Abstract for: Nutrient Balance Simulation in Small-Scale Recirculating Aquaculture

Aquaculture is a more energy and water efficient source of protein than beef, pork or poultry. With rising worldwide food demands, aquaculture provides a possible solution but must be closely managed. High nitrogen concentrations in aquaculture systems can be harmful to fish and so must be monitored and regularly flushed to lower concentrations. This model details the behavior of nutrients and solids in a small-scale aquaculture system as both a management tool for the system operators and an educational tool for constructing new systems. Based on a combination of tests of feeding rates (based on fish weight) and flushing intervals, nutrient concentrations were found to spike above toxic levels at short flush intervals amongst all fish weights, but only among high fish weights at long flush intervals.