Progress 2

Aquaponics Submitted December 3, 2009

Team F Andrews, Craig- Team Leader Budde, Derek- Secretary/Treasurer Harada, Sho- Head of Construction Parker, Ben- Safety Officer Poon, Patrick- Co Leader

Major Progress and Achievements

The original design for the Aquaponics systems contained three reservoirs, and grow beds. The grow beds are mounted above the reservoirs to allow water to drain by gravity. The previous design incorporated varying amounts of fish in each tank to vary ammonia levels to accommodate different levels of nitrate conversion for the plants. A major design change was initiated after meeting with Professor Royann Petrell. From her experience with aquaculture and water testing she suggest we use a separator tank mounted outside the tank, and a large 50-gallon reservoir for the fish. Petrell made it very clear that we would be surprised by the amount of waste only a few fish could create, it was indicated that a simple mechanical filter would not suffice and would need constant cleaning.

So from this our design will now incorporate a settling tank to collect bio-waste and provide a larger surface area that beneficial bacteria can proliferate. The design for separator tank will consist of a reservoir with inert substrate that will filter the bio-waste. The substrate will more that likely be simple pea-gravel that will be sufficient for this intended application. Also the gravel will be present in both the main reservoir and the separate settling tank. With this we hope to give that naturally occurring but vital bacteria a chance to do its job.

The settling tank will be mounted on one end of the main water reservoir and water will be pumped up into the settling tank. The water will then sit in this tank allowing larger, heavier particles to settle into the gravel to decompose and be converted into usable nitrogen. From the settling tank water till flow out of some over flow tubes into the grow beds. This method should insure that there is a constant flow of nutrient rich water flowing past the root of the plants. The will probably be a mechanical filter on the overflow pipes to help prevent blockage problems in the growing system.

The main reservoir has been designed to contain about 50 gallons of water. The dimensions of this tank are roughly 48” long, 14” wide, and 18” high. These dimensions will allow the stocked fish to live comfortably and health with enough room to move and grow. This 50 gallon tank will be constructed using ¾” plywood with plastic liner. A small pump will pump water from the reservoir tank into the separator tank where it will overflow into the grow beds. The fish bio-waste can be contained and removed at regular intervals. It was also suggested that only one large fish containment tank be used. The extra volume of water will buffer against large changes of ammonia and nitrate levels.

Our research has led us to make the decision to use carp to stock the main reservoir. Carp are a fish that is able to tolerate varying temperature, compound and pH levels with in reason. Also the carp are well suited to an Aquaponics system because of their high waste output. This will allow for a higher level of nutrients, which in turn is good for plant growth. Additionally as a safety factor we will place some sort of screen over the main tank to insure that the carps will not jump out of the tank.

Research by our group has yielded a better overall picture about the light cycle and nutrient needs of our test specimen: lettuce. In addition various methods for germination have been explored; lettuce seeds will be inserted into rockwool cubes until roots appear, and then transplanted into the system where the new roots will be exposed to the water running through he system. The lettuce has remained the best choice because of the rate of which it absorbs and uses nitrogen through its growth cycle. In addition it is a quick growing plant that need no extra structure to grown on.

Additionally we have been told that we will be able to use the store bought kits for home aquarium testing. This will allow us to measure and record the levels of certain compound that are present in our system. Our prior speculation that these tests were

not accurate enough for our system but they are used in different labs around campus.

The light structure has had no change from the initial design, as there was little or nothing to improve on the fairly simple structure. Also the grow beds have had little to no change from what was initially discussed as we feel that they are sufficient and will be able to support what we intend to do.

Another major achievement is the cost for this Aquaponics system has been reduced considerably because this system only requires one pump and reservoir, as opposed to three separate tanks and pumps and associated dripper manifolds required for the previous design. Another reduction on cost is the donation of an air pump, and growing lamp by Professor Dunford. In addition, Professor Paula Parkinson offered to donate nitrate, ammonia, and Ph test kits.

