BIOFloc Blog

Biofloc Tank Price in India for Fish Farming

Looking at the growing demand of BIOFloc Fish Farming, in the coming days, BIOFloc Tank Price may go high. Currently, a standard normal BIOFloc Tarpaulin Tank of 500 gsm will cost you around Indian rupees  ₹7000- ₹8000, whereas a PVC coated 700gsm to 900gsm 10,000 liter capacity round tank will cost you around Indian rupees  ₹11,000 to  ₹13000.

PVC Coated Tarpaulin Tanks are more preferable for BIOFloc Fish Farming. The durability of the PVC Coated Tarpaulin is more as compared to a standard tarpaulin Biofloc Tank.

A standard 400-500 gsm tarpaulin Biolfloc Tank will last 3-4 years under the diffused sunlight. And the PVC Coasted BIOFloc Tank can last more than 5 years.

There are two types of BIOFloc Tanks currently available in the market

• Readymade BIOFloc Tank
• Standard BIOFloc Tank

Readymade BIOFloc Tank does not require to buy any extra set up materials like Wire Mesh, Protector Sheet, Plastic Treads, Drainage Pipes, etc. Just unfold the tarpaulin tank and insert the PVC pipes are the instruction given, it will take just 30 minutes to one hour to set up a BIOFloc Tank.

For setting up a Standard BIOFloc Tank, you need Wire Mesh, Protector Sheet, Plastic Treads, Drainage Pipes, etc. Which will cost you extra and it will take 2-3 days to set up. Because for this type of tank you may need to do proper ground and cement work.

 

BIOFloc Tarpaulin Tank Setup for 10000L Tank

Let’s do a BIOFloc Tarpaulin Tank Setup and to accomplish that you must know the below information;

• Tank Capacity 12,000L
• Tank Diameter 4 Meter
• GI Mess Circumference 12.56 Meter (Buy 13 Meter)
• GI Mess Height 1.2 Meter
• Tarpaulin Size 4 Diameter
• Tarpaulin Height 1.3 Meter
• Tarpaulin Circumference 12.57 Meter
• Drain Pipe 1 PCS (3 Inch)
• Drain Pipe L Connector 1 PCS (3 Inch)
• Drain Pipe Stopper 1 PCS (3 Inch)

Select a no water logging area and make the surface plain. To setup one BioFloc a Tank of 10,000L capacity, 5 x 5-meter space is required. 

Step1: Mark a center of the place and draw 4 diameter circle (radius = 2 meter)

Step2: Arrange the bricks align to the circle as shown in this picture.

Step3: We need to install a 3-inch drainage PVC pipe on the center to make the slug out. To do that you need to dig from the center of the circle to install 3 inch PVC pipe as shown on the picture. 

L-Shape 3 inch PVC Connector should be covered with cement that will help to stop the movement of the pipe.

3 Inch Drain PVC Pipe should be connected to a central control unit as shown below. 

Maintain the drainage pipe sloping around 1.5ft  from the center for better drainage of the water.

This is a central control chamber where all the tanks drainage pipes are connected.

Step4: Mess Circumference should be 12.56 meter so that the Tarpaulin Round Cover properly sit into it. Get a 13-meter length mess and properly joint it to get the 12.56-meter circumference. Once the mess is properly-rounded, check the bottom and the top size of the mess is 4 diameter. To make the mess rust-proof, paint it.

Step5: Fill the center with sand and make it proper slope towards the center as shown below. I would recommend 1.5ft slope is good for better water drainage.

Step6: Now it’s time to sit the mess on the top of the brick and cover the bottom of the mess with cement to protect it from rust.

Step7: Once the mess is ready, it is time to set up a protective fiber/aluminum sheet inside the tank. Basically it helps to protect the tarpaulin from external damages.

Step8: We are adding one more layer of protection on the bottom of the tank by laying polythene. It’s again personal preference because more investment is required.

Step9: Iron mess don’t come with the finished product, these sharpen spikes may damage the tarpaulin. These edges need to cover up.

So we are using cycle tires to cover these edges and you can get it for free from any cycle repairing shop.

Step10: Now we ready to install 10000L Tarpaulin Tank. Open the Tarpaulin Tank uniformly spread inside the tank.

Hold any part of the circular tarpaulin tank and put it on the wire mesh to hold it properly.

Properly size the bottom of the tarpaulin tank.

Once the tarpaulin tank setup is properly done, it should look as shown on the below image.

Use a strong nylon rope and tighten the tarpaulin fish tank.

Once the rope is tightened properly the tarpaulin tank should look like the below image.

Once the Tarpaulin Tank is setup properly, install the central drainage pipe. Ensure there is no leakage from the central drainage pipe.

This concludes BIOFloc Tarpaulin Tank Setup.

 

 

 

Water Preparation for BIOFloc Fish Farming

Let’s discuss Water Preparation For BIOFloc Fish Farming process in a scientific way. The details of the how-to prepare Water for BIOFloc Fish Farming is mention in a step-by-step manner to make you understand better. And you can follow this guideline while preparing your own Water Preparation For BIOFloc.

