The Basics Of Aquaculture Tanks And Pumps You Must Know
Aquaculture tanks are a gateway to small scale fish farming. All thanks to their simple set up procedure and minimal maintenance costs.
With the rise in aquaculture recirculating tank sale, you can acquire one for a wide range of uses.
Check out detailed reviews here.
Some of the uses include; domestic fish farming, commercial fish farming, aquaponics fish farming system as well as a teaching aid. The tanks come with a viewing window that makes learning real fun.
The main fish species kept in large aquaculture tanks include; tilapia, ornamentals and catfish.
The tanks operate on a low budget, and that saves you a lot of money. For instance, the tanks can use as little as ten gallons of water in a day.
As for electricity, a sixty watt bulb consumes more than any average aquaculture tank.
How To build your own aquaculture tank.
While there are some used aquaculture tanks for sale, building one can be fun and relatively cheap.
Ps. Click here to learn how to build your own aqua grow system.
Below is the information you need when it comes to building your own tank.
It won’t cost you much since most tanks come assembled, and all you have to do is set up drainage and other minor issues.
Only the large aquaculture tanks come in pieces and need a little bit of assembling.
Tanks are made from various materials. The main thing however is that the tank be inert. This means that the materials shouldn’t react with water.
Check out this good example of an inert tank.
Non inert materials might even poison the fish that could cause immense losses. Again, the materials should be relatively cheap or else the tank will be very expensive to construct.
Though the earth is the main material used in fish ponds, aquaculture tanks don’t utilize it.
The main reason behind this is that most tanks are built indoors to help grow your house plants and using earth could prove quite tricky.
The main materials used are; polythene, galvanised steel, fibre glass, plastic liners in a container, concrete and cement blocks.
Best Air Pumps and Water Pumps for your Aquaculture
It goes without saying that for your aquaculture system to work perfectly you need the best water pump.
Below we will review the top rated air pumps and water pumps you must buy to get best results.
- Active Aqua Submersible Water Pump, 400 GPH
- Recommended for 40 gallon reservoirs
- 400 gallons per hour
- Indoor / outdoor use
The Active Aqua Submersible Water Pump is created to work below the waterline.
These pumps come with multiple hose fitting making sure you get precise fit each time.
Each pump’s highly effective mag drive design comes with a 6-foot heavy duty power cord, impellers, detachable foam filters, and rubber mounting feet to decrease vibration.
You can get things moving at your desired speed by adjusting the pump’s flow.
This pump moves 400 gallons gal/hr and is suitable for forty gallon reservoirs; however, you can regulate the pump’s flow to run at your desired speed.
The Active Aqua Submersible Pump works extremely well for outdoor and indoor use and is oil free and eco-friendly.
Specifications:
- 24 Watts/120 VAC
- Recommended for forty gallon reservoirs
- 400 gallons per hour
Features:
- Powerful mag drive structure
- 6′ power cord
- Oil-free and eco-friendly
- Free of BPA? safe for use with aquaponic
- Use outdoors and indoors
- UL-listed
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- VIVOSUN Air Pump 950 GPH 32W 60L/min 6 Outlet Commercial Air Pump for Aquarium and Hydroponic Systems (32 W)
- Premium Materials & Great Heat Control: This pump dissipates heat more...
- Maximum Air Pressure and Air Volume: VIVOSUN powerful 32W electromagnetic motor...
- Set It and Forget It: Innovative material engineering on the steel engine column...
This air pump is created from copper and aluminum alloy.
It comes with durable cylinders and pistons, and it has no issue several water farms or multiple air stones simultaneously.
This commercial pump has an additional pipe, as well as a user manual.
This commercial pump has worked well on a usual small goldfish pond, 120-gallon fish tanks, tournament regulation weigh-in tanks, and also an indoor Deep Water Culture System.
The Vivosun Air Pump 950 GPH produces sufficient air to be capable of aerating aerate a 275-gallon tank having twenty-five fish.
For this product’s size, it comes with a great deal of power and output.
The pump does heat up after days of constant work; however, you can avoid getting your hand burned by touching just the handle when it becomes hot.
