Assessment of a novel filter system for recirculating aquaculture

Abstract

The aim of this project was to investigate the usage of manganese dioxide ore as a bio-filter media to remove metabolites in aquaculture closed system, and to determine whether manganese toxicity would at the same time represent a risk to fish. Initial work investigated the physical properties of manganese dioxide and its chemical interaction with ammonia and nitrite in the absence of biological activity. Subsequently, two pilot-scale pressurised filters were installed in a commercial scale hatchery in order to compare the metabolite removal performance of manganese dioxide against silicate sand in the presence of biological activity commonly found in aquaculture conditions. The investigation suggests that Mn medium is more reliable in converting ammonia to nitrate without producing a residual output of nitrite. The superior performance ofMn media compared with sand appears to be mainly related to the physical structure of the manganese ore. Furthermore, the Mn medium did not appear to be soluble in the ambient conditions normally found in aquaculture-closed system. From the design point of view, due to the higher ammonia and nitrite removal rates, a shorter retention time and a lower volume of media are required in the case of manganese dioxide technology compared with sand media. As a result, it is much easier to size a biofilter with Mn media.

Manganese systems have a comparable total costs to conventional sand media, but using the Mn technology provides a more reliable control of toxic nitrite, thereby reducing risks offish loss and hence with reduced expected produ