SALT-WATER SYSTEM AT THE U.S. BIOLOGICAL 

 LABORATORY, BEAUFORT, NORTH CAROLINA 



By G. B. Talbot, Director 



Biological Laboratory, Bureau of Commercial Fisheries, Fish and Wildlife Service, 

 U.S. Department of the In'erior, Beaufort, N.C. 



Abstract. — In conjunction with the construction of a modem laboratory at Beaufort, 

 N.C, a new salt-water system was built, since the one in existence, an aged pumi>and- 

 tank intermittent facility, had proved inadequate. The system chosen was a continuous- 

 flow type, installed in duplicate, utilizing a 3-horsepower centrifugal pump, flexible 

 polyethylene pipes, and hard-rubber valves. Indoor water tables are constructed of 

 cypress planks lined with sheet lead and of %-inch plywood covered with fiberglass. 

 Outdoor tanks are of concrete and may be divided into four compartments by screen 

 partitions. The system has been in continual use since 1955 and provides an uninter- 

 rupted flow of salt water, at constant pressure, regardless of valve actuation. 



In 1953, with the prospect that a new 

 laboratory was to be constructed at this 

 station to replace the old structure built in 

 1901, it became necessary to design a new 

 salt-water system for proposed laboratory 

 experiments. The system then in use con- 

 sisted of a wood tank located on the upper 

 floor of a 21/^ -story building, and a cast- 

 iron pump with iron pipes and brass 

 valves which supplied salt water intermit- 

 tently as needed. Since pumping occurred 

 at irregular intervals regardless of the 

 tide, the salinity was apt to change ab- 

 ruptly at each pumping cycle. While this 

 salt-water supply was useful for some pur- 

 poses, the method of filling was far from 

 satisfactory and the system often drained 

 dry. In addition, the materials used in 

 the construction of this facility were toxic 

 to some marine organisms. 



An auxiliary system, consisting of a 

 pump and pressure tank similar to a 



The author is now Director, Tiburon Marine 

 Laboratory, Bureau of Sport Fisheries and AVild- 

 life, Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Department 

 of the Interior, Tiburon, Calif. 



shallow- well domestic water pump was 

 used, but it had the same disadvantages as 

 the main system, and in addition most 

 marine organisms in the incoming water 

 were killed in tliG pressure tank. This 

 necessitated cleaning the tank regularly 

 because of the accumulated debris and silt. 

 Most of the marine stations along the 

 east coast of the United States were vis- 

 ited in an attempt to determine the faults 

 and virtues of existing salt-water systems. 

 In general, the two kinds in use were in- 

 termittent and continuous-pumping types. 

 The former has an advantage in that the 

 salinity can be held more or less constant 

 by using an interval timer to regulate the 

 pumping to a definite part of each tidal 

 cycle. In this system a storage tank of 

 sufficient capacity to furnish salt water 

 for all needs for about 12 hours, less 

 pumping time, is necessary. With the 

 continuous-flow system no storage tank is 

 necessary, but tide-linked variations in sa- 

 linity of the water source cannot be offset 

 by controlled pumping. The choice of 

 systems depends partially upon location 



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