Aquaponics Upgrade: Designing and Building Max Hornick, Jennifer Lyon, Collin Cronin, Amy Kobylarz, Sean Westley
Design Goal: ● Create a durable, low maintenance, highly efficient, low energy/resource usage, and adaptable aquaponics system that can demonstrate outdoor and commercial potential
Building: ● Alternative hydroponic systems ○ Vertical grow towers and deep water culture (DWC) ● LED grow lights ● Filtration ○ Radial flow separator/settler (RFS) and sand gravel-filled particulate biofilter ● FIsh tank viewing window
Vertical Grow Towers ● Grow plants in towers with water running down them ● Optimizes space ● Cost efficient ● Performs nitrification, solids filtration, and mineralization
Deep Water Culture ● In deep water culture systems, plants grow in rafts floating over a pool of water ● Does not clog with solids ● Inexpensive ● Durable ● Easy to clean and sanitize ● High success rate in past years
LED Grow Lights ● Blue lights for vegetative growth ● Red lights for flowering and fruiting of plants ● Energy efficient
Radial Flow Separator/Settler (RFS) ● Mechanical filtration by redirecting water flow and using gravity to filter heavy waste solids ● Captures solids better than swirl/vortex filters ● Materials are easily accessed and relatively inexpensive
Sand and Gravel filled Particulate Gravel Filter ● Use slow flow rate and high surface area of gravel and sand to create ideal conditions for bacteria growth that converts ammonia into nitrate ● Materials are easily accessed and relatively inexpensive ● Superior biofiltration
Fish Tank Viewing Window ● Allows people to easily observe the fish ● Yellow Perch ○ Native to Michigan ○ Tolerate poor water quality ○ Reproductive reliability ○ Require less heat energy ○ Known to be successful in outdoor aquaponic systems
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