Pros:
- Operates longer than a day without the need for a thermal shutdowns
- Creates a bubble blizzard in a 120-gallon fish tank
- Easily manages six or more hydro buckets
Cons:
- 6-way valve piece is inexpensively made and can be broken easily
- It’s quite loud and runs hot
Below is an expended view of how various materials favour aquaculture tanks.
Plastic and fibre glass tanks
These have the ability of being purely inert. They are also very easy to clean and sanitize.
However, the two vary in a number of ways.
Polythene tanks are not so strong as compared to fibre glass tanks.
They are, therefore, not to be used in sizes over five feet in diameter, not unless they get supported in some other way on the outside.
Such kind of support is best offered by steel frames. As for the fibre glass type, they need no extra support.
They are available with diameters of up to fifteen feet. Nonetheless, those above ten feet in diameter are shipped in parts. On arrival, they are assembled on site.
Though not the cheapest of materials, polyethylene has won itself credit as the top most material used, perhaps due to safe storage of potable water and its outstanding resilient character.
- Norwesco 45223 Horizontal Water Tank
- 35 Gallon
- 29"x 20"x 23"
Plastic liners, concrete, cement blocks and galvanised steel
Though occasionally put into use, plastic liners aren’t as long-lasting as their solid equals. As for galvanising, steel, popularly used in watering troughs’ care must be taken.
New galvanizing materials can leach zinc into the aquaculture tank. It goes without saying that the results would be disastrous. As such, only certified galvanizes should be used.
Check out the reviews on Amazon.
While concrete and cement blocks favour large tanks, a few things have to be observed. For instance, modern cement could raise the PH in water.
A cement lining could also be porous. Nonetheless, painting a double coat of epoxy paint could solve both problems. Talk of killing two birds with one stone!
The overall cost, however goes up, and this questions the practicality of using cement products.
Aquaculture Tank drainage and Aeration Systems
Most tanks come in either rectangular or circular shapes. Both have their advantages.
Circular tanks are capable of ‘cleaning themselves’ and rectangular tanks are the largest in the aquaculture recurlating tank sale.
Centrally placed drainage enable self-cleaning properties in the circular tanks.
Such drainage makes water move in a circular manner and any food remnants and waste from the fish gets drained out. However, in this kind of setting one question comes up.
Won’t the fish get swallowed up in the draining process?
Well, there is a ready-made solution for that.
- Super silent with multi-level muffler
- Special artificial rubber to keep a steady air flow output and pressure that can...
- Low power consumption
Installing dual pipes is the answer. One pipe is placed at the bottom and the centre of the tank. The other pipe is placed at the top where the water levels.
The bottom pipe has a cover with average sized holes. This lets only the water out with some fish waste in it. As for the other pipe, food leftovers get drained there.
This means that the pipe on the outside determines the tank’s water level. Once the waste gets disposed of, the next step is where to take it. Remember, fish manure is ninety-nine percent water.
In smaller settings, you can connect the drainage pipe to your municipal drainage system. However, for larger tanks, drainage can prove expensive.
One idea is draining the water into the lagoon and waiting for it to settle. The water will later on be drained. This translates to pollution, which in turn dictates the need for a waste disposal license.
To avoid the costs, there is another cheaper option. This however needs plenty of space. It basically involves spraying the waste water on a large piece of land.
You can even drain the water directly on land provided the soil has good absorbing properties.
You are probably wondering how the fish survive with all the dirt around. Here is the answer to your question. There are oxygenates available for oxygen supply.
Though this may not be an issue for smaller tanks, the larger versions need it. The two main sources of oxygen are liquid oxygen and oxygen generators.
Liquid oxygen is available commercially but is a bit expensive. As for the generator option, oxygen is generated from the surroundings.
The machine basically separates oxygen from the rest of the air, leaving pure oxygen for fish consumption. Though the generator option requires energy to run, it is relatively cheaper.
It is imperative that the piping done to supply oxygen gets done by certified professionals. Oxygen leaks can be really hazardous!
Last update on 2023-03-13 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
