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Wastewater treatment with complementary filter feeders: A new method to control excessive suspended solids and nutrients in stabilization ponds
Author(s) -
Smith Daniel W.
Publication year - 1993
Publication title -
water environment research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.356
H-Index - 73
eISSN - 1554-7531
pISSN - 1061-4303
DOI - 10.2175/wer.65.5.7
Subject(s) - silver carp , hypophthalmichthys , catfish , ictalurus , zooplankton , nutrient , wastewater , filter (signal processing) , suspended solids , environmental science , fishery , fish farming , aquaculture , carp , biomass (ecology) , biofilter , water column , environmental engineering , biology , ecology , fish <actinopterygii> , computer science , computer vision
Zooplankton filter feed small suspended solids (SS) while filter‐feeding fish ( Hypophthalmichthys molitrix ) feed on large suspended particles. The combination should control SS and nutrients in wastewater stabilization ponds. The technique proposed herein maintains coexistence of zooplankton and filter‐feeding fish by excluding the fish from part of the water column. A series of 1‐m 3 tanks was stocked with channel catfish ( Ictalurus punctatus ) alone, catfish and silver carp, or catfish and silver carp that were excluded from one‐half of the water column. The refuge permitted coexistence of high densities of zooplankton with the silver carp, and the combination of filter feeders reduced algal biomass by as much as 99% compared to controls. SS and nutrients were presumably likewise controlled. Application to stabilization ponds in series would be straightforward.