Aquaponics Upgrade: Designing and Building Max Hornick, Jennifer - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

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