Biofloc Technology and Application to Marine Shrimp Aquaculture

Biofloc technology System design and management Application to marine shrimp Doug Ernst
NaturalShrimp AquaFarm.com

Pacific Aquaculture Caucus. Integrated Multi-Trophic Aquaculture Workshop. Sept 14-15, 2010, Peninsula College, Port Angeles, WA
Douglas H. Ernst (2010)

Further Reading
Waddell Mariculture Center (South Carolina) Texas Agricultural Experiment Station Clemson University Dept. of Agric. & Biol. Engin. (SC) Gulf Coast Research Lab (Univ. S Mississippi) Oceanic Institute (Hawaii) Global Aquaculture Advocate (www.gaalliance.org) Dr. Yoram Avnimelech (Israel Institute of Technology) Biofloc Workgroup Aquacultural Engineering Society www.aesweb.org

Animal Aquaculture Food Conversion

Fish 70% 67.0% FCE 22.3% FCE 1.5 FCR 4.5 FCR Feed

(for non-biofloc systems) Wet and dry weight food conversion

Moisture content: 10% Wet weight FCE: Dry weight FCE:

3X factor

Food conversion and waste

Wet wt fish: 1.0 kg feed 0.67 kg fish + 0.78 kg metabolites & solids Dry wt fish: 1.0 kg feed 0.22 kg fish + 0.78 kg metabolites & solids Protein nitrogen conversion (aquaculture average)

Shrimp protein utilization efficiency: 20% Fish protein utilization efficiency: 25% 70-80% of nitrogen in feed is converted to ammonia (direct & via bacteria)

Biofloc Technology (BFT)

BFT is the utilization of microbial processes within animal rearing units to treat water and provide food resources.

BFT is used to Reduce Reduce water feed

Fish/Shrimp Rearing Unit Internalized water treatment Waste Biofloc food resource

Reduce waste

Reduce treatment

BFT: Advantages, Disadvantages, Issues

Advantages

Increased food and nitrogen conversion

Reduced water consumption, waste production, and treatment Simplification and cost reduction of facility design Improved environmental control and pathogen biosecurity

Disadvantages

Conditioning time for system start up Oxygen consumption of biofloc Energy requirements for maintaining biofloc in suspension

Unique maqnagement issues

Maintenance of desired biofloc density, C/N ratio, and ecology Control of beneficial and harmful bacteria

Biofloc System: Tilapia

Clarification & denitrification

Feed: 32% protein Tilapia: final density 20 kg/m3

3
1. Clarifier effluent 2. Culture tank water 3. Sludge from clarifier
From Rakocy et al (WAS 2010) University of the Virgin Islands Agricultural Experiment Station

Biofloc System: Semi-Intensive Shrimp

Taw et al, Indonesia WAS 2009

Components of Biofloc

Components of biofloc

Solids: Inorganic and organic particulate solids

Bacteria and fungi: Heterotrophic and chemoautotrophic

Algae: Photoautotrophic and heterotrophic

Micro-organisms: protozoa (amoebas, ciliates), nematodes, zooplankton.

BFT in a context of IMTA

The biofloc community and culture animal comprise a multi-trophic ecosystem:

Bacterial-detrital and photosynthetic food chains

Filter deeding detritivores and herbivores

Predator-prey relationships.

Biofloc Components: BDA

Bacterial-detrital aggregate (BDA) Combined cocci. rod, & filamentous bacteria Floc particle size 10 1000+ um
100 um

Ray et al, WAS 2009 Hargreaves and Wong, WAS, 2007

Biofloc Components: Algae

Pelagic and benthic diatoms, various green and BG algae

Kent et al, WAS 2010

Kent et al, WAS 2010

www.ucmp.berkeley.edu

LCB stain

Biofloc Components: Micro-organisms

Ciliated protozoan

Nematode

Daphina

Hydroid Planaria ? Vorticella

Biofloc System: Nutrient Pathways

Feed Ammonia Fish / Shrimp POC PON Food/nutrients Biofloc community Heterotrophic bacteria Nitrite Nitrifying bacteria

Fish/Shrimp Culture Tank

Microalgae

DIC DIN DIP

Nitrate

Biofloc removal: Denitrification:

Solid clarifiers & fractionators NO3 N2 and Alkalinity

Whole facility: 1.N & P removal: Macroalgae or halophytes 2.N removal: Denitrification 3.Solids management: Digestion and inorganic solid waste

