Table Of ContentBeit
Qad
Commercial
Aquaponic
system
Technical
Manual
Philip
Jones
April
2013
1
Beit
Qad
Commerical
Aquaponic
System
Technical
Manual
By
Philip
Jones
©
Byspokes
and
Ma’an
Development
Centre,
2013
All
text,
illustrations
and
photos
by
Philip
Jones.
www.byspokes.org
[email protected]
Table
of
contents
SYSTEM
OVERVIEW
1
SYSTEM
COMPONENTS
2
Fish
tanks
2
Solids
filtration
3
Biological
filtration
4
Mineralisation
6
Hydroponic
component
7
Seedling
production
8
Pumping
and
aeration
8
MANAGEMENT
10
Cycling
10
Aquaculture
system
10
Hydroponic
system
11
Water
quality
12
SYSTEM
OPERATION
13
Daily
tasks
13
Weekly
tasks
13
Monthly
tasks
13
TROUBLESHOOTING
14
DIRECTORY
15
System
overview
The
commercial
aquaponic
system
designed
for
the
Beit
Qad
demonstration
site
consist
of
two
interlinked
components;
a
recirculating
aquaculture
system
(RAS)
and
a
hydroponic
system.
The
two
systems
are
linked
by
a
double
sump
tank
which
has
been
designed
to
allow
for
the
RAS
and
hydroponic
components
to
be
operated
independently
(as
aquaculture
and
hydroponic
systems)
or
together
(as
an
aquaponic
system).
The
RAS
component
has
been
designed
to
be
a
“low
head”
system
–
i.e.
with
minimal
vertical
height
difference
between
the
maximum
and
minimum
water
levels
across
the
components.
This
is
to
reduce
the
energy
required
for
pumping
water.
Figure
1:
Overview
of
the
aquaponic
system
showing
aquaculture
component
(left)
and
hydroponic
component
(right).
When
both
components
are
operating
together,
then
dissolved
nutrients
from
the
aquaculture
wastes
are
delivered
to
the
hydroponic
component
to
be
taken
up
by
plants.
During
independent
operation,
nutrients
from
the
aquaculture
system
are
not
passed
to
the
hydroponic
system
and
so
supplementary
hydroponic
nutrients
must
be
used.
However,
enabling
the
two
systems
to
be
operated
independently
greatly
enhances
the
system’s
resilience;
a
problem
in
one
of
the
systems
may
be
isolated
without
risking
the
other
system.
1
System
components
Fish
tanks
The
aquaponic
system
consists
of
four
separate
round
fish
tanks
each
of
approximately
2.1m3,
thus
the
total
fish
tank
water
volume
is
around
8.4m3.
The
fish
tanks
are
constructed
from
standard,
2.5m3
(1.46m
diameter)
water
storage
tanks
(white,
to
reduce
heat
gain
in
the
summer),
which
have
been
opened
by
cutting
off
the
top,
just
below
the
shoulder
(1cm
above
the
uppermost
moulding
line).
The
fish
tanks
are
positioned
close
to
each
other
in
order
to
be
able
to
share
common
drain
and
influent
pipe
main
lines.
The
fish
tanks
are
all
levelled
with
each
other,
and
excavated
slightly
into
the
ground
(floor
height
-‐40cm)
in
order
to
facilitate
levelling
of
the
other,
shorter,
components.
Figure
2:
Fish
tanks
being
put
into
place
(left)
and
detail
of
common
fish-‐tank
drain
(right).
Effluent
water
is
drawn
from
the
bottom
centre
of
the
fish
tank
using
a
“solids
lift
overflow”
which
sets
the
maximum
water
depth
in
the
fish
tank
to
135cm.
The
overflow
pipes
(50mm
diameter)
from
all
the
fish
tanks
extend
outside
the
tanks
towards
a
central
point
between
the
tanks
where
they
are
united
by
a
110mm
collector
trap.
The
common
drainage
is
by
110mm
pipe
from
this
point.
Influent
water
is
delivered
to
each
fish
tank
at
a
height
just
above
the
water
surface
level,
at
a
rate
of
around
3m3/h
(to
fully
exchange
fish
tank
water
volume
1.4
times
per
hour).
The
water
is
delivered
parallel
to
the
fish
tank
wall
in
such
a
way
as
to
set
up
a
clockwise
rotational
current
within
the
tank.
