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DELOACH BLOG

Water Treatment in Aquaculture

Posted by Anthony DeLoach, President on Sep 6, 2018 10:11:28 AM

Water Treatment

Fish-Circle

When planning and designing a man made on land aquaculture or pisciculture facility.

The most important key element is the quality of the water. For operations developing in Florida or the Caribbean it is important to remember that water quality varies in Florida and other states in the US and typically requires some type of water treatment. For fresh and salt water land based farms that utilize tanks located inside of a building the water needs to be treated and pure from any naturally occurring contaminants such as hydrogen sulfide (H2S), iron (Fe+), and even carbon dioxide (CO2).

The most cost effective way to treat incoming water for aquaculture farming and remove hydrogen sulfide, iron, and lower carbon dioxide is the use of a “degasification” tower. A degasification tower or degasifier is a piece of process equipment. Degasifiers can also be referred to as a “decarbonator” or “air stripper” or even “aeration tower”. The degasification tower is a vertical column designed to remove certain types of contaminants by “stripping” the molecules of converted gases and expelling them from the water as a gas. The science is based upon “Henry’s Law” and it relies upon the disproportionate varying vapor pressures of gases.

If the incoming raw water contains levels of sulfides or hydrogen sulfide gases it is recommended to remove the hydrogen sulfide to improve the water quality and reduce the risk of the development and formation of bacteria that can thrive on the Sulfur. In addition hydrogen sulfide is corrosive and will cause harm to other components within the process if left untreated. It is important to adjust the pH of the raw feed water prior to degasification to ensure full conversion of the sulfides into hydrogen sulfide gas (H2S) to enable the degasification process to perform and remove up to 99.99% of the harmful contaminants without adding additional chemicals. This saves money and improves quality of the product!

The degasification process relies upon a proper design of hydraulic load rates and internal media with a specific air to water ratio. These variables are selected by the manufacturer who will warrant the anticipated removal efficiencies of the system. During the degasification process the system also will remove carbon dioxide as a gas which will in turn raise the pH of the water. So if the initial water pH was at 5.5 the effluent from a properly engineered and manufactured degasification tower will increase the pH to a 6-7 level depending on other factors like water temperature. This added benefit helps reduce operating costs and the need to add additional chemicals like caustic to raise the pH post treatment prior to the introduction into the aqua farm operation.

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DeLoach Industries designs and manufactures a wide range of degasification towers and decarbonation towers specific for the aquaculture market. They draw upon their 60 years of experience within the water purification industry including reverse osmosis, membrane filtration, and pressure filtration. After the removal of the hydrogen sulfide and excess carbon dioxide the water may need additional filtration depending upon the type of aquaculture or aqua farming operation that is being developed. If the land base aqua farm is for a cold water fish that typically thrives in brackish water like Salmon than additional filtration may be required post degasification and pH adjustment. DeLoach Industries has several technical articles on both pH adjustment and post pressure filtration technologies for aquatic fish farming and the aquaculture markets to meet the most stringent needs.

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If you need to speak to a water professional who understands water quality and control contact the professionals at DeLoach Industries at 941-371-4995. There is never a cost associated with utilizing the assistance of DeLoach Industries and their experience in water purification for aquatic marine life and municipal application is unmatched within the marketplace.

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Topics: water quality, degasification, pH levels of water, water treatment, hydrogen sulfide (H2S), pH levels, Alkalinity, Decarbonation, Caribbean, carbon dioxide, decarbonator, degasifier, gases, carbonic acid, H2S Degasifier, Aqua Farming, Fish Farming, Aquaculture, Pisciculture

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