RAS farm coefficients, cost and monthly loan payment by scale
For each farm size: daily feed, the Timmons & Ebeling water loads, indicative CAPEX ($20,000 per annual tonne) and the maximum monthly payment if part of it is borrowed. Change the assumptions to match your offer.
| Tonnes / yr | Feed / day | Ammonia (TAN) / day | Fish O₂ / day | Biofilter O₂ / day | CO₂ / day | Alkalinity / day | Indicative CAPEX | Loan | Max monthly payment | Total repaid |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 100 | 328.8 kg | 10.6 kg | 82.2 kg | 44.3 kg | 113 kg | 74.6 kg | $2,000,000 | $1,400,000 | $22,525 | $1,892,076 |
| 250 | 821.9 kg | 26.5 kg | 205.5 kg | 110.6 kg | 282.5 kg | 186.6 kg | $5,000,000 | $3,500,000 | $56,312 | $4,730,189 |
| 500 | 1,643.8 kg | 52.9 kg | 411 kg | 221.3 kg | 565.1 kg | 373.2 kg | $10,000,000 | $7,000,000 | $112,624 | $9,460,378 |
| 1,000 | 3,287.7 kg | 105.9 kg | 821.9 kg | 442.5 kg | 1,130.1 kg | 746.3 kg | $20,000,000 | $14,000,000 | $225,247 | $18,920,756 |
| 2,000 | 6,575.3 kg | 211.7 kg | 1,643.8 kg | 885 kg | 2,260.3 kg | 1,492.7 kg | $40,000,000 | $28,000,000 | $450,494 | $37,841,512 |
Monthly payment uses a standard fixed-rate amortising loan. FishMatch Group does not lend; actual terms come from your bank or export-credit agency. CAPEX is order-of-magnitude only.
Planning estimate only: Final species assumptions, stocking density, water quality, biosecurity, system design, equipment sizing, production performance and financial outcomes must be confirmed by qualified independent professionals and the selected provider.
Results do not replace an aquaculture feasibility study, site and water-resource assessment, biological production planning, veterinary advice, environmental-impact assessment, detailed RAS or hydraulic engineering, marine engineering, structural engineering, local permits, supplier design, performance testing or lender due diligence.
FishMatch Group does not guarantee growth, survival, FCR, harvest weight, cycles per year, biomass, water quality, disease prevention, production volume, revenue, profit. Outputs are not legal, financial, engineering, tax or veterinary advice. Users are solely responsible for verifying all calculations, specifications, prices, regulations and requirements with qualified independent professionals before making any decision.
Supplier and manufacturer listings are provided for research, transparency and discovery only. FishMatch Group does not provide automatic buyer-supplier introductions. Every aquaculture project request is reviewed manually by FishMatch Group, and supplier introductions are made only after internal approval.
Sources: RAS design coefficients (Timmons & Ebeling)
The water-treatment figures used in our RAS and farm-cost tools come from these published references. They are design starting points — your system engineer and equipment suppliers confirm final values.
| What it measures | Coefficient | Source | Original wording (source) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ammonia (TAN) produced | TAN (kg/day) = feed (kg/day) × protein fraction × 0.092 | Timmons & Ebeling et al., NRAC Publication 01-002 (2002) | “PTAN = F * PC * 0.092 … The constant in the ammonia generation equation assumes that protein is 16% nitrogen, 80% nitrogen is assimilated by the organism, 80% assimilated nitrogen is excreted, and 90% of nitrogen excreted as TAN + 10% as urea.” — Ebeling, Timmons & Bisogni, citing Timmons et al. (2002) |
| Oxygen used by the fish | About 0.25 kg O₂ per kg feed (design value; adjust by species and temperature) | Timmons & Ebeling et al., NRAC Publication 01-002 (2002) | “POxygen = − 0.25 kg per kg feed consumed by fish (a negative production term) − 0.12 kg per kg feed consumed by nitrifying bacteria − 0.13 heterotrophic bacteria (estimate, can be as high as 0.5) = − 0.50 kg … per kg feed for system.” — Timmons, Mass Balances, Loading Rates and Fish Growth (Cornell / ISTA 7 RAS workshop, 2006) |
| Carbon dioxide produced | About 1.375 kg CO₂ per kg O₂ consumed (44 ÷ 32 molar ratio) | Timmons & Ebeling et al., NRAC Publication 01-002 (2002) | “PCO2 = 1.375 grams produced for each gram O2 consumed (both fish and bacteria).” — Timmons, Mass Balances, Loading Rates and Fish Growth (Cornell / ISTA 7 RAS workshop, 2006) |
| Nitrification: oxygen use | About 4.18 g O₂ per g ammonia-nitrogen converted | Ebeling, Timmons & Bisogni, Aquaculture 257 (2006) 346–358 | “For every g of ammonia-nitrogen converted to nitrate-nitrogen, 4.18 g of dissolved oxygen, and 7.05 g of alkalinity (1.69 g inorganic carbon) is consumed and 0.20 g of microbial biomass (0.105 g organic carbon) and 5.85 gm of CO2 … is produced.” — Ebeling, Timmons & Bisogni (2006) |
| Nitrification: alkalinity use | About 7.05 g alkalinity (as CaCO₃) per g ammonia-nitrogen converted | Ebeling, Timmons & Bisogni, Aquaculture 257 (2006) 346–358 | “It should be noted that both the consumption of oxygen and alkalinity is less than that which normally reported, 4.57 g of O2 and 7.14 g of alkalinity for every g of ammonia-nitrogen converted (Timmons et al., 2002), because in this equation some of the ammonia-nitrogen is converted to biomass.” — Ebeling, Timmons & Bisogni (2006) |
- Timmons, M.B., Ebeling, J.M., Wheaton, F.W., Summerfelt, S.T. & Vinci, B.J. (2002). Recirculating Aquaculture Systems, 2nd ed. NRAC Publication No. 01-002. Cayuga Aqua Ventures, Ithaca, NY.
