Sorsmolt AS

Sorsmolt AS has a long history in the salmon industry and raise their own fingerlings and smolts. The company contacted AquaOptima with an ugent need for salmon smolt tanks due to over-production of fingerlings and a lack of other manufacturers ability to supply tanks in time to meet their needs. AquaOptima turned to Octaform.

Located in Vancouver, BC, Octaform Systems Inc. designs and engineers innovative, finished, stay-in-place concrete forming systems. Octaform's forming systems surpass conventional concrete forms by offering unparalleled architectural and engineering flexibility. Octaform's concrete forming systems are cost-effective, energy efficient and easy to install.

AquaOptima chose to build octagonal-shaped tanks based on research conducted by the University of Norway in the 1990’s. This report states that the octagonal shape restricted flow long enough in the corners to cause the solid particles to sink to the floor drains and exit the tank.

One concern was placement and consolidation of the concrete in the bottom portion of the walls. There were 2-mats of rebar which can cause issues by inhibiting the concrete vibrator from reaching the bottom. To counter this problem, Octaform recommended Kryton’s Krystol waterstop system for joint waterproofing to prevent and seal any small cracks or voids.

Solution

Due to their size and being one-piece systems, plastic and fiberglass tanks could not be transported to the remote site. Octaform’s components allowed transport by air, water or land because they are flat-stacked. This also allowed for Sorsmolt’s own staff to assemble and construct the tanks.

The key engineering and architect firm, Sandwell Engineering, had used Kryton products before and experienced great results.

Kryton’s Krystol waterstop system relies on a revolutionary integral crystalline technology that uses available water in a reaction that combines special chemicals and by-products of cement hydration. This leads it to create billions of insoluable, needle-like crystals that block the pores and capillaries that are pathways to destructive waterborne contaminants.

The concern for waterstopping was the octagonal shape of the tanks and the complexity of vibrating in the corners and ensuring consolidated concrete. After the tanks were built and filled with water, one corner experienced a small leak and the client notified Octaform’s head office. Their Senior Sales Representative, James Johnson, reassured the customer’s reason for choosing Kryton’s integral waterproofing products and asked him to give it 10 days so the leak could self-seal as promised. The customer called back six days later and was pleased to report the leak had sealed and the tanks have not had any more issues since.

This project is an excellent example of co-operation between two innovative Canadian companies; Kryton and Octaform.