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FishMatch Group — Global B2B Group

Aquaculture Project Sizer: Pumps, Aeration, Filtration, Feed & Energy in One View

One input set — species, system, volume, biomass, harvest target — drives indicative sizing for all five equipment groups at once, like the RFQ wizard. Refine each group in its detailed calculator, then hand the numbers to the RFQ wizard so every manufacturer quotes against the same project assumptions.

Enter your project numbers

One input set drives all five equipment groups. Every result links to a detailed calculator and feeds straight into the RFQ wizard.

Standing biomass at peak: 20,000 kg

Pumps & Water Movement

Required flow
500 m³/h
1 tank turnover(s)/hour
Pump power (duty point)
10.5 kW
at 5 m head, 65% efficiency
Suggested layout
5 × ~100 m³/h
plus one standby pump
Main line pipe
Ø 343 mm
at ~1.5 m/s velocity
Open detailed pump sizing

Aeration & Oxygen

Peak O₂ demand
218.4 kg O₂/day
biomass + system respiration
Pure-oxygen system
2.3 kW
oxygen cones + PSA/LOX planning value
Emergency aeration
3.8 kW
minimum standby capacity (50%)
Open aeration sizing

Filtration & Water Treatment

Drum filter flow
500 m³/h
mechanical solids removal, 60–90 µm
Biofilter media
27.4 m³
MBBR at 350 g TAN/m³/day
TAN load
9.6 kg/day
from daily feed input
Open filtration sizing

Feed & Feeding

Peak daily feed
300 kg/day
1.5% of body weight
Feed per cycle
96 t
at FCR 1.6
Feeding points
1
≈0.5 t/day per feeder/blower unit
Open feed budget planner

Energy & Backup Power

Connected load
27.7 kW
pumps + aeration + filtration + 15% other
Daily consumption
666 kWh/day
≈ $80/day at $0.12/kWh
Backup generator
43.4 kVA
25% headroom, PF 0.8
Open generator sizing
Turn these numbers into an RFQ RFQ hub
  • • Indicative planning values based on industry benchmarks — not a substitute for detailed engineering design.
  • • Oxygen, flow and filtration requirements vary with temperature, salinity, feed quality and management.
  • • FishMatch Group is supplier-neutral: use these numbers to brief manufacturers and compare quotes on equal terms.

How water, oxygen, filtration and power requirements connect

Aquaculture equipment is not bought in isolation. Pumps, aerators, filters and generators must be sized as one system because each domain feeds the others. Below is what drives each requirement and how a change in one forces the rest to change.

Water movement & flow

Flow is the circulatory system of the farm. It carries oxygen, removes waste, distributes feed and keeps temperature uniform. The required flow is set by the system type and the biological load, not by the pump catalogue.

What drives the requirement

  • Total culture volume and system type (RAS turnover vs. pond/cage exchange)
  • Standing biomass and feeding rate — more feed means more oxygen to move and more waste to flush
  • Temperature and salinity — both change water density, viscosity and oxygen-carrying capacity
  • Hydraulic head: lift, pipe length, fittings, valves and any elevation changes
  • Minimum and maximum pipe velocities (typically ~0.9–1.8 m/s) to avoid erosion or settling

Key planning outputs

  • Design flow rate in m³/h
  • Pump duty point: flow × head ÷ pump efficiency
  • Number of duty/standby pumps and main-line pipe diameter
  • 24-hour pumping energy load

If flow is too low, oxygen transfer and filtration efficiency drop together. If flow is too high, fish stress, pipe erosion and pumping costs rise.

Oxygenation & aeration

Dissolved oxygen is almost always the first limiting factor in intensive aquaculture. Demand is driven by biomass and feed; supply must match the transfer efficiency of the device and the water chemistry.

What drives the requirement

  • Standing biomass and species-specific respiration rate
  • Feeding rate and feed composition — higher protein raises oxygen demand and waste output
  • Water temperature and salinity — warmer water holds less DO and raises metabolism
  • System respiration: biofilter, uneaten feed, faces and BOD in RAS
  • Culture density and tank geometry — oxygen must reach every animal, not just the probe

Key planning outputs

  • Peak oxygen demand, usually kg O₂/day or mg O₂/kg biomass/hour
  • Required aerator or oxygen-cone capacity in kW
  • Emergency/standby aeration sizing (typically ≥ 50% of peak)
  • Energy allocation for life-support systems

Low DO reduces appetite and growth, so feed goes unconsumed. That unconsumed feed becomes solids and ammonia, increasing filtration and oxygen demand in a downward spiral.

Filtration & water treatment

Filtration removes solids, converts toxic ammonia and stabilises water quality so the oxygen you add actually reaches the fish or shrimp. Sizing starts from feed input, not from tank count.

