WO1988003363A1

WO1988003363A1 - Fish breeding vessel arrangement

Info

Publication number: WO1988003363A1
Application number: PCT/NO1987/000072
Authority: WO
Inventors: Omar Fjellanger
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1986-11-07
Filing date: 1987-11-09
Publication date: 1988-05-19
Anticipated expiration: 1989-05-07
Also published as: NO864439L; IS3279A7; NO864439D0

Abstract

In order to obtain optimum conditions for the fish in a fish breeding vessel (1), especially an oblong breeding vessel, which is provided at one end with an inlet for water and which is designed at the opposite end with an outlet for the water, nozzles (16a1-16a5; 16b1-16b5) are arranged in the walls(s) of the vessel for injecting water into the breeding vessel. The nozzles (16a1-16a5; 16b1-16b5) are regulatable laterally and in the height direction and are preferably connected to a source of oxygen.

Description

FISH BREEDING VESSEL ARRANGEMENT.

The present invention relates to a fish breeding vessel arrangement which is provided at one end with an inlet for water and, which at the opposite end is provided with an outlet for water.

It is known that the through flow of water which is necessary in fish breeding vessels is dependent upon a series of factors, inter alia the number of fish, the size of the fish, the profile of the flow of the water and the oxygen content.

By the profile of the flow of. the water is meant a picture of the speed of the water at different locations in the fish breeding vessel. The water speed will be higher inside the mass of water than along the bottom and walls, if measures are not taken to change this situation. As a consequence of these varying water speeds the oxygen content in the water will vary, and be the lowest at the bottom and walls. In order that the oxygen concentration shall be sufficient everywhere it is often necessary to increase the through flow of water to an undesirably high degree, with increasing costs as a result.

In order to reduce the afore-mentioned problems various types of bottom flow regulators have been proposed, which provide for water flowing upwards through the bottom of the vessel at different locations in its longitudinal direction. In this way a better flow profile is achieved, but experience has shown that the bottom flow regulator sends food which has formed a sediment on the bottom of the vessel swirling upwards, and the swirled up sediment deposits on the gills of the fish, with the danger of the death of fish as a result.

There is thus a need for better solutions, and with the present invention an arrangement is produced which reduces the problems.

The arrangement according to the invention is characterised in that nozzles for injecting water into the breeding vessel are arranged in the wall(s) of the vessel, and that the nozzles are preferably regulatable both laterally and in the height direc¬ tion.

The nozzles are preferably arranged in a number of units which are mutually spaced in the longitudinal direction of the vessel and which each comprise a number of nozzles which are arranged above each other. The nozzles in each unit are regulated simultaneously, but each unit is regulated separately. Thereby it is possible to influence the flow picture in the breeding vessel according to need along the vessel. By suitably directing the nozzles these can be caused to "cooperate" with a discharge drain in the bottom of the vessel and thereby increase the exhaust of suspended particles in the water.

The arrangement according to the invention thus makes possible a very flexible regulaion of the conditions at various locations in the breeding vessel.

The walls of the breeding vessel can be constructed by a module system of cassettes. These are placed on a cast foundation and are joined together. In this way it is possible to build the breeding vessel in a rather simple manner and to change its size if it should be desirable after it has been in use for a time.

An embodiment of the invention will be described in the following description having regard to the accompanying drawings, where:

Fig. 1 shows a schematic plan representation of the arrangement according to the invention.

Fig. 2 shows a vertical section on the line A-A of Fig. 1. According to Fig. 1 water is supplied to an oblong breeding vessel 1 through a feed conduit 2, which inside the breeding vessel passes into a transverse water conduit 3 with openings 4 which ensure a uniform distribution of the water in the breeding vessel. Along the bottom of the breeding vessel 1, which usually is partially buried in the ground, there is an exhaust drain 5, which for the most part is covered above with plates in the plane of the remainder of the bottom of the breeding vessel, but which with certain intermediate spaces (2.5 m mutual spacing has prove appropriate), is provided with grills 6a-6f, so that water can come down into the drain. By covering the drain with a lid the water will be sucked down into the drain by a form of suction effect, and there is achieved a high degree of removal of suspended particles from the water in the vessel. At the outlet end of the breeding vessel, at the end of the drain 5, the water is led out into a water conduit 7 with a control valve 8, through which water taken out is led to a sedimentation pool 9, in which solid particles, mainly food residues, are allowed to deposit. From the sedimentation pool 9 the discharge water is led further through a pipe 10 to a pump basin 11, from which it is either pumped to a receiving vessel through a pipe 12, or is recircu¬ lated through a pipe conduit 13 to the feed conduit 2 and is introduced again in the breeding vessel.