Step1 (Tank Hygiene): Prior to adding water into the tank, it should be properly sanitized. Use Potassium Permanganate i.e KMNO4 (Antifungal Agent) solution to wash the tank and leave it for 24 hours and clean it. This solution helps to kill all the unwanted bacterias in the tank.

Step2 (Water Quality Analysis): Check the water parameter to ensure it suits the BIOFloc environment. If you are planning for a commercial scale, then water must be checked in laboratories. It will be good if the water has negligible or zero Pathogens (which may destroy BIOFlocs). It’s better to get your water checked for IRON, Chlorine, Hardness, etc. These are very basic tests even you can do it and all the test kits are available online. 

• IRON Test Kit –> click here
• Chlorine Test Kit –> click here
• Hardness Test Kit –> click here

The salinity of Water: It’s a crucial component of the BIOFloc system. The salinity of water depends upon the type of fish you want to cultivate. Every aquatic animal has a different salinity level, so you need to check which type of fish/shrimp you want to grow accordingly maintain the salinity level of the water. Salinity Meter (Refractometer) helps to measure the salinity of the water i.e. salt content in the water.

The study suggests that rohu fingerlings can be reared in coastal water with a salinity of up to 6% with 100% survival rate.

Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) in Water: According to World Health Organization, TDS level less than 300 mg/liter is considered as excellent, between 300 and 600 mg/liter is good, 600-900 is fair, 900 – 1200 is poor and TDS level more than 1200 mg/liter is unacceptable. TDS Meter helps to measure the TDS Levels of the water, it not only measures the salt but also measures other dissolved solids. But in BIOFloc usually, the role of TDS is ignored.

PH Monitoring: It helps to understand the acidic or alkalinity of the water. Leave the water tank in aeration for 24 hours and measure the PH. If the PH value differs or it’s below the required PH level, then you must add Calcium Carbonate (CaCO3) to maintain the required pH level of water. Basically CaCO3 never dissolves in clean water, it only dissolves where it finds the acidic nature of the water. The CaCO3 doses will be 0.05 gram per liter. Basically it helps to stabilize the PH Level in Water.

Optimum Aeration: The tank water must be aerated for 48 hours, it helps to oxidise the water and evaporates unnecessary chemicals from the water. The Dissolved Oxygen (DO) level should be within the range of 5-6. DO level below 4 or above 7 can create stress level for the fishes. Dissolved Oxygen (DO) can be monitored using DO Meter or DO Test Kit. DO Meter is bit costly compared to DO Test Kit.

Role of CaCO3: Calcium Carbonate basically helps to maintain the PH Level. You need to add CaCO3 if the PH value is fluctuating or below 5. Basically we add CaCO3 before adding Probiotics. Calcium Carbonate (CaCO3) doesn’t react with pure water but, it does react with carbonic acid that is water with dissolved carbon dioxide, to produce soluble calcium bicarbonate. Add CaCO3 in the night for better results.

Required Quantity → 0.05gm/L

1000L →  50gm | 5000L → 250gm | 10000L → 500gm

Molasses and Probiotics: When all the above condition satisfies, you need to add Molasses and Probiotics in the water. This is standard equation you need to follow;

Molasses / Jaggery (0.1 gm/L) + Probiotics ( 100b cfu = 0.04 gm/L)

For Optimum Results (Jaggery) – 0.1 gm/L

• 1000 L 100 gm
• 5000 L 500 gm
• 10000 L 1000 gm (1 Kg)

 

For Optimum Results (Probiotics) – 0.04 gm/L

• 1000 L 40 gm
• 5000 L 200 gm
• 10000 L 400 gm

Ensure the Probiotics that you use, should be 100 billion CFU. The temperature of the water should be maintained at 26-30 degree for better growth of the bacteria. You need to maintain the required PH and temperature. And the water must be in good aeration for optimum growth.

Take a bucket of water from the BioFloc Tank, mix Jaggery and Probiotics. Uniformly put this mix in the BioFloc Tank.

Ensure the BIOFloc Tank is well aerated and it will take up to 7 days to develop the floc in the tank.

Role of Sea Salt: At the initial stage no need to add Sea Salts, it might hamper the initial bacterial growth.

When you add salt at the initial stage, it slows down the floc development process and sometimes floc don’t grow. Salt doesn’t kill the bacteria but it slows down the process. Salt will be added into the system when the floc is fully developed and depending upon the fish you want to cultivate. Because salinity differs fish to fish. Check the optimum required salinity of the fish that you want to cultivate.

Optimum Quantity of Sea Salt 1 gm/L

• 1000 L 1000 gm (1 Kg)
• 5000 L 5000 gm (5 Kg)
• 10000 L 10000 gm (10 Kg)

Step3 (Fish Introduction): Now the BIOFloc Tank Water is ready to use. Before you introduce nursery fishes into the tank, it’s recommended to sanitize the fishes, so that harmful bacteria will not get introduced to the BIOFloc tank.