Surely this question has been asked many times: Do I really need a feeding system in my fish farm? Probably the answer to this question is YES, but which Feeding System?
As you have probably studied the different options offered by the market, let us focus on our Centralised, Pneumatic, Automatic and Customised Aquaculture Feeding Systems.
- CENTRALISED: because they must be located in a centralised position, equally distant from all the tanks of the fish farm in order to save on the installation of pipes and on the consumption of electricity. Conceptually, concentrating the feed in one machine means greater robustness and reliability in the process.
- PNEUMATIC: because they use the air from a compressor or blower to convey the feed from the silos to the tanks or cages. Currently, systems with applied pneumatic conveying technology are the least damaging to the integrity of the feed.
- AUTOMATIC: because they use the software installed on the computer to configure a customised Feeding Plan (with programmed doses and hours) and an automaton or PLC (Programmable Logic Controller) to drive and control all the electrical and mechanical equipment that makes up the feeder. The degree of automation in the programming allows the implementation of an unattended feeding.
- CUSTOMISED: customising the selector, the silos, the dispensers and the blower for each customer.
What Data do I Need to Design an Automatic Feeder for my Fish Farm?
In order to correctly size an Automated Feeding System for aquaculture the following data is required.
- TANKS: Number of tanks or feeding points to be fed. To each one we will connect a high density polyethylene pipe from the feeder to the tank.
- PELLET SIZES TO BE USED: Indicate the number of pellets of different sizes that will be used to feed the fish farm with the feeder to be configured.
- MINIMUM QUANTITY IN GRAMS PER TANK AND DAY: Minimum quantity in Kg that we will deliver in a single tank in one day.
- MAXIMUM QUANTITY IN GRAMS PER TANK AND DAY: Maximum quantity in Kg that we will deliver in a single tank in a day.
- DISTANCE FROM THE MOST DISTANT TANK: Maximum distance in metres from the feeder to the tank located furthest from the feeder.
- MAXIMUM ESTIMATED CONSUMPTION PER DAY IN THE FISH FARM: maximum amount in kg of food consumption in the fish farm in one day.
- NUMBER OF HOURS THAT FISH EAT: Number of hours during which fish eat and can be fed.
- MAXIMUM NUMBER OF DOSES IN WHICH TO DISTRIBUTE TOTAL FEED PER DAY: Maximum number of doses ( the number of times) in which the total minimum or maximum feed to be distributed per tank and day can be delivered.
- SPECIES TO FEED: Fish or shrimp species to be fed.
Data to take into Account in the Automation of Feeding
Aquaculture feeding systems must be sized not only according to feeding criteria, but also according to technical criteria that may constrain their design. For example:
HATCHERY, PRE-GROWING and ONGROWING stages in aquaculture have requirements and feeding needs that do not allow designing a single feeder to cover all feeding stages. In a standard way we will design a feeder for a fish farm:
- In a HATCHERY with micro diets that can go from 150 microns to 1000 microns, with doses that can go from 2 grams to 100 grams each.
- In a PRE-GROWING with pellets from 1mm to 4mm, with indicative minimum dose sizes of 100 grams and maximum of 10 times the minimum.
- In a ONGROWING with pellets from 5mm and over, with indicative dose size of 500 grams and maximum of 10 times the minimum.
The maximum recommended feeding distances in land-based aquaculture will be around 400 metres, with the possibility of up to 800 metres at sea.
Should you be interested in more about FishFarmFeeder automatic feeders?
We have the most comprehensive portfolio of automatic feeding systems in aquaculture for all stages of fish life: hatcheries, pre-growing and ongrowing.
