Influent Treatment

A continuous supply of high quality, pathogen-free water is crucial to the success of any aquaculture facility.  Regardless of the water source, treatment is often required to ensure the water quality is suitable and safe for fish culture.

Freshwater aquaculture facilities may be supplied with influent water from ground water, surface water, or municipal water sources.

Ground water from wells may contain dissolved contaminants such as iron or other metals, and hydrogen sulfide (H2S) gas.  Because ground water is often pumped from a great depth, dissolved gas concentrations may be too high or low to support fish culture. Nitrogen supersaturation is common and must be treated to prevent Gas Bubble Disease; carbon dioxide may also be high while oxygen levels are often low.

Surface water from lakes, streams, rivers, or springs often varies in quality seasonally and may contain high levels of suspended or dissolved solids, organic matter, and tannins. Gas balancing may be required as high carbon dioxide and low oxygen levels are typical.  High nitrogen concentrations may be present when water is pumped from deep lake intakes. Surface water may also contain a wide variety of pathogenic microorganisms requiring disinfection.

Municipal water supplies generally require de-chlorination using media filtration. Gas balancing or oxygenation may also be required prior to use in an aquaculture facility.

Saltwater aquaculture facilities may be supplied with influent water from marine intakes or saltwater wells. As water quality and pathogen exposure are variable and unpredictable, saltwater sources usually require comprehensive water filtration and disinfection systems. Further steps must also be taken to protect intakes, pipeline, and treatment equipment from bio-fouling with marine organisms.

A water source may be suitable for a flow-through aquaculture system with the augmentation of some low intensity treatments.  Given the high flow rates intrinsic to these systems, any treatment regimen must have low operating costs to handle large flows economically. When using a water source that requires extensive treatment, the incorporation of recirculation or partial reuse technologies into the culture systems design may significantly reduce water consumption and the associated cost of influent treatment.

Packaged Solutions

PR Aqua packages equipment and design to solve specific influent treatment problems for aquaculture facilities. These are some of the common influent issues for which we provide robust and cost effective solutions.

If your influent water quality issue does not appear, please contact us to see what       PR Aqua can do for you.