What drives the requirement

  • Daily feed input and FCR — feed is the source of solids and Total Ammonia Nitrogen (TAN)
  • Protein content and digestibility — higher protein raises TAN load
  • Required water exchange or recirculation rate (sets mechanical-filter flow)
  • Target water quality: TSS, TAN, NO₂, pH stability and discharge limits
  • Backwash frequency, water loss and re-use constraints

Key planning outputs

  • Drum-filter or mechanical-screen flow and aperture
  • Biofilter media volume from TAN load and volumetric conversion rate
  • Denitrification or degassing requirements in high-density RAS
  • UV/disinfection dose from flow and target pathogen kill

When filtration is undersized, ammonia and solids rise. The bacteria and fish consume more oxygen, which can exhaust aeration. Poor water quality also suppresses feeding, lowering growth and increasing FCR.

Energy & backup power

Aquaculture energy is dominated by water movement, aeration and thermal control. The connected load is the sum of every motor, heater, chiller and control system — but the backup generator only needs to keep the crop alive.

What drives the requirement

  • Pump power and duty cycle
  • Aeration/oxygenation power and how it scales with biomass
  • Filtration blowers, drum filters, UV and control valves
  • Heating, cooling and insulation (especially in RAS and nursery systems)
  • Site grid reliability, peak demand charges and alternative power (solar/diesel)

Key planning outputs

  • Connected load in kW and daily consumption in kWh
  • Cost per day and per production cycle
  • Backup generator or UPS sized for life-support loads with headroom
  • Load-priority plan: what must stay on, what can shed

A power outage stops pumps, aeration and filtration within minutes. Without backup, the entire oxygen-filtration-flow loop collapses, so the generator must be sized for biological survival, not the office load.

Monitoring & control

Sensors do not change the engineering requirement, but they detect when a requirement is no longer being met. They are the feedback loop that triggers alarms, backup equipment and emergency aeration.

What drives the requirement

  • Which parameters are life-critical (DO, temperature, pH, ORP, TAN, NO₂)
  • Redundancy level for every critical measurement
  • Alarm hierarchy, escalation path and response time
  • Integration with feeders, oxygen valves, pumps and backup power
  • Data logging for insurance, certification and continuous improvement

Key planning outputs

  • Sensor array and PLC/SCADA specification
  • Alarm set-points and standby-start logic
  • Calibration and maintenance schedule
  • Remote dashboard and mobile alerting requirements

Monitoring is only as useful as the action it triggers. A DO probe without a linked aeration alarm and backup pump is a liability because it creates false confidence.

System interactions: why one change never stays local

In aquaculture, a design decision in one area reshapes the others. Use these relationships to sanity-check equipment lists and RFQ scopes: if one number changes, the rest must be revalidated together.

Flow drives oxygen and filtration

Aerators and oxygen cones need moving water to transfer oxygen effectively. Mechanical filters and biofilters need the design flow to process waste. Reduce flow and both oxygen transfer and filtration decline simultaneously.

Biomass and feed drive oxygen and waste

Doubling the standing biomass roughly doubles oxygen demand and daily feed input. More feed produces more solids and ammonia, which raises the required filtration and, indirectly, aeration.

Oxygen shortage increases waste and feed losses

When dissolved oxygen falls, fish or shrimp eat less and convert feed less efficiently. Uneaten feed and poorer FCR raise the solids load, putting more pressure on filtration and oxygen.

Filtration failure cascades to oxygen and health

A blocked filter or overloaded biofilter raises ammonia and suspended solids. The fish become stressed and respire more, consuming oxygen faster. What starts as a solids problem can become a mortality event without oxygen backup.

Power is the common failure point

Pumps, aerators, drum filters and blowers all run on electricity. A single outage removes flow, oxygen distribution and filtration together. Backup power must therefore cover the life-support loop, not just lighting or administration.

Temperature and salinity change the whole model

Warm water holds less dissolved oxygen and accelerates metabolism. Salinity reduces oxygen saturation. A sizing model built for freshwater tilapia does not transfer directly to marine seabass without recalibration.

Engineering & Decision Center Water quality systems All calculators

Frequently asked questions

What does the Project Sizer calculate?

From one set of project numbers — species, system type, culture volume, biomass density, harvest target and feeding rate — it derives indicative sizing for five equipment groups: pumps and water movement, aeration and oxygen, filtration and water treatment, feed and feeding points, and energy with backup generator capacity.

Which systems and species are supported?

RAS, pond and cage systems; tilapia, Atlantic salmon, rainbow trout, sea bass/bream, vannamei shrimp, catfish/pangasius and carp. FCR and oxygen-demand benchmarks adapt to the selected species.

How accurate are the outputs?

They are planning-level industry benchmarks — useful for early design, budgeting and RFQ preparation. Final pump duty points, oxygen transfer, biofilter volume and generator selection must be validated by a qualified aquaculture engineer and confirmed supplier quotes.

What do I do with the results?

Each section links to a detailed calculator for refinement, and the 'Turn these numbers into an RFQ' button hands your spec to the FishMatch RFQ wizard, where project-matched manufacturers quote against the same assumptions.

See also: Engineering & Decision Center, all aquaculture calculators, RFQ hub.

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 David / FishMatch Group, and supplier introductions are made only after internal approval.

Short answer

What is the fastest way to get quotes for Project Sizer?

Submit one structured request for Project Sizer. 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
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