Just below the water surface in the breeding vessel a pump 14 is arranged in the outlet end of the breeding vessel 1. By means of this pump water from the exhaust drain 5 can be introduced into the pipe conduits 15a and 16b which lead to nozzles

and 16b,-16b[- respectively which are arranged in vertical rows which are mutually spaced in the longitudinal direction of the breeding vessel and which lie in the side walls of the breeding vessel. The nozzles in each vertical row can be pivoted in a horizontal plane, whereby their jet direction can be controlled as is indicated by arrows in Fig. 1. The nozzles can also be pivoted in the vertical plane, whereby they can be regulated so that their jet direction is directed upwards, downwards or horizontally out into the water in the breeding vessel. At the outlet end of the breeding vessel oxygen can be introduced if desired into the pipe conduits 15a and 15b. In this way extra oxygen can be introduced through the nozzles 16 into the breeding vessel, whereby it is possible to regulate the oxygen concentration relatively freely and to a varying degree at different locations in the vessel.

Fig. 2 shows a cross-section through the breeding vessel 1 and shows this buried in the ground 17. Nozzles 16a- are only illustrated in this Figure -in the one side wall. The supply of water (and the prospective extra oxygen supply) to the nozzles through, the pipe conduit 15a is controlled by means of a valve 18 which is regulated by way of a wheel 19 above the level of the ground. As is evident from the Figure each vertical row of nozzles (only one, namely 16a_. is shown) comprises a numher of nozzles which are arranged above each other. The nozzles are connected to the pipe conduit 15a through a branch conduit 20 which passes into a flexible conduit 21 to each individual nozzle. The direction of the nozzles is regulated by means of a handle 22 which is connected via a vertical bar 23 to a nozzle frame which comprises an upper horizontal frame arm 24, which at its one end is connected to the vertical bar and a vertical member 25 which above is connected to the other end of the frame arm 24 and below is connected to a lower frame arm 26. The vertical member is disposed at a distance from the opening of the nozzle, and through this there projects a nozzle shaft 27 which passes forwards to the nozzle mouth. On raising the handle 22 the vertical member is led upwards with the result that the mouth of the nozzle is directed downwards. Conversely lowering of the handle 22 will cause raising of the vertical member 25, and thereby the nozzle mouths are directed upwards. Turning of the handle 22 in the horizontal plane causes pivoting of the nozzle shafts 27 in the horizontal plane and thereby a change in direetion of the water jet in the horizontal plane.

Claims

PATENT CLAIMS.

1. Fish breeding vessel (1) arrangement, especially an oblong breeding vessel, which is provided at one end with an inlet for water and which is designed at the opposite end with an outlet for the water, characterised in that nozzles (16a. -16a-;

16b. -16b-) are arranged in the wall(s) of the vessel for injecting water into the breeding vessel, and that the nozzles (16a. -16a-; 16b. -16b-) are regulatable laterally and in the height direction.

2. Arrangement in accordance with claim 1, characterised in that the nozzles (16a-, -16a-; 16b, -16b-) are connected to a pipe conduit which passes from the outlet end of the breeding vessel (1) and which is supplied with water from the breeding vessel (1).

3. Arrangement in accordance with one of the preceding claims, characterised in that the nozzles (16a. -16a-; 16b. -16b-) are connected to a source of oxygen.

4. Arrangement in accordance with one of the preceding claims, characterised in that the nozzles (16al.-16ao-; 16bl. -16b-) are arranged in a number of units in which the nozzles are arranged in vertical rows.

5. Arrangement in accordance with one of the preceding claims, characterised in that a discharge drain (5) is arranged in the bottom of the breeding vessel which is covered with a lid in which mutually spaced grills (6a-6f) are arranged.