An IoT-Based Water Quality Monitoring System for Recirculating Aquaculture Systems

Abstract

The Recirculating Aquaculture System (RAS) is an advanced aquaculture model that enables water reuse within the system, thereby significantly reducing water consumption, minimizing environmental pollution, and maintaining optimal water quality parameters. In RAS, water treatment plays an important role in ensuring a stable and healthy living environment for aquatic species, especially under high stocking density conditions. To maintain effective water treatment, continuous and precise monitoring and control are essential. In this context, the Internet of Things (IoT) has emerged as a breakthrough technology, allowing real-time collection and analysis of water quality data. This facilitates automated system control while minimizing human error. This paper provides an overview of IoT applications in water treatment for RAS and focuses particularly on the observation and discussion of biofilm formation within the system. Using periodic data collected by IoT-based sensors—such as flow rates through filter—the analysis demonstrates that biofilm plays a critical role in the biological treatment process. The findings confirm that IoT not only enables effective monitoring of biofilm development but also supports the real-time optimization of water treatment operations. The study also highlights several technical challenges in IoT integration and proposes future development directions to enhance the performance and sustainability of RAS.