(38) Corbicula Fluminea in Sewanee Aquaponics

This study assesses the viability of Corbicula Fluminea, a Freshwaterclam, as an addition to an aquaponics system. Furthermore this studywill assess the rate of filtration of Corbicula Fluminea relevant tosize. The clams will... [ view full abstract ]

This study assesses the viability of Corbicula Fluminea, a Freshwater
clam, as an addition to an aquaponics system. Furthermore this study
will assess the rate of filtration of Corbicula Fluminea relevant to
size. The clams will filter algae from the aquaponics system and
should be able to eliminate the need for any mechanized filtration.
Corbicula Fluminea is a hardy clam, tolerant of many temperatures, and
can filter algae well, so they will be very effective when used in
tandem with fish and live plants in an aquaponics system. The clams
can potentially help to create a nearly self-sustaining system - all
that would need to be added is water to replace loss from evaporation
and fish food while clam waste will need to be cleaned periodically.
This study will use 9 tanks: 3 tanks each with small, medium, and
large sized clams. The tanks will be filled with green water – water
that algae has been allowed to bloom in. The tanks will be monitored
for pH, nitrate, ammonia, and turbidity to measure water clarity and
presence of algae. The tanks will be tested each day, temperature and
time of testing will be recorded as well. Results have shown that as
clams grow larger, they will gain mass more quickly. This shows it is
likely that larger clams will be able to filter more algae at a faster
rate than smaller sized clams. These results should benefit the
aquaponics system at the University Farm greatly, larger clams will
likely be targeted for better filtration.