USOO9380766B2 (12) United States Patent (10) Patent No.: US 9,380,766 B2 Limcaco (45) Date of Patent: Jul. 5, 2016 (54) AQUACULTURE SYSTEM 5,755,961 A 5/1998 Limcaco 6,117,313 A 9/2000 Goldman et al. 6, 158,386 A 12/2000 Limcaco (71) Applicant: Christopher A. Limcaco, Greenwood, 7,736,508 B2* 6/2010 Limcaco ................. CO2F 3/082 IN (US) 210,602 7,794,590 B2 * 9/2010 Yoshikawa ............. AOK 63/04 (72) Inventor: Christopher A. Limcaco, Greenwood, 119,260 IN (US) 8, 117,992 B2 2/2012 Parsons et al. 2009/01521.92 A1 6/2009 Michaels, II et al. (*) Notice: Subject to any disclaimer, the term of this 2009/0230037 A1 9/2009 Ståhler et al. patent is extended or adjusted under 35 2011/0290189 A1 12/2011 Myers U.S.C. 154(b) by 0 days. FOREIGN PATENT DOCUMENTS (21) Appl. No.: 14/663,851 EP 2236 466 A1 6/2010 (22) Filed: Mar. 20, 2015 OTHER PUBLICATIONS (65) Prior Publication Data International Search Report and Written Opinion corresponding to US 2015/0264897 A1 Sep. 24, 2015 PCT/US2015/21698, mailed Jul. 2, 2015 (9 pages). Related U.S. Application Data * cited by examiner (60) Provisional application No. 61/968,432, filed on Mar. 21, 2014. Primary Examiner — Joshua Huson (74) Attorney, Agent, or Firm — Maginot, Moore & Beck, (51) Int. Cl. LLP AOIK 6.3/00 (2006.01) AOIK 6L/00 (2006.01) AOIK 63/04 (2006.01) (57) ABSTRACT (52) U.S. C. CPC ................. A0IK 61/00 (2013.01): A0IK 63/04 A recirculating aquaculture system is configured for growing (2013.01) aquatic animals. The system includes an inlet conduit, a tank, (58) Field of Classification Search a water treatment unit, a clarifier, and an outlet conduit. The CPC ... A01K 63/04: A01K 63/042: A01K 63/045: tank is in fluid communication with the inlet conduit to A01K 61/00: A01K 61/003 receive water displaced from the inlet conduit. The tank also USPC ...................................... 119/224, 225; 47/1.4 contains water and aquatic animals. The water treatment unit See application file for complete search history. is arranged within the tank and includes algae capable of removing aquatic animal waste from the water within the (56) References Cited tank. The clarifier is in fluid communication with the tank to receive displaced water from the tank. The clarifier is also U.S. PATENT DOCUMENTS configured to remove solid waste from the displaced water. The outlet conduit is in fluid communication between the 4,043,299 A * 8/1977 Birkbeck ............... AOK 63/04 119/227 clarifier and the inlet conduit. 4,052,960 A * 10/1977 Birkbeck .................. CO2F1/78 119/227 5,647,983 A 7/1997 Limcaco 17 Claims, 5 Drawing Sheets U.S. Patent Jul. 5, 2016 Sheet 1 of 5 US 9,380,766 B2 l if F \ W E. s .. U.S. Patent Jul. 5, 2016 Sheet 2 of 5 US 9,380,766 B2 SC|ITOS NOILOETTOO U.S. Patent Jul. 5, 2016 Sheet 3 of 5 US 9,380,766 B2 t 4 Y h D | D Ir 2 U.S. Patent Jul. 5, 2016 Sheet 4 of 5 US 9,380,766 B2 CD A25 A |-24 r 22 2-27 Z-27 9 8 ----- v/8 E.D. = FIGURE 4 U.S. Patent Jul. 5, 2016 Sheet 5 of 5 US 9,380,766 B2 FIG US 9,380,766 B2 1. 2 AQUACULTURE SYSTEM as metalhalides, LED, or fluorescent lights. One advantage of using artificial lighting is that the ALGAEWHEEL(R) system REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION can be housed in almost any type of building structure allow ing the aquaculture facility to be located almost anywhere, This application is a non-provisional of and claims priority regardless of ambient weather conditions. to Provisional Application No. 61/968,432, filed on Mar. 21, The use of the ALGAEWHEEL(R) system in the aquacul 2014, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by ture system disclosed herein also incorporates the benefits of reference. intensive fish farming by providing a completely closed loop aquaculture environment. The three-dimensional ALGAE BACKGROUND 10 WHEEL(R) system carries an equivalent biological commu nity hundreds of times greater than the two-dimensional foot As the world’s population grows and oceans are overfished print of the system due to the geometric shape of the and polluted, aquaculture will be necessary to meet future ALGAEWHEEL(R) fins, the internal bio-media section, and demands for fresh and safe seafood. However, current aquac the algae growing on the fins. This allows the ALGAE ulture systems are not Sustainable for several reasons. The 15 WHEEL(R) system to maintain much higher fish and shrimp technology currently used in most intensive recirculating densities than an extensive pond or natural waterway system aquaculture systems (RAS) requires large amounts of energy with the same footprint, thus reducing costs and allowing the to operate, are labor intensive and require constant operator system to be