Ammonia toxicity is one of the biggest problems regarding water quality in intensive aquaculture systems. Besides decreased growth performance, ammonia can have a negative influence on fish welfare and health, and in the end increase mortality. Excential AmmoSAN, Orffa’s pelletized clinoptilolite source, effectively binds ammonia to improve water quality.

Ammonia

Ammonia (NH₃) is toxic to fish when it accumulates in fish production systems. As a result of ammonia accumulation to toxic levels, fish cannot extract energy from feed efficiently and growth performance will decrease. Additionally, if the ammonia concentration exceeds a certain threshold, the fish will become lethargic, and eventually, fall into a coma and die. Paradoxically, the main source of ammonia in fish ponds is from fish excretion and spilled feed. Concentrations of 0.5 ppm and higher are known to be toxic to fish, yet these levels are often observed in ponds. In catastrophic events, levels of 16 ppm and higher are observed, which resulted in mass mortalities. Ammonia control is thus a necessity to maintain water quality at healthy levels.

Excential AmmoSAN

Water quality can be improved by the use of Excential AmmoSAN. These pellets, containing the clay mineral clinoptilolite, are a fast and eff sicient method to bind ammonia and other toxic compounds in water. Excential AmmoSAN is clinoptilolite in pellets of 2-3 cm in size. This makes the product easy to handle and store. After addition to water, the pellets fall apart in particles of 700 microns and smaller, to optimize surface area and binding capacity.

Proven efficacy

To quantify the ammonia binding capacity, an in vitro trial was conducted in Malta. During this trial, five different levels of Excential AmmoSAN (0,1, 5, 10 and 20 g/L) were tested in water with 1, 2, 4 and 8 ppm ammonia. As mentioned before, all these levels are above the toxic levels for fish. Additionally, also the effect of having the product in a net sack instead of throwing the pellets directly into water was tested at the 5 g/l inclusion level. Results, as presented in figure 1, demonstrate that Excential AmmoSAN is able to remove a significant part of the ammonia from the water. Even at the highest tested ammonia level (8ppm), it can be observed that Excential AmmoSAN reduces the ammonia within 24h, indicating the quick and efficient capture of ammonia (Figure 2). The ammonia removal by Excential AmmoSAN was efficacious regardless of the ammonia level in the water.

In conclusion, trial results show that Excential AmmoSAN can be an efficient solution in sudden ammonia peaks, but also a powerful preventive tool to ensure good water quality for aquaculture systems.

Applicable for all aquatic species

Decreases ammonia levels in the water

Improves water quality

Fast and effective solution

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