The Recirculation System

Recirculating aquaculture systems (RAS) operate by filtering water from the fish (or shellfish) tanks so it can be reused within the tank. This dramatically reduces the amount of water and space required to intensively produce a large amout of harvest in aquaculture. In many ways the recirculing system is more productive than other methods of raring seafood.

This system, properly tuned, produces more edible protein per unit area than any other. A wide variety of plants can grow well in the hydroponic beds.

The tank water is slowly circulated to the hydroponic beds where the tilapia waste feeds commercial plant crops. Carefully cultured microorganisms in the hydroponic bed convert ammonia to nitrates, and the plants are fertilized by the nitrates and phosphates. Other wastes are strained out by the hydroponic media, which doubles as an aerated pebble-bed filter.