Carbon-Nitrogen Management

Ammonia removal pathways: 1. Photoautotrophic: Ammonia Algae biomass 2. Chemoautotrophic: Ammonia Nitrite Nitrate 3. Heterotrophic: Ammonia Bacterial biomass

Photoautotrophic, chemoautotrophic, heterotrophic composition of biofloc is determined by:

Control these factors to control ecology and which microbial groups dominate

Light intensity

Feed application intensity C/N ratio of feed inputs Rate of solids removal

Carbon-Nitrogen Ratio (CNR)

20 kg of carbohydrate is required for heterotrophic bacteria to utilize 1.0 kg ammonianitrogen

Composition Material Protein (%) Nitrogen (%) Carbon (%) CNR Sucrose 0.0 0.0 42.0 NA Molasses (22 % water) 1.9 28.2 0.3 92.7 Cassava meal 1.5 0.2 50.0 208.3 Corn meal 8.0 1.3 50.0 39.1 Wheat meal 10.0 50.0 1.6 31.3 Sorghum meal 11.0 50.0 1.8 28.4 Grain flours (general) 12.0 1.9 50.0 26.0 Grain meals (general) 12.0 1.9 50.0 26.0 50.0 Pond Stim Mash (Zeigler) 16.7 2.7 18.7 50.0 Pond Stim Pellets (Zeigler) 17.3 2.8 18.1 50.0 Growout pellet (25% protein) 25.0 4.0 12.5 Growout pellet (30% protein) 30.0 4.8 50.0 10.4 50.0 Growout pellet (35% protein) 35.0 5.6 8.9 Nitrogen content of protein is assumed to be 16%. This value varies a little depending

Effect of C/N Ratio on nitrogen utilization by heterotrophic bacteria: C/N Ratio < 10: Organic nitrogen used, ammonia released C/N Ratio > 10: Organic and inorganic N sources used C/N Ratio > 12 15: Net consumption of ammonia

Bacterial Management Issues Filamentous

Normal Biofloc High FB Biofloc

Gram stain

Filamentous bacteria

Occasional problem (tank and gill fouling) Causes not well understood Invasive species in new systems Known as bulking in wastewater treatment

Bacterial Management Issues Vibrio

Latent to virulent switching Chemoautotrophic to proteolytic Quorum sensing Fast generation time (20 min)

Vibrio (Wikimedia)

Randomly Amplified Polymorphic DNA Polymerase Chain Reaction (RAPD-PCR)

TCBS agar plate

RAPD-PCR results

Bacterial Management Issues Vibrio

Vibrio management tools: Water and system disinfection between crops Good/bad bacteria: Competitive exclusion Probiotic bacteria: Anti-bacterial compounds Probiotic bacteria: Quorum sensing disruption Elevated C/N ratio: Anti-Vibrio compounds Common probiotic species: Bacillus spp. Lactobacillus spp. Apply to feed and water

Bacillus subtilis, Gram stain (Wikipedia)

NaturalShrimp

Locations: La Coste, Texas and Medina del Campo, Spain oContinuous year round operation oIntensive biofloc systems oPacific white shrimp (Penaeus vannamei) oGreenhouses (light systems) and barns (dark systems) oBrackish culture water (public water supply & sea salt) oTemperature 30 C, salinity 5 15 ppt oSystems: Automated feeding, hydronic heating, diffused aeration, oxygenation, particulate solid removal and processing, nitrification, and denitrification

NaturalShrimp Business Model

Enclosed System Locate anywhere Close to markets Harvest Green Production

Stocking

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20/lb (23 g) 20 24 wks

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NaturalShrimp Shrimp Growout

PL Nursery

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NaturalShrimp La Coste TX

NaturalShrimp La Coste Facility

NaturalShrimp Spain Facility

PL Nursery (2 weeks) Stage-1 Growout (8 weeks)

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NaturalShrimp Facility Design

Enclosed, controlled, bio-secure environment Monitoring and control

Shrimp tanks and biomass support systems

Automated feed application

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Water mixing, aeration, and oxygenation

Water treatment and reuse

Hydronic heating

NaturalShrimp Biofloc Management

Biofloc management: Feed app rates and C/N ratios Biofloc suspension (diffused aeration) Biofloc cropping (SC & FF) Denitrification

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Internet
Com puter with Database Software

M anual & autom ated data entry: - W ater quality - Shrim p production PRG CNTRL SHRIM P TANK OXYG EN
O2 TM P

FEED

NaturalShrimp Biotechnology
EX FAN Report generation: Tables and graphs - W ater quality - Shrim p production - Feed scheduling - Harvest scheduling HYDRONIC HEATER

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