A Customer Visit In Dumfries And Galloway
One fisherman from Dumfries and Galloway bought two Lobster Pods from us around seven years ago giving him a total lobster holding capacity of 400Kg. Since then he has become one of those customers every manufacturer hopes for. Every year he gets in touch for his annual maintenance kit and over time he has become highly skilled at operating and maintaining his systems properly.
Last month Keith, our Research & Development Director, was working in the area so dropped in to deliver the maintenance kit and have a catch up. The customer was delighted with the performance of the Lobster Pods and overall the systems were looking excellent. He has a great routine for water testing, keeping on top of water changes and generally looking after the shellfish well.
Interestingly though, he was apologising for the algae and growth around the filter area and trays. What he saw as “dirt” was actually a sign that the biological filtration was working very effectively.
How Biological Filtration Works
All shellfish produce ammonia as waste and at high levels ammonia quickly becomes toxic. That is why all of our crustacean systems including the Lobster Pod and Crab Pod include a biological filter as part of the filtration process.
Inside the moving bed biofilter there are millions of beneficial bacteria growing on the filter media. These bacteria feed on the harmful ammonia and convert it into nitrite. A second species of beneficial bacteria then convert the nitrite into nitrate which is much less harmful to shellfish. This natural process is known as the nitrogen cycle and it is one of the most important parts of maintaining stable water quality within a recirculation shellfish system.
Why Water Changes Still Matter
In the sea, seaweeds and algae would naturally consume the nitrate as part of the marine ecosystem. In a lobster tank however there are generally no plants present to remove it and this means nitrate levels can gradually build up over time. That is why regular water changes remain an important part of maintaining healthy shellfish systems even when the filtration is working very well.
When Cleaning Becomes Too Much Cleaning
Before the fishing season started the customer decided to give the system a very deep clean and also replaced the filter foams. While this sounds like exactly the right thing to do it unfortunately reduced some of the beneficial bacteria living within the filtration system.
About a week later he called us because he had experienced four mortalities which was very unusual for him. I was really pleased he contacted us quickly because we would always rather customers ask for advice early if something changes within their system.
After discussing everything with him it became clear that the deep cleaning had temporarily knocked back the biological filtration and the system was effectively going back through part of the maturation phase again. At this stage the advice was simply to slow down, gradually rebuild stock levels and carefully monitor ammonia, nitrite and nitrate while the beneficial bacteria population recovered naturally.
On this occasion the answer was actually less cleaning. Not often that is the solution to a problem.
Supporting Customers For The Long Term
The customer gave fantastic feedback on the Lobster Pods and particularly appreciated the support and aftercare available whenever needed. At Todd Fish Tech we know that operating shellfish systems successfully is not just about supplying the equipment. Good advice, training and ongoing support are equally important particularly during busy fishing periods and seasonal start-ups.
If you are starting your lobster holding system back up for the summer season remember to gently support the maturation process rather than rushing to fully clean and heavily stock the system too quickly. Beneficial bacteria need time to establish properly and stable water quality nearly always comes from patience and consistency rather than dramatic changes.
For more information on filter maturation you can watch our YouTube videos, read our blogs, refer to your operation manual supplied with all Todd Fish Tech systems or simply give us a call.
Best Fishes,
Errin Todd
Sea-E-O and Founder
Todd Fish Tech Ltd