This
circular
flow
facilitates
settling
of
the
solid
wastes
in
the
bottom
centre
of
the
fish
tanks.
2
Solids
filtration
Coarse
solids
are
removed
from
the
system
via
a
“radial
flow
separator”.
The
radial
flow
separator
works
by
forcing
the
water
flow
to
change
direction
and
velocity,
which
encourages
solid
particles
to
settle
out.
Radial
flow
separators
are
very
space
efficient
when
compared
to
standard,
gravity
based
settling
ponds,
and
typically
operate
with
loading
rates
of
10m3/m2/hour.
Thus,
to
match
the
fish
tank
effluent
flow
rate
of
this
system
(12m3/hour),
a
radial
flow
separator
of
1.2m2
surface
area
is
needed.
The
radial
flow
separator
is
also
constructed
from
a
white,
standard
water
storage
tank
(1.5m3;
1.35m
diameter
-‐
thus
1.4m2
water
surface
area)
with
the
top
removed.
The
top
of
the
water
tank
is
inserted
upside-‐down
into
the
tank
to
make
a
slightly
conical,
funnel
like
false
floor
to
facilitate
collection
of
all
solid
wastes
in
the
centre.
The
tank
is
positioned
such
that
the
upper
rim
level,
and
water
surface
level
are
the
same
as
those
of
the
fish
tanks.
Figure
3:
Design
of
the
radial
flow
filter,
showing
major
components
and
internal
layout.
3
The
fish
tank
effluent
water
enters
the
radial
flow
separator
via
a
110mm
pipe
which
extends
into
the
centre
of
the
separator,
where
there
is
an
upward
facing
elbow,
directing
water
flow
vertically
upwards.
Around
this
elbow
is
a
radial
flow
column
made
from
a
200L
blue
barrel,
which
extends
slightly
above
the
water
surface
level.
This
forces
the
incoming
water
to
change
direction
from
up-‐flowing
to
down-‐flowing.
Once
the
water
flows
beyond
the
lower
end
of
this
radial
flow
column,
it
changes
Figure
4:
Constructed
radial
flow
filter
direction
once
again
and
flows
upwards.
With
each
change
of
direction,
the
velocity
of
the
water
also
decreases,
which
gives
solid
wastes
the
chance
to
settle
to
the
bottom
of
the
separator
by
gravity.
Water
exits
the
radial
flow
separator
via
a
110mm
pipe
positioned
just
below
the
water
surface
level.
Solids
can
be
periodically
drawn
out
from
the
bottom
of
the
separator
via
a
sludge
drain,
made
from
50mm
pipe
drawing
from
just
above
the
bottom
centre
of
the
separator.
Sludge
is
discharged
to
a
mineralisation
tank
where
it
can
be
converted
back
to
liquid
plant
nutrients.
In
addition
to
this
coarse
solids
separator,
all
water
passes
through
a
60μm
in-‐
line
filter
before
reaching
the
hydroponic
component.
Biological
filtration
Biological
filtration
(the
conversion
of
toxic
ammonia
in
fish
wastes
into
nitrite
and
then
nitrate)
is
achieved
by
a
“Moving
Bed
Biofilm
Reactor”
MBBR.
MBBRs
are
relative
newcomers
to
the
aquaculture
industry.
MBBR
technology
uses
thousands
of
polyethylene
biofilm
carriers
(Error!
Reference
source
not
found.)
operating
in
mixed
motion
within
an
aerated
wastewater
treatment
basin.
Biocarriers
provide
a
very
large,
protected
surface,
which
supports
the
growth
of
heterotrophic
and
autotrophic
bacterial
communities.
The
specific
surface
area
(SSA)
of
biocarrier
media
is
typically
around
500m2/m3.
Figure
5:
Kaldness
type
biomedia
4
However,
MBBRs
function
best
at
fill
rates
below
70%
(usually
40-‐60%)
as
this
ensures
adequate
movement
of
filter
media
within
the
MBBR.
Effective
surface
area
within
the
MBBR
vessel
is
therefore
200-‐300m2/m3.
TAN
(total
ammonia
nitrogen)
removal
rates
fluctuate
depending
on
a
range
of
environmental
factors
(pH,
alkalinity,
temperature,
DO,
BOD
of
influent
water)
but
for
the
purposes
of
this
project
can
be
assumed
to
be
in
the
region
of
1g/m2/day.
