文摘
Treatment performance, fish production, crop plant biomass production, water consumption, and water use efficiency of a pilot aquaponic system for small-scale land-based cyprinid fish farms were evaluated. The system consisted of a 36?m3 Pond A with an initial carp load of 0.6?kg/m3; of a treatment chain with a lamellar settler, a roughing filter, a vertical constructed wetland filled with expanded clay and planted with tomatoes; and of a low power ultrasound unit installed in the corner of the pond. The average circulation of the water in the system was 1.2 times per day. Pond A was compared with Pond B of the same dimensions and fish load but with no treatment chain or ultrasound. The treatment chain was efficient in mass removal of total suspended solids , biochemical oxygen demand, chemical oxygen demand, NH4-N, total nitrogen, and total phosphorous (57, 49, 35, 42, 31, and 25?%, respectively). Negative removal of NO3-N, NO2-N, and PO4-P indicated the need for the introduction of additional hydroponic beds in the system. Pond A had markedly lower nutrient concentrations compared with Pond B. Fish body weight increase and specific growth rate in Pond A were higher than in Pond B (102.6?%, 72.1?%; 0.19?%/day, 0.14?%/day, respectively) indicating better rearing conditions in Pond A. Tomato biomass production was high. Water use efficiency was higher in Pond A compared with Pond B (0.31?kg of produced fish/m3 inflow water and 0.22?kg of produced fish/m3 inflow water, respectively). The presented aquaponic system could be useful for semi-natural fish farming with fish loads up to 2?kg/m3.