Artec Aqua Hybrid System™ – FTS-R

Regeneration systems have appeared as a supplement to conventional flow-through technology. As the water supplied was increasingly taxed, fish farm operators were often dependent on being able to reduce their water consumption in order to optimize their production.

However, reducing the water supply often causes problems linked to high levels of carbon dioxide in the tanks. Installing CO2 aeration systems transforms the technology from flow-through (FTS) to regeneration (FTS-R).

Benefits of Hybrid vs. RAS:

Non-demanding operation technology, involving uncomplicated water treatment
Appreciable flexibility in relation to tank-specific temperature control
High bio-security
Low investment costs
Low risk of loss of biomass

Benefits of Hybrid vs. flow-through:

Reduced tank volume
Reduced water distribution network
Reduced pump size
Reduced volume for outlet cleaning

Typical features of regeneration systems:

Use raw water (fresh water and/or seawater)

Three main principles:

Tank-specific CO2 aeration
Central CO2 aeration, where water from one section is filtered, removed of CO2 and then used in a different section
Central CO2 aeration, where a part of the waste water is collected, filtered and removed of CO2 before being returned to the same section.

A standard energy system is used to heat the water

FTS-R

Today’s CO2 aerators are much more efficient; when they are dimensioned correctly, they can maintain the level of carbon dioxide at the appropriate level as regards fish health conditions and meeting requirements from the authorities.

Water consumption in a reuse system is normally dimensioned such that the raw water requirement is 40% of that in a flow-through plant.

Example, FTS-R:

8-metre diameter tank, 2-metre water column
14 °C
100,000 fish @ 50 g
Density = 50 kg/m3
Oxygen saturation, outlet: 80%

Water consumption in flow-through (FTS):

Water requirement: 1,700 l/min
Theoretical replacement time: 59 min

Water consumption in flow-through system with reuse (FTS-R):

Water requirement: 700 l/min
Theoretical replacement time: 147 min

Water savings in FTS-R compared to FTS are approx. 60%