Hydro Power for Trout Hatchery

Welcome aboard. Great starting thread.

Here's a little food for thought. I'm not sure how it would relate to the fish, but it's a start. Very simple design.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w2kxu_5hNTk&feature=related

There are many larger micro turbine available ( a random link below).

http://www.hydro-turbines.com/id30.html

But it sounds like your real issue is how & where to install it in the best location without the risk of damage or loss during floods.

My suggestion would be to create a Small "Plant Room" formed from concrete and anchored in place to piers at the best location for performance designed as an inverted cave or bubble with either a water tight door (I wouldn't do this) or the better option no door and all access from below. This will allow the generators and controlls to stay Dry in the case of a flood and give you the best performance for the move you spend.

Regards,
Sapper.

p.s. great application, power some or all of you fishery from the run-off.

You can try the vortex turbine. works well for low heads and it's quite low tech.

http://blog.hasslberger.com/2007/06/water_vortex_drives_power_plan.html

Interesting that you mention this. I have visited the site that Franz Zotloetter built and saw it in action.It works very well. I had looked for the distribiution rights to this but was difficult. Will look again maybe in future. Absoloutely no fish kill or injuries in this method. You need 1cubmic metre per sec flow rate and 1 metre fall.

You have not made it clear if you allow the fish to migrate freely to the river. If this is the case, check out Pitlochry Hydro Power station in Scotland where they have a fish ladder installed.

Some very good suggestions regarding acceptable pumps and protecting the generating room.

But, have you thought about protection of the hatchlings, as you may end up with fish kills if you do not mitigate their movement into the intake screen and subsequently the penstock, no matter what type of turbine-generator you select and install? This is a very significant concern which you must address, possibly with the installation of a series of bar trash racks followed by an acceptable intake screen. Also, I suggest that you limit the maximum water velocity to less than 1 feet per second (FPS) at the intake screen so that fish are able to swim away from that structure.

The Archimedes turbine is a really cool idea. There is actually a location that this would work perfect for although I haven't had time to research these turbines yet. As well as what it takes to install them. I might have to get ahold of an industrial engineer as it appears lots of concrete needs to be poured for this setup.

As for the issue of the hatchlings they are all kept in an indoor facility that has tanks with water flowing through it from ground water. They are kept indoors until they are of size to be introduced to the outdoor raceways which have screens to keep them from swimming into the river. Once the juvenile trout are large enough they are moved to the large ponds where rebar screens keep them from exiting.

In terms of powering the trout hatchery the actual costs to run are very small. The large expense is the heating cost for the turkey farm that is located on the same farm. The heating expenses for the poultry farm are in excess of $46,000 annually.

If you can simply install a well point(s) attached to a 2" poly pipe(s) and run it down at least 10 feet vertical from the highest point one of the tanks to a pelton wheel generator (or 2 or 3) you can buy a commercial generator without having to rig up anything or build an expensive tank.

I have a 1 1/2" pipe 50' long with a vertical drop of only 12' that generates 65# of pressure frm my waterfall in Tennessee. A 2 foot long sand filter well point lays in a crevice in a pool in the waterfall and runs even in sub-freezing weather because the flow of the creek keeps the water from freezing.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hq5KCVPU_EE&list=UUZE4sstQBE7CJAGn4LDcTXA&index=1&feature=plcp