Regardless of the degree of closure of a recirculation system, effluents are produced and replacement water is needed, which limits the possibility of locating a seawater production system away from the shoreline. At the Palavas Ifremer station, in the south of France, a High Rate Algal Pond (HRAP) was operated during several years to treat the effluent from a recirculating aquaculture system before reusing it. The effect of the HRAP-treated water on the recirculation system and on the fish was investigated and the optimal algae growing conditions were defined. The experiments were carried out in three rearing systems: one flow through, one recirculating and one recirculating with a HRAP. The water flow rate, temperature, pH and salinity conditions were similar in all systems. The effect of reusing the HRAP-treated water is very limited (1) on the functioning of the recirculation system and (2) on fish performance, but it allows a significant reduction of the dissolved inorganic nitrogen and phosphorus concentration in the rearing water. HRAP treatment reduced metal accumulation in muscle and liver of RAS fish, except for chromium and arsenic. All biomarkers presented no significant difference between systems, except for Superoxide Dismutase (SOD) and EROD, which showed a higher concentration in RAS and in both recirculating system respectively. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.