Nitrification performance of a propeller-washed bead clarifier supporting a fluidized sand biofilter in a recirculating warmwater fish system

A propeller-wash bead filter (PWBF) and a fluidized sand filter (FSF) on a 28 m3 recirculating system stocked with tilapia maintained favorable water quality at five different feed rates, ranging from 0.9 to 4.5 kg feed per day. TAN removal rates ranged up to about 200 g TAN/m3 of media per day for each of the units. Peak rates of 244 g TAN/m3 of media per day were observed when the recirculating flow was boosted by 20%. Roughly 75% of the removal was accomplished by the fluidized sand filter an observation that is consistent with the difference between the fluidized sand filter volume (0.92 m3) and the bead filter media volume (0.28 m3). The bead filter's primary function was clarification. At the highest daily feed load, over 570 g dry weight of solids were removed during each daily bead filter backwashing event. A 20% increase in flow, at the same daily feed rate, improved solids removal to over 670 g dry weight per bead filter backwash event. The PWBF and FSF combination provided suitable water quality for fish production; however, further increases in feed loading were limited by carbon dioxide buildup and oxygen limitations.