Tuesday, January 5, 2021

Automatic feeding systems for land-based aquaculture and sea farms

by Andrew Wilkinson, International Aquafeed

If you have ever considered whether you need an automatic feeding system in your fish farm, then this article is definitely for you. If the answer to this question is YES, then the next question is quite possibly, which type of system are you going to choose?

As you have probably already studied the different options offered across the market, this article will focus on Fish Farm Feeder’s (FFF) centralised, pneumatic, automatic and customised aquaculture feeding systems.

First, in order for your fish farm’s automation to be both efficient and cost effective, the automatic fish farm feeders must be located in a centralised position that is equally distant from all the fish farm’s tanks.
 


This single measure saves on the installation of unnecessary pipes and consumption of electricity.

In theory, concentrating the feed in one machine should mean much greater robustness and reliability of the feeding process in your fish farm.

It is also worth bearing in mind that FFF’s systems use the air from a compressor or blower to convey the feed from the silos to the tanks or cages. This feature offers fish farmers yet further reassurance as systems with applied pneumatic conveying technology are widely considered to cause the least damaging to the feed itself.

FFF also use specifically configured computer software to actuate 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.

This degree of automation in the programming allows the implementation of unattended feeding, allowing for a reduction in labour costs.

Customising the selector, silos, dispensers and blower
The equipment required to fully automate feeding at a fish farm is very extensive.

In order to correctly size an automated feeding system for aquaculture, the following factors need to be considered in order for the system to be fit for purpose.

The first of these considerations is the number of tanks or feeding points that are required, as each point will require a high density polyethylene pipe in order to connect the feeder to the tank. The maximum quantity in grams per tank and day will also need to be established in order to prevent the usual array of issues commonly associated with either underfeeding or overfeeding from occurring.

Read more, HERE.

The Aquaculturists

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