Evaluación comparativa de variables de calidad del agua antes y después de la biofiltración en un sistema RAS de trucha arcoíris (Oncorhynchus mykiss) en Ecuador

Jimmy Bladimir Fernández Guarnizo

doi:10.56124/yaku.v9i16.001

Authors

Jimmy Bladimir Fernández Guarnizo Universidad Técnica Particular de Loja, Loja, Ecuador

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.56124/yaku.v9i16.001

Keywords:

Biofiltration, nitrification, recirculating aquaculture, rainbow trout

Abstract

In recirculating aquaculture systems (RAS), biofiltration constitutes a critical unit for controlling nitrogenous compounds and sustaining adequate culture conditions. An integrated treatment train comprising mechanical filtration, biofiltration and final polishing was evaluated in a semi-intensive rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) RAS at the Agricultural Station of the Universidad Técnica Particular de Loja. The assessment was carried out through six consecutive weekly campaigns with paired measurements at two points in the system: at the outlet of the mechanical stage and at the outlet of the biofiltration unit. Turbidity, total suspended solids, total ammonia nitrogen, nitrite-nitrogen, nitrate-nitrogen and total nitrogen were analyzed. The comparison was performed using Student’s t-test for paired samples, following verification of the assumption of normality of the differences. Descriptively, mean values decreased across all evaluated variables after passing through biofiltration, with more pronounced reductions in turbidity, total ammonia nitrogen and total suspended solids. However, with the available sample size, no statistically significant differences were detected (p > 0.05), although total ammonia nitrogen exhibited a downward trend. These findings suggest operational potential to improve water quality; however, longer monitoring and a broader characterisation of the process are required to confirm system performance.

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References

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