
APHA, 1993. Standard Methods for the Examination of Water and Wastewater, 18th Edition. American Public Health Association, American Water Works Association, Water Pollution Control Federation, Washington, DC. Libey, G.S., 1993. Evaluation of a drum lter for removal of solids from a recirculating aquaculture system. In: Wang, J.K. (Ed.), Techniques for Modern Aquaculture. American Society of Agricultural Engineers, St. Joseph, MI, pp. 519532. Pano, A., Middlebrooks, E.J., 1983. Kinetics of carbon and ammonia nitrogen removal in RBCs. J. Water Pollut. Control Fed. 55, 956965. Tucker, C.S., Martin, J.F., 1991. Environment-related off-avors in sh. In: Brune, D.E., Tomasso, J.R. (Eds.), Aquaculture and Water Quality. The World Aquaculture Society, Baton Rouge, Louisiana.