Another
advantage
of
the
MBBR
is
that
it
allows
for
supplemental
oxygenation
and
CO
stripping
of
2
the
wastewater
–
further
enhancing
the
quality
of
effluent.
Daily
TAN
production
is
directly
related
to
the
amount
of
food
given,
and
the
protein
content
of
the
food,
and
can
be
calculated
using
the
following
equation:
TAN
=
Feed
weight
x
Protein
content
x
0.092
Time
It
is
proposed
to
use
32%
protein
feed,
delivered
at
2%
body
mass
(for
a
standing
crop
of
around
200kg)
in
this
system.
The
daily
total
feed
is
therefore
around
4kg.
This
gives
a
daily
TAN
production
of
118g.
118m2
of
surface
area
is
required
for
bacterial
nitrification
of
this
ammonia.
Given
the
biocarrier
SSA
of
500m3/m2,
then
236l
of
biocarrier
media
will
be
required,
in
a
vessel
of
787l
(at
30%
fill).
The
MBBR
in
this
system
has
been
purposefully
oversized
to
allow
for
future
expansion
of
the
aquaculture
component.
The
MBBR
is
constructed
from
two
1m3
IBC
tanks,
each
with
a
maximum
fill
volume
of
800l.
Thus,
at
maximum
operating
capacity,
and
a
biocarrier
fill
rate
increased
to
60%,
the
MBBR
could
denitrify
480g
TAN/day
–
equivalent
to
16kg
feed.
Figure
6:
Completed
MBBR
chamber
(left
image)
showing
influent
pipe
(lower
left
of
image),
effluent
pipe
(top
of
image)
and
aeration
grid
(at
the
base
of
the
chamber).
Images
on
the
right
detail
assembly
of
the
aeration
grid.
5
Water
enters
and
leaves
the
MBBR
via
110mm
pipe.
Aeration
is
provided
via
5
parallel
20mm
PVC
pipes,
with
2mm
holes
drilled
each
20mm
along
opposing
sides,
located
at
the
bottom
of
each
MBBR
chamber.
Water
exits
the
MBBR
via
110mm
pipe
to
the
aquaculture
sump
tank.
Mineralisation
Mineralisation
is
an
aerobic,
bacterial
process
by
which
the
complex
organic
molecules
found
in
solid
wastes
are
broken
down
into
simple
mineral
ions.
Full
mineralisation
requires
approximately
28
days
of
aerobic
bacterial
activity,
thus
a
mineralisation
tank
must
be
large
enough
to
allow
a
minimum
28-‐day
residence
time
of
discharged
sludge.
Sludge
from
the
radial
flow
separator
is
discharged
into
a
mineralisation
tank
–
constructed
in
the
same
was
as
one
of
the
MBBR
chambers,
from
an
IBC
tank
and
aeration
grid.
Biocarrier
media
is
added
to
the
mineralisation
tank
to
provide
additional
surface
area
for
bacterial
activity,
and
also
to
facilitate
mechanical
breakdown
of
larger
particles
through
collision
and
agitation.
The
daily
sludge
discharge
volume
is
around
20l
(around
5l
sludge
is
produced
per
1kg
feed),
thus
a
minimum
volume
of
560l
is
required
to
provide
the
requisite
28-‐day
residence
time.
The
functional
volume
of
the
mineralisation
tank
is
actually
800l,
and
so
this
requirement
is
exceeded
in
the
current
system
design.
Figure
7:
Mineralisation
tank
showing
vigorous
aeration
(left)
and
screened
pump
chamber
(right).
As
fresh
slurry
is
discharged
into
the
mineralisation
tank,
the
water
level
increases
slightly
and
the
supernatant
overflows
into
a
mineralised
nutrient
sump.
The
overflow
is
screened
to
prevent
the
exit
of
larger
particles,
and
effluent
passes
through
a
60μm
filter
before
reaching
the
sump.
The
sump
is
fitted
with
a
float-‐switch
activated
pump
to
deliver
this
nutrient
laden
water
directly
to
the
hydroponic
system.
6
Description:Figure 2: Fish tanks being put into place (left) and detail of common . constructed in the same was as one of the MBBR chambers, from an IBC tank
