Abstract: A food product in the form of an elongated strip is provided with a coating of seeds by directing it upon the loading end of a conveyor belt, passing it through a wetting station and thereafter directing it from the discharge end of the conveyor belt onto a grooved drum. A quantity of seeds carried by a hopper is directed onto a surface of the drum in the area just prior to the contact point of the food product with the drum. The seed is received upon the bottom of the grooves in the drum and around the sides and top of the food product. A pressure roller in contact with the periphery of the drum urges the seeds into firmer contact with the food product. Excess seeds are recaptured and the seeded food product is directed from the apparatus.

Abstract: This invention is a screening apparatus for retaining small marine animals in a growing container connected to closed-loop aquaculture system. The screening apparatus comprises (a) a first plate; (b) a second plate about the same size as the first plate and substantially parallel to and spaced from the first plate; (c) a conduit passing through a centrally-located aperture in the first plate, the end of the conduit being attached to a face of the second plate, the corresponding edges of said plates being about the same distance from the outer wall of the conduit; (d) a fluid permeable material extending between the edges of said plates and enclosing said conduit by being snugly fitted at least around the periphery of the first plate; (e) the conduit having apertures around its circumference; and (f) a pump means for transferring a fluid through the conduit. The screening device is particularly useful in a closed-loop aquaculture system which includes a biological filter means.

Abstract: This invention is a small, aquatic animal-collecting device which comprises a container for water being open at one end and closed at the other; a fluid inlet means to said container; a fluid conduit means positioned within and extending about the vertical length of the container and passing through the bottom of the container; a fluid outlet means positioned in the upper portion of the conduit; and a screening means positioned between the side walls of the container and the fluid outlet means so that the animals are retained in the container in sufficient water, while excess water passes through the screen and out the outlet means. This apparatus is particularly well suited for the process of collecting prawn larvae from a closed-loop aquaculture system.

Abstract: This invention is drawn to the use of an open-cell, polyurethane foam to remove dissolved contaminants from water in an aquaculture system. The foam is made by suitably reacting a hydroxylated ether with a diisocyanate. The foam filter is particularly useful in a water purification system which is a combination of a biological filter, a protein skimmer, and the polyurethane foam filter and such a combination forms the basis of a closed-loop aquaculture system. A process for removing dissolved contaminants in an aquaculture system is disclosed along with a process for growing aquatic animals in a system using the polyurethane foam filter.