Fish survival in groundwater-desalination concentrate

The number of groundwater brackish water desalination plants has been increasing in recent years. The concentrate streams produced by these plants are an attractive new source of water for aquaculture, but risk fish mortality associated with water composition and CaCO3 precipitation. In the present work, fish survival in raw and calcium-reduced concentrate has been studied in a nearly closed system. All of the fish survived in all water types during the entire three months experiment. Nitrate, however, rapidly accumulated and mineral precipitates clogged the biofilter. These phenomena may complicate operation for longer duration, especially when high densities are employed.