Unfinished Tasks:

As we now have a finial design there are a number of step to follow. First, we need to take all of the rough, hand-drawn design and convert them into a professional 3D design. Also as we intend to start the grow period sometime from mid to late January we need to build the actual working Aquaponics system. The system will need to be constructed and tested without anything living in it to ensure that there is proper circulation and no leaks. We also need to go out and buy any supplies or materials that are needed to complete construction. In addition to construction we need to start the germination of the lettuce seeds to ensure that they have roots by the time they are transplanted into the grow beds of out Aquaponics system. Once the system is set up and the circulation is running we will need to add water and fish so that by the time the plants are planted there is sufficient levels of vital nutrients to permit grown.

Finally, even though we are done with the physical design of the system so research still needs to be done in a number of area. These include the interval in which the plants get light everyday, the number of fish that will live in the main reservoir, and a schedule and table to record the concentration of the various compounds that will exist in our system.

Schedule Revision:

Although we had a major set back when finding out or design needed to be changed in order for the system to work we are surprisingly still on track to be able to start initial construction of the system when we return from Christmas break. This was due to the group’s hard work in re-designing the system into something that was more likely to work. In addition we feel that it would be smart to start some construction over the break in order to take some of the pressure off some January. This could also give us about two weeks longer in actual growing time or create buffer time if the construction takes longer than expected. Nothing else from the previous schedule has changed and as a group we feel that we should have no troubles in completing the tasks as they are listed in our gnat chart. If anything should change we will re-asses the situation and make any necessary changes to our project schedule. Please refer below to the gnat chart.

Group Problems:

The initial design for the system was ready by mid October, which consisted of three individual, miniature systems with different amounts of fish inhabited. The emphasis of the design was to allow for comparison of plant growth and to observe if fish effluent was indeed converted into forms which could be absorbed by the plants as nutrients. This design was changed in mid November after consulting Doctor Royann Petrell of Chemical and Biological Engineering. She had extensive knowledge and

hands-on experience with Aquaponics systems and had advised us to change our designs for it to work. The changes had to be made in the size of the tank, the kind of fish used in the system, and the addition of settling tank. Our new design consists of a single 50 gallon tank with carp fish as the inhabitants. The carp fish excretes large amounts of effluent (urea, excretion) relative to other room temperature fish. The large tank allows for the effluent to settle in the bottom of the tank, which will be converted to plant-friendly sulfates by the bacteria living within the matrix of the grabbles. The addition of settling tank on the side of the system ensures all solids in the solution entering the grow beds are removed. The number of grow beds are reduced to two from three and they are fed with the same solution from the settling tank. Another group problem was the loss of a team member. Unfortunately Kathryn dropped out of our course for reasons unknown, this has created added work load for all members of our group.

Budget allocation, Expenditure and Total Expenses to Date

To date we have spent no money on this project. This is partly due to the major design changes that took place in mid-November. If we had carried on with the intended design it is likely that many of the necessary items would have been purchased. Additionally, we have been fortunate enough that we were able to obtain a number of items through donations. These items such as grow lights and a pump have really helped keep the cost done. Below we have a price list of the items we intend to buy.

Reference Materials List

Parts List 4 x 8 x ¾” sheet plywood

Estimated Cost ($)

25.00

20.00 Plastic liner 10.00 Separator tank ¾” elbow fittings

5.00

¾” tubing

5.00

8 feet

20.00

16 – netted pots

16.00

16 – neoprene pucks

16.00

16 – rockwool cubes

8.00

Carp fish (estimate 20)

0.48 x 20 = 9.60 Donated

Small water pump 4 foot twin lamp

Donated Donated Small air pump Inert substrate

Gnatt Chart

Free

10/11/09 10/31/09 11/20/09 12/10/09 12/30/09 01/19/10 02/08/10 02/28/10 03/20/10 04/09/10

Initial Planning

In-depth Research

Proposal

Finalization of Plans

Construction

Acclimatization

Growth Period