Aquaponic System Final Design

5:25 PM in Aqua, aquaponic, design, final, system

So, here’s the floor plan. As you can see, it is 22.4m long and 6.55m wide. Some system details are as follows:

Aquaponics, ækw??p?n?ks, pisciponics

• Rearing Tank — The rearing tank will hold roughly 9.5m3 of water. I rounded the ends so the stupid fish don’t get bloody noses all the time. The tank will be stocked every 4 weeks with 120 fish. There will be 6 cohorts of fish aged 4 weeks apart at all times. I will separate the cohorts with suitably sized netting. The position of these divisions will be adjustable in accordance with the growth rate of any given cohort. Harvesting will be done weekly, 30 fish at a time. The outside of the tank facing south will be painted black and exposed to the sun.
• Hydroponic Tanks — There will be 4 hydroponic tanks. Each will be 12m long and 1.2 meters wide. At a water depth of 30cm, each tank will hold roughly 4.32m3. Plants will be put in net pots which are inserted into holes in Styrofoam boards (1.2m x 0.6m) and dangle their roots happily in the nutrient rich water.
• Clarifier/Filter/Degassing Units — Each hydroponic tank will get its own set of these highly important if simply designed contraptions. A clarifier, otherwise known as a swirl filter and other such names, removes the lumpier pieces of fish waste. I intend to use 200l plastic barrels. The filter is just another smaller barrel that’s got an armload of orchard netting in it to which the finer solids will be instructed to attach themselves in an orderly fashion.  The degassing tank is another small barrel with a few air stones in it to help remove carbon dioxide, methane, and such.
• Pump — I’ve purchased a Reef Octopus recirculation pump which will push 7,000l per hour while consuming a frugal 88W. This is roughly 1/4 of the flow rate that the UVI system uses.
• Air Pumps — I’ve purchased 5 Hailea air pumps. Each would push 60l of air if only I were at sea level instead of 1,200m. They are also frugal, using 55W each. Each hydroponic tank will have its own air pump. Ten of the 12 diffusion nozzles fitted to an air pump will go to air stones spaced equally along the bottom of the respective hydroponic tank. The other two will be fed to the degassing tank. The 5th air pump will be devoted to keeping the fish bubbly and happy.
• Sump — The sump is just a 1.2m round concrete ring set in the ground at a lower height than the rest of the system. The pump will reside here and replace the water that has flowed by gravity from the rearing tanks through the other system components.  There will be certain losses due to evaporation, plant uptake, leaks, etc. Depending on the water temperature, this loss will be replaced by either hot water produced in a solar water heater (a nice name for a couple of 200l barrels painted black, facing the sun, and enclosed/insulated) or ambient temperature water from a rain barrel. This is also the place where additives such as hydrated lime are gradually added if necessary to raise the PH.
• Total Water Volume — About 30m3
• Total Growing Area — 55 to 57.6m2
• Greenhouse Footprint — 147m2

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First Custom Contracted Aquaponic System Built!

4:16 PM in Aqua, aquaponic, built, contracted, custom, first, system

Im pleased to report that I have just completed construction of my first custom aquaponic system for a client based in Little Compton, RI. See more pictures and find out the details by visiting the new Custom Client System page!

First custom built aquaponic system: 4 x 2 x 1 grow bed with 3 x 2 x 1.5 fish tank using an autosiphon

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How to start an aquaponic system

5:05 AM in an, Aqua, aquaponic, how, start, system, to

Starting an aquaponic system

Introduction

This experiment is an introduction into the functions and management of a small aquaponic system. Like a home aquarium, an aquaponic system requires special attention in the first weeks, since the microbial community in the water and in the plant boxes need some time to get established.

Learning goals

• Know why an aquarium requires a filter.
• Know how to monitor the water quality by using simple aquarium test kits.
• Be able to explain what the measured factors indicate in terms of water quality, fish health and plant growth.
• Understand how to react in case of bad water quality in the aquarium.

Starting an aquaponic system

Background information

There are at least three species of living organisms in an aquaponic system. There are fish, plants and bacteria. In our small classroom system we will have about four goldfish in the aquarium, 60 plants in the plant beds and about 100000 billion of bacteria and other very small species in the gravel or LECA. Bacteria have been on this planet for 3 billion years while man exists for at most 3 million years, and our civilisation for just 10000 years. A human being couldnt survive a day without the help of bacteria and neither would the fish and plants in our classroom system.
The fish need oxygen to survive - in the same way as human beings, i.e. by breathing - but the fish take oxygen from the water and excrete ammonium and carbon dioxide over the gills. There is also ammonium in the excrements (faeces) from the fish. The ammonium in the water can become dangerous to the fish. The bacteria can transform ammonium into a substance (nitrate) which is harmless to the fish and at the same time an important plant nutrient. This process is called nitrification and it is necessary to supply the plants with nitrogen fertilizer.
So the first thing we need to do before we put any fish in the aquarium, is to start growing a lot of bacteria in the plant boxes, so that they can take care of the fish excrements i.e. the ammonium in the water.




