Aquaponics | Technological Design

FALL/WINTER 2020 - Aquaponics

Problem

Aquaponics refers to any system that combines conventional aquaculture with hydroponics in a symbiotic environment. Aquaponics is a way to grow your own fish and vegetables at the same time. You feed the fish and the fish will feed your plants through their waste output. There is no need to use fertilizers because the fish provide rich nutrients for the plants. In aquaponics, less water is used for the crops.

We as a class were tasked to build one aquaponics system each. We had no real dimension limit. All that was needed was plants and fish, and a way to get them to support each other. We had eight full weeks to build the main structure and have the full setup up and running. We then have 9 more weeks to watch the process of the cycle and make any adjustments necessary.

Solution

To solve the problem of making my aquaponics, I used a deep water culture aquaponics system. I used a 10-gallon tank containing a filter that cleans the water and a pump with tubing connecting the pump to a PVC pipe with holes in it to simulate rainfall. The fish I used are common guppies; more specifically, Poecilia reticulate. These fish are fast and swim around the top of the tank and are especially good in cold water. This is good for me as my room temperature is below 70 degrees Fahrenheit.

I used PCV pipes for the overall structure of the system. I made a sort of holder for the window tray box containing my plants and the clay pebbles that clean the water. I also made a holder for my LED grow light to hang on too. My room is relatively dark so the grow light is very necessary for my plants to grow.

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Source

Feedback

I had lots of fun building this project. It was the first time playing around with PCV pipes and needless to say now I have more knowledge on it and more materials than I need. Overall I think it adds a cool aspect to my room and is very cool to be able to watch the progress of my plants five feet away from my room. I just wish my pump did not stop working so I could show the full potential of the project and actually work. I am proud of my work as I spent quite a while on it.

Project Updates

Week 1 -

The plants seem to be doing good in their new home. The roots of the plant have already started to grow and work their way around the clay pebbles. The fish seem to be doing good as well and since their common guppies, they suit my room good as it's always freezing in here. The lady at PetSmart actually tried to sell me a water warmer I believe but I had done my research already and I knew the guppies liked relatively cold water better.

Week 2 - The plants are doing very well for the exemption of one, it died a few days ago but I have reason to think that it was not my aquaponics project that was at fault but the plant already being close to death when I planted them in the clay pebbles. It was the smallest of the three and wasn't showing any signs of growth instead it was losing leaves. As for the other lettuce plants they seem to be growing good, growing half an inch since when I bought them. The guppies have grown a little as well maybe less than half an inch.

Week 3 - I replaced the one that had died last week, unfortunately it will grow at a slower pace then the ones I already have. The other two seem to be doing as well, they are growing at a steady pace. Though I am debating on how much water I should be giving them a day. For now, I have the motor pumping constantly thought the day and since the tube going up to where my plants are had tiny holes punched throughout the whole thing I think its safe to say that its alright for it to be pumping 8 hours a day. I moved the whole project overall to a more secluded area as it became apparent that where the project was located (on my desk next to the big window) was getting too much sunlight. This was a problem because on top of the sunlight coming in from the window, I have a light for plants giving off heat, which I noticed was not good for the plants. They would dry for some time and be good the next. I moved it to the back of my room as far away from the window. This ultimately solved the issue and the plants continued to flourish.

Week 4 - This week was an exciting week for my plants, the 2 oldest ones sprouted new leaf's and their roots have grown deep in the clay pallets. The fish on the other hand are showing some rather bad signs, the fish are not eating as much as they used to and their movements are slower as well. I did some research and found that they might be afraid or intimated by me or their environment. I think its because of the amount of noises the pump makes its very loud especially when there is not enough water for the pump to gather water. Even my family has noted how loud the pump is and can even be heard from a different room. To try and fix these problems I looked at how I put the pump together, and I realized that I hadn't tightened the screw that connected the pump to the tube correctly.

Week 5 - Week 5 did not start of so good, I had been pretty confident the system could work by itself, besides the obvious feeding of fish. I was wrong to assume this, I neglected it for a day at most and when I looked back at it I realized the water looked at bit green, at first I figured it was just the reflection of my wall with the tank light reflecting the back wall which is a teal color. Then I went to sleep and woke up with the whole fish tank covered in almost a green moss type of thing. I immediately knew I had to take out my fish, when I woke up one had already died. I took them out and placed them in a bucket. since they are not so big they all fit in there. I feed them regularly and began researching more information on the green moss.

Week 6 - During this week I solely focused on cleaning the tank, I was getting tired of constantly replacing the water for the fish. I searched up how to fix the issue and many sources required for some sort cleaning mixture. I cleaned it and scrubbed it well, I had to also replace the power filters filter, when I opened it up the actual filter was very dirty and filled with plant particles. After cleaning and changing the filters I refilled the tank and put my fish back. Though another fish had died in the bucket I was still left with 5 guppies.

Week 7 - The plants are doing very well for the exemption of one, it died a few days ago but I have reason to think that it was not my aquaponics project that was at fault but the plant already being close to death when I planted them in the clay pebbles. It was the smallest of the three and wasn't showing any signs of growth instead it was losing leaves. As for the other lettuce plants they seem to be growing good, growing half an inch since when I bought them. The guppies have grown a little as well maybe less than half an inch.