Fresh By Design

04/09/2026

A great sight to see at our warehouse this week.

A new shipment of MAT Protein Skimmers has arrived and is ready to go.

Holding stock means we can respond faster when clients need equipment for hatcheries, RAS facilities, public aquariums and live holding systems, rather than waiting on international imports or fabrication lead times.

We've worked with MAT for many years and continue to use their equipment across a wide range of aquaculture, aquarium and zoo projects throughout Australia and New Zealand.

Thanks to the MAT team for another shipment.

19/08/2026

We're excited to announce our upcoming free Webinar - Fresh By Design & Syntech Aquatics – Abyzz Pumps

📅 Date: Tuesday 22nd September 2026
🕒 Time: 11:00am-12:00pm AEST (1:00-2:00pm NZST)
📍 Location: Online – Teams

Discover how Abyzz high-performance pumps are changing what's possible in aquaculture, aquarium and aquatic life support. Joined by Wayne Völk, Director of Syntech Aquatics, we'll explore the engineering behind the Abyzz range, and how energy efficiency, controllability and reliability play out in continuous-duty applications.

Whether you're running a hatchery, RAS, live-holding or aquarium/LSS system, this webinar will offer valuable insights into pump selection, running costs and long-term reliability. We'll finish with a live Q&A.

🔗 Register for the webinar here: https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/fresh-by-design-x-syntech-aquatics-abyzz-pumps-webinar-tickets-1997507110539

Places are limited so don't miss this opportunity to see where Abyzz pumps fit in your system!

Join Fresh By Design and Syntech Aquatics for a deep dive into Abyzz high-performance pumps for aquaculture, aquariums & life support.

05/08/2026

Great to be at the 2026 Zoo and Aquarium Association Australasia Conference in Auckland this week, hosted by Auckland Zoo.

Lachlan, Oli and Isaac are here until Friday. Come and find us if you'd like to talk through anything life support systsems.

Thanks to the ZAA team for putting together a great conference.

31/07/2026

We're hiring!

Project Manager - Remote Position

This is an additional role alongside our existing project team - we have a strong pipeline of projects and need another experienced PM to help deliver it.

You would be managing RAS and LSS projects from first enquiry through design, costing, supply, installation and commissioning.

- Remote from a home office anywhere in Australia, or from our Moss Vale head office.
- Full time and permanent
- Attractive base plus performance bonuses

If you have project management experience in aquaculture, zoo/aquarium LSS or water treatment, take a look at the full ad below.

https://au.seek.com/job/93670189?ref=cm-ui

Manage Aquaculture and Aquarium/Zoo projects end to end, from design through to commissioning, across Australia and NZ

22/07/2026

Great to visit Earth Sciences New Zealand yesterday and spend some time with the team at their Recirculating Aquaculture System facility in New Zealand.

It's exciting to see the potential this site holds for further expansion and development down the track.

Thanks to the Earth Sciences New Zealand team for taking the time to show us around.

01/07/2026

Fresh By Design will be exhibiting at the 2026 Zoo and Aquarium Association Conference, 4–7 August, hosted by Auckland Zoo in Auckland, New Zealand.

With the theme “Foundations First”, the conference focuses on the fundamentals that support animal care and exhibit performance. This aligns with our work, designing and building life-support systems that form a critical part of each exhibit’s operation.

Lachlan Bassett, Oli Underwood and Isaac Hine will be attending, so get in contact if you'd like to talk through any upcoming projects or product enquiries.

See you there!

10/06/2026

Project Summary - New Sydney Fish Market

We are pleased to share the completion of the live crustacean system and wholesale live seafood systems at the new Sydney Fish Market.

Our project scope included the design, supply, installation and commissioning of:

• A central, the live crustacean system including three replicate recirculating seawater systems designed to hold a range of live crustacean species, each with dedicated water quality and temperature control. The system includes capacity for up to seven plug in transportable live seafood tanks.
• Four independent wholesale live seafood systems , each configured as standalone units to support individual tenant operations.

