AQUA-Cal aids in clarifying the water, controlling pH and releasing alkalinity as required, to aid in the digestion of organic matter in a shrimp farm at Perak, Malaysia.
case study summary
Challenges
- High iron content in the pond
- Frequent sludge drainage
- Decreasing harvest weights
Objectives
- Improve water quality
- Improve pond bottom quality
- Increase harvest returns
- Reduce use of probiotics and algaecides
- Reduce sludge drainage
Solution
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AQUA-Cal+ works as a water and pond bottom conditioner.
It aids in clarifying the water, controlling pH and releasing alkalinity as required, to aid in the digestion of organic matter.
Benefits of AQUA-Cal
Pond bottom condition improved
Iron problem reduced significantly
Reduction of ammonia, nitrite, and phosphate
Survival rate of shrimp increased
Shell of the shrimp hardened, and weight increased
BACKGROUND
A small shrimp farm in Parak Malaysia was struggling with decreased harvest weights, frequent sludge drainage and high iron levels.
The shrimp farm has 20 active ponds of earthen construction. The ponds are, on average, half a hectare in size and one meter deep, and are typically stocked with 100 to 120 shrimp every one square meter.
They typically take around 12 weeks to grow to a size ready for harvest.
SOLUTION
A special formulation of AQUA-Cal+ was applied in this pond.
AQUA-Cal+ works as a water and pond bottom conditioner. It aids in clarifying the water, controlling pH and releasing alkalinity as required, to aid in the digestion of organic matter.
An initial AQUA-Cal+ dosage of 20 ppm successfully dropped the soluble iron in the pond and prepared the pond for baby shrimp, also known as “post larvae” (PL), introduction.
No probiotics or algaecides were used.
After one week, PL was introduced and after two weeks, the
weekly dosage of AQUA-Cal+ was adjusted to 4ppm.
CONCLUSION
The addition of AQUA-Cal+ at 20 ppm pre-treatment and 4ppm thereafter significantly increased water and pond bottom quality, controlling ammonia and nitrite as well as bottom sludge volume.
The improvement in the pond environment contributed to its health and subsequently to the shrimp size and harvest quantity.
The application
AQUA-Cal+ is a special formulated high surface area Magnesium Hydroxide enhanced with Calcium designed for use in aquaculture ponds.
AQUA-Cal+ is a water conditioner and acts to improve the overall water quality while delivering a number of unique properties to protect and enhance shrimp culturing:
- Reduces the water turbidity
- Effectively binds the iron and other heavy metals to prevent metal toxic
- Stabilizes water alkalinity
- Recondition and stabilize the bottom pH
- Reduces the hydrogen sulphide (H2S)
- Neutralize the nitrites, phosphate and ammonia
- Flocking and break down of organic matter in the system
- Digests the sludge and create a clean pond bottom
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AQUA-Cal+ is non-toxic, non-corrosive, safe, environmentally friendly and meets many core needs in aquaculture.
AQUA-Cal+ is made by flash calcining a mixture of magnesite and dolomite to produce a unique, very high surface area powder, and then hydrating the powder to produce a slurry for ease of application to ponds. It has been specially formulated to impact on both the aqueous and benthic ecosystems in the pond.
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