UNB Fredericton – Bailey Hall Fish Lab

UNB Fredericton – Bailey Hall Fish Lab

Institution:	University of New-Brunswick in Fredericton
Location:	Fredericton, New-Brunswick, CANADA
Contact:	Mr. Clinton Guthrie
Habitat:	Freshwater Brook trout, Arctic charr & Zebrafish
Type of rearing unit:	The main function of Baily Hall Aquatic facility is to raise specific strains of salmonids and to produce Zebrafish embryos from many strains.
Unit description:	Reuse in the order of 97-99% of the flow circulating through the rearing tanks. Water quality in the fish tanks should be kept optimal regardless of the high level of water recycling. Very low maintenance: ¨Additional maintenance plays a critical role in the decision process.  It should be limited as much as possible, and should not imply a significantly larger workload for the lab manager.¨ The number and size of rearing tanks, along with feeding rates, loadings, should be as specified by the users in the adjusted spread sheet. Understandably, the users would like built-in flexibility such as having the possibility of moving/exchanging tanks and working at various water temperatures. Planning for future growth is also a plus. The zebra fish systems should ideally allow maintaining a large number of strains and crosses. The timed production of embryos (e.g. every 3 hours) would also be an asset. Redundancy for the pumps and water chilling systems. Monitoring of main parameters, with alarming.
Mandate:	Conception

UNB Fredericton – Baily Hall Fish Lab

RAISON D’ETRE OF THE AQUATIC FACILITY

The main function of Baily Hall Aquatic facility is to raise specific strains of salmonids and to produce Zebrafish embryos from many strains.  A few research projects are conducted which generally involve respiratory studies and undergraduate students’ projects.

UNB Fredericton – Bailey Hall Fish Lab: PRIMARY GOAL IN CONVERTING THE FACILITY TO WATER RECIRCULATION

Reducing utility expenditure and water reduction are the primary goals of this project. Highly recirculated systems will accomplish the current function of the facility.   Water  currently used for the peak water demand would be 150 litres per minute (Lpm), with an average of 95 Lpm.  The level of water reuse that could be attained with this project is in the order of 99%.  That corresponds to approximately 1% of the total water flowing through the rearing tanks.

In a nutshell we estimate the need for fresh city water to be around 1.5 Lpm for the water recycling systems.  If we add the water needed for room 166 (2 Lpm), the total water requirements for the wet lab shall be 3.5 Lpm.

UNB Fredericton – Bailey Hall Fish Lab: Estimation of pollution loads

The users recommended a fish loading of 25 kg/m3 for trout and 10 g/L for Zebrafish.  Feeding rate was initially set at 2% body weight/d (BW/d) for the trout and 10% for zebrafish.  The loading rate was reduced to 4 g/L following our meeting with the users.

However, a huge discrepancy was observed between the actual feed used for Zebrafish (2 kg feed/6 months)[2] and the projected feed at 10% BW/d for Zebrafish.  Indeed, at the maximum Zebrafish load in the facility (5.9 kg fish), 10% BW/d would require 590 g of feed daily and about 100 kg feed over six months.  We therefore settled for 2% BW/d for both trout and Zebrafish for our design.

UNB Fredericton – Bailey Hall Fish Lab: The water quality parameters to be maintained in the rearing tanks are the following:

• Clear water, free of suspended solids
• Ammonia and nitrite, maintained within CCAC recommendations
• pH kept at an optimal level for nitrification (between 7.7-8.0)
• Alkalinity kept at an optimal level for nitrification (above 100 mg/L CaCO₃)
• CO₂ below 15 mg/L
• Dissolved oxygen above 80-100% saturation
• Water temperature range: 5-10°C for trout and 25-30°C for Zebrafish