In the aquaculture world, venturi draims are very common, particularly with circular tanks but I have seen them with hatchery raceways as well.
These are a few of the photos I took when I visited the Coleman Salmon Hatchery in Anderson, CA. They allow the public to visit but I went off-season and received a personal tour. They breed, raise the minnows, release and harvest the returning salmon, year after year. They also raise steelhead trout here as well. Interestingly enough, they have to use a reverse osmosis plant to clean the water before using it in the hatchery. I wanted to go in that facility but no one was available- perhaps next time. The water is actually cleaner after leaving the hatchery than when it enters the reverse osmosis system- this is mainly because they eliminate all viruses and bacteria but in addition, they remove heavy metals which are prevelant in Northern Calif. from the gold mining and logging operations. You would love their back up generator too- a steam locomotive. Unfortunately my camera's battery died before I could take a picture of it. I incorporated some of their techniques into my system, after all I already know it works.
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File comment: Photo of fiberglass raceway- I think you can see how long these really are
Fiberglass raceway filled with fingerlings- Note vibrating feeders placed on boards across tank (Small).jpg [ 53.84 KiB | Viewed 4557 times ]
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File comment: Double venturi drains in place with stainless steel handles
Drains in one raceway inside Hatchery, aluminum screen prevents fish from entering drain area (Small).jpg [ 49.64 KiB | Viewed 4561 times ]
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File comment: Venturi drain pulled out
Dry fitted drain lines pulled out of openings so entire tank will drain without assistance (Small).jpg [ 41.04 KiB | Viewed 4561 times ]
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