Aquaculture equipment FAQs: costs, sizing, technology maturity and RFQ specifications
Short answer: equipment cost depends on your design and scope, so get comparable quotations against a written specification; size filtration, oxygen and feeding from your own production plan; check how proven each technology is before you specify it; and put quantities, options, site conditions and scope in one RFQ.
Prepared by the FishMatch Group editorial team · updated 25 October 2026 · general orientation drawn from the catalog's product-type guides, not engineering advice. FishMatch Group does not manufacture, sell or certify equipment.
Costs and budgets
Equipment prices depend on your design and scope, so the catalog explains what drives cost instead of quoting list prices.
Why does the equipment catalog show so few prices?
Most product-type guides show no price because no dated public price benchmark was found for that product type at project scale. A list price would mislead: cost depends on capacity, materials, controls, redundancy, installation scope, freight and delivery terms. FishMatch Group asks suppliers for comparable quotations against your written specification instead. Where a guide gives an indicative budget range, treat it as a planning range to check against at least two comparable quotations, never as a price offer.
What drives the price of aquaculture equipment?
Across the guides the same drivers recur: capacity and size, materials and certification, controls and instrumentation, redundancy and standby units, integration with the rest of the system, and freight and installation. Ask every supplier to price these items separately, so quotes can be compared line by line rather than as one total.
How can I estimate an equipment budget before I have quotations?
Use the free calculators to build a first estimate from your own inputs, such as production target, system type and local costs, then replace it with real quotations. Calculator results are planning estimates, not project pricing, and FishMatch Group never fills in costs for you.
Sizing
Size equipment from your own production plan. The guides give the rules of thumb suppliers use, so you can check their proposals.
How is filtration sized in a recirculating (RAS) farm?
Drum filters are sized to the loop flow. The drum filter guide's rule of thumb: required flow (m³/h) is roughly system volume (m³) divided by the target turnover time (h); for RAS grow-out a 45–60 minute full turnover is a common starting point, with 20–30% headroom for screen blinding and expansion. Screens of about 40–60 µm sit ahead of the biofilter, and the biofilter is specified from your design daily feed and ammonia removal at your temperature and salinity.
How much aeration or oxygen does a farm need?
Oxygen demand starts from feed: the guides use a rule of thumb of about 0.20–0.25 kg of oxygen per kg of feed per day. In ponds, divide total demand by the aerator's output derated for pond conditions and add standby capacity for the worst night of the cycle. In RAS, add the biofilter's nitrification demand and a 30–50% design margin, and plan backup oxygen supply.
How are feeders, freezers and graders sized?
Feeders follow peak daily feed, which is standing biomass multiplied by the feeding rate; the feeder guide sizes the hopper for 1.5–3 days of that figure. Processing equipment follows the line's peak throughput in kg per hour: size the freezer to the grader's throughput and to the product forms and target core temperature you need.
What should suppliers state so their sizes can be compared?
Ask for the figures that decide performance, not just model sizes: usable water volume rather than gross volume for tanks, ammonia removal capacity at your conditions for biofilters, peak oxygen output, purity and pressure for oxygen generators, and accuracy and calibration interval for sensors. Without these, two quotes for the same item are rarely comparable.
Technology maturity
Each catalog card carries a maturity label for the product type, so you can see how proven a technology is before you specify it.
What do Established, Emerging and Pilot / research mean in the catalog?
The labels describe the product type, not any supplier. Established means the technology is in routine commercial use. Emerging means it is sold commercially but has a shorter track record or limited independent evidence. Pilot / research means it has been shown in trials or demonstrations but not yet proven at commercial scale. Each guide dates its maturity note, and one product type can carry two labels when its variants differ.
Are AI and camera feeding systems proven?
The feeder guide rates acoustic shrimp feeding as commercially established, camera and AI feeding as commercial but emerging, and passive acoustic appetite detection as research. No independent controlled trial of shrimp-feeder savings was found, so ask suppliers for site-trial evidence of any feed or labour saving they claim.
How should I treat emerging or pilot technology in an RFQ?
Ask for reference sites with operating time in conditions like yours, independent results rather than brochure claims, warranty and performance terms, and local service and spare parts. Where the risk matters, consider a pilot line or keep an established option as backup. For example, the biofilter guide rates sand moving-bed filters in seawater RAS as pilot (2026).
RFQ specifications
A complete brief gets comparable quotations. FishMatch Group reviews it and coordinates every supplier reply.
What should an equipment RFQ include?
State the species and production target, the system type, the site and water source, the power supply, the items with quantities and options, and the scope: supply only, or installation and commissioning too. Add the destination and delivery terms, the documents you need and your timeline. Managed sourcing is for qualifying projects of USD 250,000 or more, and sending a brief is free for buyers.
Can I request several pieces of equipment in one RFQ?
Yes. Tick the product types you need in the catalog or build a shortlist with quantities, options and notes, then press Generate RFQ: the project request form opens with every line attached. You can also describe your project to Ask AI, which suggests catalog items and drafts the request. Nothing is sent until you review the form and send it yourself.
Will I see supplier names or deal with suppliers directly?
No. Supplier identities stay confidential and FishMatch Group handles all supplier communication, then presents comparable replies to you. FishMatch Group is an independent intermediary: it does not manufacture, sell or certify equipment and does not guarantee performance or compliance.
Ready to specify?
Pick the product types you need in the catalog and send one project RFQ. It is free for buyers; our team reviews it and handles all supplier contact, for qualifying projects of USD 250,000 or more.
More questions: seafood sourcing FAQs · general FAQ · calculators