The live crustacean system included:
• Concrete sumps, seawater storage and wastewater tanks
• FRP and acrylic enclosures
• FRP racking with overhead adjustable flow system with capacity for 360 storage tubs
• Pentair Aquatic Eco-Systems Sparus water pumps with constant flow technology and variable speed control
• Waterco media filters with zeolite media
• MBBR biofilters with C1 media (1000m2/m3)
• MAT Kuling protein skimmers with auto backwash system
• ClearWater Tech ozone generators with variable output control
• AirSep oxygen concentrators
• Ultraaqua UV & Ozone Systems UV sterilisers with UV sensors
• Sondex titanium plate HEX’s
• Waterco digiheat In-line heaters
• Esam air blowers with silencers, inlet filters and pressure relief valves
• Hayward Pool Products automatic 3 way valves
• OxyGuard International pacific water quality monitoring and control (ph, DO, ORP, Temp and Ultrasonic Level Sensors) supplied by Technolab

The Wholesale Live Seafood Systems included:
• Fibreglass tanks
• Waterco water pumps
• Biofilters with bio-ball media
• MAT Kuling protein skimmers with auto backwash system
• Pentair UV sterilisers
• Oasis heat pumps (heat/chill)
• Kamair air pump

This project was delivered in close collaboration with Sydney Fish Market (Erik Poole and Adam Wood) and the Multiplex team, resulting in robust, live seafood infrastructure designed for long term operational reliability and animal welfare outcomes.

Adam Wood, Head of Supply Chain, Sydney Fish Market Pty Ltd.

“The delivery of the live crustacean system for the new Sydney Fish Market was a significant and highly specialised project, and Fresh By Design played an important role in its success. From design through to installation and commissioning, their team demonstrated a strong understanding of live seafood handling requirements and worked collaboratively to ensure the system met the operational needs of our market.

Fresh by Design’s professionalism, responsiveness and willingness to work through the challenges that naturally arise in a project of this scale. We would have no hesitation in recommending them to organisations seeking high-quality live seafood, aquaculture"

01/06/2026

Meet Ben Pope — Founder & Managing Director, Fresh By Design

Every company has an origin story. Ours starts with a science degree, a pilot barramundi farm, and a belief that Australian aquaculture deserved better equipment and better support.

Ben Pope founded Fresh By Design in 2004 after completing his Bachelor of Science in Aquaculture at the University of Tasmania in 1999. After this he dove straight in, planning and building a pilot recirculating aquaculture facility in Moss Vale, NSW, to grow barramundi for the local market.
That combination of science, practical building knowledge, and real operational experience became the foundation of everything Fresh By Design does today.

Over the past two decades, FBD has grown from a one-man operation into one of Australia and New Zealand's leading aquaculture and aquarium equipment and systems providers. The team delivers end-to-end solutions from system design and construction through to equipment supply and ongoing technical support.

The project list continues to grow each year: the world's largest purpose-built platypus conservation centre at Taronga Western Plains Zoo, world-class salmon research facilities at Cawthron Institute, the Macquarie Perch Recovery Centre at Snobs Creek to name a few.

Through it all, Ben's approach hasn't changed, combine deep technical knowledge with genuine partnerships with customers and suppliers to deliver the best possible outcome.

14/05/2026

Fresh By Design is heading to Ozwater in Brisbane — Lachlan Bassett and Clement Pissoat will be there.

Please get in touch if you would like to meet and discuss any product or project opportunities.

30/04/2026

Every aquaculture and aquatic facility is different, so we don’t believe in one size fits all. We design, supply, and deliver systems that are purpose-built for your species, site, and operational goals.

From RAS for commercial aquaculture farms to specialist LSS for major zoos and public aquariums, we build systems that solve real-world challenges and stand up to daily operation.

With a proven track record spanning over 20 years, our role doesn’t stop at installation — we provide long-term support to ensure your system performs as intended.

Our experience includes:

• Commercial production systems – hatcheries, broodstock, larval rearing, and grow out
• Research & development systems – variable-parameter systems for feed, health, and growth trials including PC2 facilities
• Specialist species systems – salmon, trout, barramundi, prawns, yellowtail kingfish, rock Lobsters, seaweed, microalgae and even platypus

Our focus is efficient operation, robust system design and long term performance.

Here are some of the systems we have delivered over the years.