10,000 g Recirculating Aquaculture Growout System Build

diverpat · Dec 17, 2019

Now for something completely different.

I didn't start a build thread for my reef tank so I thought I'd do one for my current project at work.

I'm refurbishing a 10,000 gallon marine recirculating aquaculture system. This is an experimental pilot scale system that will one day grow black sea bass (Centropristis striata). When all is complete it will be able to house over 5,000 lbs of fish at 1/2lb per gallon.

Background: This system was originally built in 2007 but due to the ravages of time and the abuse from hurricanes and salt air it has been out of commission for the last 5 years. I will be getting everything back to working order. The system will have flow rate of 150-200 gpm, (2) 15ft diameter tanks, 1000 gallon sump, 4 pumps, 4 hp heat pump, 260W UV sterilizer, drum screen filter, (3) 25 cu ft biofilters, radial flow separators, a big butt protein skimmer, CO2 degassing (in sump and in tank), oxygen cone, monitoring and more.

I have to have fish in this thing in 3 months so that will be the build time. If there is enough interest I will update as things progress.

The next few weeks may be slow due to the holidays but I'll get moving on it at the beginning of 2020.

This is an overview of the system, the old heat pump, bead filter, pumps, UV, have all been ripped out.

This is the 3 biofilter, with 25 cubic feet of bio-media each, and the dilapidated drum screen filter in the back .

Nasty old bio-media, after a few flushes it should be as good as new.

In ground sump, CO2 degasser, and RK2 foam fractionator

Today's work: break apart old concrete pad and add 2 new recirculation pumps.

Today's work done. Each pump can pump between 20-140 gpm.

Feet4Fish · Dec 17, 2019

Really cool! Wish I had a huge RK2 skimmer in my yard! Awesome work project. I think I need a new job!

rirun · Dec 17, 2019

following along

hotdrop · Dec 17, 2019

If you have time id love to see a system diagram. What kind of problems do you expect to need to control for.

ScottB · Dec 17, 2019

What an awesome project. And ambitious timetable. Best of luck. Keeps us posted. (If you can find the time!)

You will want to check this site out. The founder frequents my LFS. He spent an ungodly sum of money building out this recirculation system, but it is impressive.

Recirculating Aquaculture (RAS) - Ideal Fish

Ideal Fish is a land-based seafood company producing European Sea Bass (Branzino) using state-of-the-art saltwater recirculating aquaculture technology. Our fish are raised responsibly and are free of hormones, antibiotics, and chemicals.

idealfish.com

Peace River · Dec 17, 2019

Please keep us updated! What an exciting project!

dbraun15 · Dec 17, 2019

Interesting project...Black sea bass for table fare? or what's the purpose of having the system set up for them?

diverpat · Dec 17, 2019

hotdrop said:
If you have time id love to see a system diagram. What kind of problems do you expect to need to control for.

I don’t have a diagram of this specific system. I’ll have to see if I have one from another similar one we have.
As for problems to control for, sea bass are very susceptible to dissolved gas issues. They don’t like moderately high CO2, nitrogen gas (N2), or even high oxygen. They experience pop-eye or even death, more so than any other species I’ve worked with. Degassing is a must both in tank and in the sump.

diverpat · Dec 17, 2019

ScottB said:
What an awesome project. And ambitious timetable. Best of luck. Keeps us posted. (If you can find the time!)

You will want to check this site out. The founder frequents my LFS. He spent an ungodly sum of money building out this recirculation system, but it is impressive.

Recirculating Aquaculture (RAS) - Ideal Fish

Ideal Fish is a land-based seafood company producing European Sea Bass (Branzino) using state-of-the-art saltwater recirculating aquaculture technology. Our fish are raised responsibly and are free of hormones, antibiotics, and chemicals.

idealfish.com

I used to work with one of the guys who works there. It is an impressive operation!

diverpat · Dec 17, 2019

dbraun15 said:
Interesting project...Black sea bass for table fare? or what's the purpose of having the system set up for them?

It’s for selling them to market. Our program is part of a state university. We conduct research that will hopefully lead to commercial sea bass production one day. The demand for fish is getting greater, the ocean can only provide so much, we hope to fill that gap while creating jobs at the same time.

shadesatsetbreak · Dec 17, 2019

hotdrop said:
If you have time id love to see a system diagram.

I second this notion.

Jon Fishman · Dec 17, 2019

Not meaning to play Devil’s advocate......

But if the original system was 2005, and out of commission for 5 years or so, due to Hurricanes, but also you mentioned damage/wear due to salt/air...... it seems like the original setup lasted 5-6 years?

If you only get the same type of longevity from this, will it be worth it? It seems like a huge expense

diverpat · Dec 17, 2019

Jon Fishman said:
Not meaning to play Devil’s advocate......

But if the original system was 2005, and out of commission for 5 years or so, due to Hurricanes, but also you mentioned damage/wear due to salt/air...... it seems like the original setup lasted 5-6 years?

If you only get the same type of longevity from this, will it be worth it? It seems like a huge expense

We have similar systems that have been up and running for over 20 years. This one had some equipment failures that caused its downfall. We rely on grants for funding, we finally got some money to replace faulty components and improve on the design.

ScottB · Dec 17, 2019

diverpat said:
We have similar systems that have been up and running for over 20 years. This one had some equipment failures that caused its downfall. We rely on grants for funding, we finally got some money to replace faulty components and improve on the design.

Do you typically have any standby power for these setups or is it cheaper to just restock post hurricane?

Dr. Dendrostein · Dec 17, 2019

That's my dream build, thanks for sharing

diverpat · Dec 17, 2019

ScottB said:
Do you typically have any standby power for these setups or is it cheaper to just restock post hurricane?

Unfortunately we don’t have a good generator. We rely on pure oxygen and take the fish off feed (no waste production) to keep the fish alive during prolonged power outages. Most of the fish are used for experiments so we have to keep them alive or lose data. I have PTSD from hurricane Florence, a lot of work but we managed to pull most of our fish through a 5 day power outage.