Aquasend Beacon^®: Providing Real-Time Data for Aquaculture

Understanding the current state of your aqua farm involves more than manually taking periodic dissolved oxygen (DO) samples throughout the day. Consistent, reliable, and accurate measurement is an absolute must when monitoring the health of your water and fish to protect your bottom line. Utilizing 30 years of Precision Measurement Engineering’s patented DO sensor technology, Aquasend developed the Aquasend Beacon system, allowing aqua farmers to keep a watchful eye on their ponds through real-time monitoring.

Aquasend Beacon detects drop in Dissolved Oxygen at California Tilapia Farm

In January, a California tilapia farm was outfitted with a single Beacon buoy. The deployed Beacon was set at default settings: a 10-minute sample rate, 4 hours between wipes, alarm at 3 mg/L, 15 seconds.

Servicing was conducted monthly, checking for the accumulation of fouling both in the sensing chamber and solar panel, and replacing the chlorine tablets. It was noted that there was minimal fouling overall, and that the chlorine tablets were lasting longer than expected.

On January 3, 2020 the Tilapia farm experienced a drop in DO that fell below the 3mg/L threshold. This drop can be seen in the graph below, which was reported on the online portal.

The Beacon’s alarm immediately and automatically notified the farm owner, via e-mail, of the drop in DO. Upon further investigation it was found that the drop in DO was caused due to the pond being drained for a routine fish harvest. Though the cause of the drop in DO was expected and ultimately not harmful to the farm, the Beacon’s measurement accuracy and programmed response worked perfectly, providing the farm manager with an instant alert that they could have responded to promptly, had it been necessary, and proving the system’s value and Return on Investment (ROI) to the farmer.

Features of the Aquasend Beacon

The Aquasend Beacon is designed for outdoor aqua farming ponds to record water quality data, specifically dissolved oxygen levels and temperature, and send that data to an online portal via the cloud. The buoy is programmed to alert the farm manager via e-mail when levels become unsafe.

Buoys can communicate with other buoys in a mesh-networked arrangement across long distances. The buoy is anti-fouling, solar-powered, and designed for all weather conditions and intense farming environments. Alerts and alarms keep the farm manager informed on changing water conditions based on the Beacon’s adjustable settings. Visible exterior LED lights flash green and red for on-site visibility of alert status and water conditions.

Keep a Watchful Eye on Your Aqua Farm

To learn more about how Aquasend has taken thirty years of global research technology and made it available to your local aqua farm reach out to us today.