- Ebeling, J.M., Timmons, M.B. & Bisogni, J.J. (2006). Engineering analysis of the stoichiometry of photoautotrophic, autotrophic, and heterotrophic removal of ammonia–nitrogen in aquaculture systems. Aquaculture 257, 346–358. doi:10.1016/j.aquaculture.2006.03.019 · Author paper text: Aquacultural Engineering Society (PDF)
- Timmons, M.B. (2006). Mass Balances, Loading Rates, and Fish Growth — course notes, RAS short course, Cornell University / 7th International Symposium on Tilapia in Aquaculture. University of Arizona (PDF)
Short answer
What is the fastest way to get quotes for Farm Scale Cost Financing?
Submit one structured request for Farm Scale Cost Financing. FishMatch Group translates it into a technical RFQ, runs a confidential sourcing round with project-matched international suppliers, and returns comparable quotations. No fee is charged to the buyer, and your identity and project details stay private until you choose to proceed.
- How it works:
- One structured request, human-reviewed before any supplier outreach
- Typical turnaround:
- Depends on scope and site data; no turnaround is guaranteed
- Confidentiality:
- Supplier names are never exposed during evaluation
- Cost to buyers:
- No fee charged to the buyer
What is the fastest way to get quotes for Farm Scale Cost Financing?
Submit one structured request for Farm Scale Cost Financing. FishMatch Group translates it into a technical RFQ, runs a confidential sourcing round with project-matched international suppliers, and returns comparable quotations. No fee is charged to the buyer, and your identity and project details stay private until you choose to proceed.
How does FishMatch Group source suppliers for this requirement?
You submit one structured request. We translate it into a technical RFQ, run it against qualified manufacturers and integrators in the relevant categories, and return normalised quotations you can compare side by side on scope, lead time and total cost of ownership.
Do buyers see supplier names during the sourcing process?
No. Supplier identities stay confidential during discovery and evaluation. You receive anonymised, comparable technical and commercial packages, and introductions happen only after both sides are qualified and agree to proceed.
Before you request quotes
Costs & budgeting
How much does a commercial fish farm cost to build?
Budget ranges depend on system type, not on country alone. Pond and cage projects are usually the lowest capital per tonne of annual output, while recirculating (RAS) projects carry the highest equipment and energy share because filtration, oxygenation and backup power are mandatory. Reliable numbers come from a sized bill of quantities — species, target tonnage, water source and grow-out temperature — not from a generic price list. Use the FishMatch calculators to size the project, then submit an RFQ so quotes are priced against the same specification.
What drives the price differences between aquaculture equipment quotes?
Most spread between quotes comes from scope, not from margin: included spares, installation and commissioning, control and automation level, materials (HDPE vs steel vs FRP), certification and testing, delivery terms (EXW vs CIF) and warranty length. Two quotes are only comparable when they answer the same specification. A structured RFQ fixes the scope so differences reflect real engineering choices.
What operating costs should a business plan include?
Feed is normally the largest recurring cost, followed by energy (highest in RAS), labour, fingerlings or post-larvae, health management, water treatment consumables and maintenance. Financing cost and working capital for the first production cycle are frequently underestimated. FishMatch cost tools separate CAPEX from OPEX so the payback assumption is visible rather than implied.