cost effectively enclosed in a building structure. attention. Extensive open pond and natural systems require This also allows the ALGAEWHEEL(R) system to be located too much land and cannot be controlled to prevent pollution in almost any climate unlike natural systems that can only be from rain and runoff. Extensive RAS systems cannot be cost located in warm climates. Furthermore, the ALGAE effectively enclosed and must be constructed in warm cli WHEEL(R) system can therefore belocated economically in a mates. more localized decentralized manner throughout the country As a result, both intensive and extensive aquaculture sys Versus huge centralized fish farms in warmer climates. This tems utilizing conventional technologies simply cannot com 25 eliminates issues with transportation, having to freeze the pete with wild caught seafood or pond raised seafood from fish, and even allows delivery of live fish to local restaurants countries with very low labor costs and warm climates. Com the same day they are harvested. panies in today’s aquaculture business must compete with The ALGAEWHEEL(R) system creates a more natural eco these market prices and will not be given a premium for farm system by incorporating both algae and bacteria. The algae raised fish even though they can show that the fish are more 30 use the CO generated by the bacteria and produce oxygen. healthy and safer to eat than wild-caught and open pond The bacteria use the oxygen created by the algae and produce raised seafood. To the contrary aquaculture businesses would CO. Both organisms simultaneously remove nutrients from have to sell their product at a discount in order to compete in the water in a very efficient symbiotic relationship. The oxy the market. This is impossible using current RAS technology gen produced by the algae also reduces the amount of Supple and extensive pond systems as long as seafood prices remain 35 mental oxygen required from aeration devices. at or near their current level. Consequently, there is a need for Another major problem with conventional bacteria based an aquaculture system that can be competitive with wild systems is that they strip all of the organics from the system caught and open pond raised seafood. water through intense filtration and disinfection, either oZone or ultraviolet or both. In natural systems, fish generate a slime SUMMARY 40 coat which operates as an immune system to help protect them from disease and parasites. This slime coat is created by In one aspect of the present disclosure, an aquaculture bacteria, which need organics in the water to Survive and system is provided that combines the benefits of extensive grow. Conventional treatment systems strip out these organ natural pond systems with the benefits of closed loop inten ics preventing the bacteria from Surviving and thus preventing sive systems. In one aspect, the present aquaculture system 45 the fish from creating their protective slime coat. As a result, uses an ALGAEWHEELR) system as disclosed in U.S. Pat. conventional systems must continuously disinfect the system Nos. 5,647,983; 5,755,961; and 6,158,386, the disclosures of water because the fish are unable to protect themselves from which are incorporated herein by reference. Like natural pond disease and parasites. This is also the reason that only fish in systems, the ALGAEWHEELR) system utilizes light as captivity develop a condition called lateral line disease. The energy to grow algae and plankton from the fish waste to 50 use of the ALGAEWHEEL(R) system in the aquaculture sys significantly offset the amount of manmade feed required to tem disclosed herein produces the organics necessary for the raise the fish. The ALGAEWHEEL(R) system produces excess bacteria to develop the slime coat for the fish. The need for algae to raise algae eating fish, shrimp, and plankton reducing additional disinfection through ozone or ultraviolet disinfec the need for artificial feed. These algae, fish, shrimp, and tion is eliminated with the present invention. plankton can either be harvested for human consumption or 55 Current recirculating aquaculture systems use only bacte fed back to carnivorous fish being raised to increase the over ria in their life Support systems to maintain adequate water all food to mass ratio. By using light energy, water, and CO quality for fish growth. Almost all RAS systems used for in the air and fish respiration, an aquaculture system incorpo closed loop aquaculture intentionally prevent algae growth by rating the ALGAEWHEELR) system grows a crop of low cost housing the systems in tanks and buildings designed to block fish and shrimp food while simultaneously treating the sys 60 light.