Construction Business Review

Longhorn Organics
Maintaining Water Quality and Animal Health in Aquatic Habitats

Mike Schulte, CEO; Jeff Faucett, Project Manager, Longhorn OrganicsMike Schulte, CEO; Jeff Faucett, Project Manager
Healthy and thriving aquatic ecosystems are dependent on carefully balanced water quality. For this reason, life support systems (LSS) are vital to sustaining the species living in man-made aquatic habitats such as aquariums and aquaculture facilities. LSS provides the water quality, chemistry, biology, temperature, and clarity that is right for the animals while keeping their habitats clean and comfortable. Longhorn Organics, a company that specializes in water filtration systems, has been designing, building, and installing LSS used to maintain water quality and animal health for aquatic systems across North America since 2009. At its core, Longhorn Organics is a team of builders, biologists, certified LSS operators, and veterinarians who are focused on delivering unique filtration solutions that focus on animal health and safety. From design to commissioning, the company offers a full range of services to meet clients’ diverse needs. “With a thorough understanding of biological design and filtration efficiencies, we provide long-term sustainable aquatic habitats,” explains Mike Schulte, CEO, Longhorn Organics.

For customers that require a customized solution, Longhorn Organics provides targeted design-build services while prioritizing animal health and water quality. For instance, if a client’s engineering team provides a design, Longhorn Organics leverages its marine biology, construction and animal husbandry experts to determine if it can be constructed and function successfully in a practical setting. Longhorn Organics builds and maintains a unified model for the construction project that includes LSS equipment as well as all other equipment necessary to maintain an aquatic facility.

They also use BIM 360 technology, which allows for precise building of prefabricated manifolds, installation of piping and setting of specialty equipment into the facility. By utilizing these technologies, Longhorncan focus on high quality installations and “doing it right, the first time” as stated by Mr. Schulte. The overall impact to the project is significant cost, time, and resource savings during the construction process while having safe and healthy animals.

“What sets Longhorn Organics apart from competitors is its commitment to place animal health and safety foremost,” says Jeff Faucett, Project Manager, Longhorn Organics. The company’s team of marine biologists, veterinarians, and construction specialists ensure that a project is successful from both an engineering and animal wellbeing standpoint. To illustrate this further, Mike mentions the case of a client that was facing problems. Longhorn Organics was able to solve the water quality issue, which was affecting animal health, through some innovative solutions that the client had previously overlooked. This was made possible due to the Longhorn Organics’ expertise with degassing and flow dynamics for filtration. After the issue was resolved, the health of the animals in the facility visibly improved along with the water quality.

With a thorough understanding of biological design and filtration efficiencies, we provide long-term sustainable aquatic habitats

Longhorn Organics also offers consulting services to clients globally to guide them through the LSS design and installation process. The company continues to strive to create more efficient ways to improve the design and construction process using BIM technology. Over the past year, Longhorn Organics experienced tremendous growth despite the pandemic and the company anticipates doubling in size over the next 12-18 months. This is primarily due to the increasing demand for seafood to feed the planet’s ever-growing populating. Aquaculture, the controlled process of cultivating aquatic organisms is a sustainable option to feed humans with a healthy, lean protein. This is because seafood has the highest protein retention compared to other domestic animals and has lower greenhouse gas emissions than other types of farming. Longhorn Organics is focused on providing its expertise in custom equipment and materials along with fabrication and installation to ensure successful water quality in aquaculture facilities. The company is dedicated to helping solve the food security issue and promote local food production