Silver Perch POD RAS Design
Silver Perch Farming & Water Quality
This photograph is of the first intensive silver perch farm in NSW designed and built by the author in 1987-1988. The working aquaculture biomass of each RAS System was between 10,000 and 40,000 silver perch per megalitre, (5-20 tonnes/18 months) depending on water management experience.
If you are looking into aquaculture and fish farming this design has much to offer commercially.
In the photo there are two separate silver perch aquaculture systems plus a yabbie farm on the right hand side.
Both Silver Perch RAS Systems run mechanical, biological and nutrient stripping filtration. Silver perch were only grown in the three raceway style ponds of each system.
What you are looking at is the largest recirculation aquaculture system in Australia.
Looking at the middle system in the photo, the water flow is from the top storage pond to the three raceways on to mechanical filtration, to secondary mechanical filtration and dissolved nutrient stripping and on to a dual stage gravel biological filter.
The biofilter drains into the lower storage dam which feeds water back to the top storage dam at 1000 litres per minute.
Each culture system only used one 3kw pump.
Each system was private catchment and private disposal
Even today, there is no other system in the country that has these production efficiencies.
High density aquaculture or fish farming is more about filtration and biological stability of the water than about fish culture. In many ways the fish biomass is the bi-product of efficient biological and mechanical filtration.