Fisheries AquaRanch™
System Components

Culture Tank
Drain System
Fecal/Particle Clarifier
Biological-Filter
Airlift
Directional Aerators
Air Blower & Manifold
Growbed Aquaponics

CULTURE TANK
Depending on size and situation, a grower can use either rectangle or round tanks. Rectangle raceways utilize available space better and can be built using local materials and a fitted liner. The advantage of a round tank is that when water in the round tank is moved in a circular motion, the tank is virtually self cleaning. The round culture tank can be made from either Polyethylene, or Corrugated Steel Tank Rings with a 30 mil PVC Liner placed inside the steel frame. For the commercial grower the steel rings gives the ability to make the Culture Tank much bigger, economically. They can easily be built from 9' to 30' diameter with side walls of 3'-6'. The aqua or black colored liner is easy to install and maintain. For hobbyists, schools, and small commercial growers, Polyethylene tanks are a welcome sight. There are several sizes to choose from, the most common are the 300, 500, 800, and 1200 gallon tanks.

DRAIN SYSTEM
The drain system is designed to pull the water primarily from the center of a round culture tank. The water then moves at ground level to the bottom of the Fecal/Particle Clarifier. The drain outlet on the clarifier can be directed to the drainage system for your building. A gate valve is used to drain the clarifier when cleaning. There will be a tee fitting between the tank and the clarifier. The tee fitting will lead to the gate valve and then to the drain. The effluent can be used in a greenhouse, growbed, garden, lawn, or compost pile.

FECAL/PARTICLE CLARIFIER
The Largest part of the Filtration system is the Clarifier. Solid waste comes from the fish and uneaten food. This waste should be removed as soon as possible. Feces and uneaten food can be responsible for 70% of the nitrogen load in the system. Solid waste can cause heterotrophic bacterial growth which produces additional ammonia when digesting the feces. The Clarifier is the most efficient way to remove the solid waste. The water enters the base of the Clarifier at ground level. It then hits a series of baffles and a screen baffle that creates several "dead spots" in the water, enabling the feces to settle at a very efficient rate. The filtered water continues steadily to the Biological-filter. It is recommended that the Clarifier be emptied and rinsed every day, depending on how heavy the load is. The Clarifier is simple to use and easy to clean.

THE BIOLOGICAL-FILTER
The Bio-Filter is the other half of the Filtration System. The water moves through aerated Bio-Media. The Bio-Filter serves several functions: it converts harmful ammonia to non-toxic Nitrate, it aerates the water, and it removes harmful gases from the water. The filtered water is returned to the tank by an airlift and is then directed to encourage a clockwise flow in the round culture tanks. Bio-Filters utilize two kinds of friendly bacteria, Nitrosomonas and Nitrobacter, to rid the water of the nitrogen produced by the fish. The Nitrosomonas convert the ammonia (NH3-N) to nitrite (N02-N) and the Nitrobacter reduce the nitrites to nitrates (N03-N) which are not very toxic and are of little concern as long as they don't build up (nitrates are a very high quality nitrogen source for plants). It is important to monitor the ammonia and nitrites on a regular basis with test kits. With our system, it is easy to maintain the Ammonia under 2 PPM, and we prefer to keep the nitrites under 1 PPM and the nitrates under 150 PPM. When the Bio-Filter becomes very efficient, the nitrifying bacteria will produce several acids (carbonic, nitrous, and nitric acids) as a by-product. This condition will drive the pH down. Therefore, it becomes important to monitor the pH and adjust it using a product such as sodium bicarbonate (baking soda), calcium hydroxide or potassium hydroxide to raise and maintain the pH to desired levels. With the species we have and our water conditions, we prefer to keep our pH close to 7.4. The Bio-Filter design gives us other benefits. The airstones attached to the Bio-Media containers expose the water to a generous amount of oxygen which helps aerate the water. The degassing of harmful Nitrogen and Carbon dioxide is another benefit. This system, large or small, is quite trouble free and can be maintained by anyone. It is recommended that an operator obtain water quality test kits. By keeping track and recording the water parameters, the test kits become an operator's best teacher. To learn more go to Bio-Filters.

AIRLIFT
The filtered water is re-introduced to the
culture tank through the Airlift. Air is directed from the Air Blower through two inlets in the base of the Airlift. This air has two purposes: it aerates the water and it gives the water motion by pushing it up through the Airlift. The top opening of the airlift is positioned so it directs the water in a clockwise flow. The circular motion of the water directs feces and other particulates to the center drain. The waste goes through the different stages of the drain
and is sent to the clarifier.

DIRECTIONAL AERATORS
In addition to what the Airlift provides, the water in a round culture tank is circulated and aerated by Directional Aerators. We have two types. The Directional Aerator consists of a frame and an airstone. The other, the Directional Bio-filter/Aerator has a frame, two airstones, and 250 square feet of Bio-Media. The Bio-Media sits directly in the tank, submerged in water. At the top of the Directional Bio-filter/Aerator is an outlet, which is positioned to direct the aerated water in a clockwise motion around the round culture tank. For both types, the frame arms rest over the edge of the tank and keep the frame tight against the side wall at an angle.

AIR BLOWER & MANIFOLD
The Air Blower and the Air Manifold provide the propulsion for the system. The Air Blower supplies filtered air and the Air Manifold disperses the air to the Bio-Filter, Airlift, and Directional Aerators. Each of these help to aerate the water and propel the system. Vinyl tubing is used to attach the Air Manifold to each of the outlets. Clamps on each outlet provide control over the amount of air being dispersed to each part.

GROWBED AQUAPONICS
With a growbed liner, it is rather simple to set up an aquaponic system. To build a growbed out of wood see Installing a Growbed. After the growbed and the liner are in place it is time to choose a growing medium. We suggest starting out with either pots on a capillary mat, pots in perlite, or seeds in perlite. Using a small submersible pump, water is lifted from the culture tank to the plants on the growbed. The water trickles down the growbed, feeding the roots and then drains back into the tank, thus creating a recirculating Aquaponics system. To learn more, go to Aquaponics.

AquaRanch Systems

What to Know Before Starting Your System

AquaRanch System Pricing and Specifications

AquaRanch Liners and Corrugated Steel Tank Rings

Aquaculture in Education

Aquaponics

Customer Comments

Article: Tips for the Beginning Aquaculturist

Article: Developing an Aquaponic System