Another important factor influencing the water quality is pH. It indicates whether the water is acidic, neutral or basic. The pH is measured on a scale of 1-14 with 7 being neutral. Is the pH lower than 7, the water is acidic, if it is higher, the water is basic. Depending on the fish species, the optimum pH varies. Goldfish tolerate variations in pH much more than other fish species, but to avoid stress, the pH should stay within the range of 6.5 - 8.

Time requirement

The starting phase should last at least for three weeks.

Material requirement

• 1 classroom aquaponic system
• 1 aquarium test kit for ammonium (NH₄⁺)
• 1 aquarium test kit for nitrite (NO₂^-)
• 1 aquarium test kit for nitrate (NO₃^-)
• 1 aquarium test kit for pH
• 1 bacteria starter package for aquarium filters
• 1 aquarium thermometer

Lets start

Start the biofilter - multiply the bacteria! Fill the system with water and start the air pump. It is important to keep the oxygen level high for the bacteria to thrive. The water pump is now circulating the water through the system. There are different ways to multiply the bacteria. For example you can add a starter package of bacteria, or you add a very small amount of ammonium to the system in order to feed the already present bacteria in the substrate. We suggest to add a fertilizer containing ammonium, to achieve an ammonia concentration of 10 mg/l. If using ammonium sulfate, you would add 4.7 g of the powder to 100 l of aquarium water.

Is the filter working? If there are enough bacteria in your filter to transform ammonium into nitrate, your filter is working. To find out, you need to measure ammonium, nitrite and nitrate. You can begin with measuring the ammonia concentration and monitor, how every day it is decreasing. After a week you can start measuring nitrite and nitrate, using the sticks from the pharmacist or the aquarium dealer. During the first days you can have some indication of nitrite but when the system is ready you should have no response of nitrite. It normally takes between three to six weeks to multiply the bacteria enough so they can digest the ammonium amount that will be caused by the application of fish food.

Control and regulate pH! To measure the pH in the water use the pH-sticks. If the value is between 6.5 and 8, there is no need to do anything. If it is above or below that value,change part of the water! If you feel experienced enough, instead of changing the water, you could add formic acid in case the pH is higher than 8. Add one part of the acid to 50 parts of water and use a drop of this solution every day until pH is right. If pH is too low, you can add a tea spoon of calcium hydroxide or potassium hydroxide in a cup of water and use a drop of this until pH has the right level.

Temperature: Temperature is very critical because it influences other water quality variables. For example cold water can hold more dissolved oxygen than warm water. Fish are very sensitive to changes of temperature, smaller fish being more sensitive than larger ones. Goldfish belong to the group of coldwater fish and prefer temperatures between 18 -25 °C. They will tolerate any temperature from 4-30 ºC however, as long as the water still contains enough oxygen and low amounts of ammonia. Remember that the body temperature of fish is always the same as the water temperature. Therefore, in colder water fish will eat less or stop eating at all when the temperature drops below 9 °C (Mette, 2006). On the contrary, in warmer water fish will digest faster and get a lot more hungry. Be careful, though, not to give too much feed! More feed means that the fish need more oxygen, but in warmer water there is less oxygen. So these two factors are working against each other, and you have the balance in your hand.

See and feel

• Ammonia (tolerance value: < 0.8 mg/l) and Nitrite (should be 0 mg/l at all times, max. 0.2 mg/l) (measure each second day).
• Nitrate - its raising indicates that the filter process has been started (once per week). The nitrate value should be between 10-100 mg/l.
• pH should be between 6.5 and 8 (once per week).
• Water temperature should be between 18 - 25°C, depending on the fish species
• If the values of ammonia, nitrite, nitrate and pH are out of range, stop feeding. In severe cases, change part of the aquarium water.

Didactical comments

In order to understand the process of nitrification, or what happens in the filter, some basic knowledge in chemistry is required. However it is possible to explain it in using metaphors: two little animals (bacteria) are responsible to transform the poison (ammonium) into a non toxic substance (nitrate), which at the same time will feed the plants. With the ammonia and nitrite test kit we indirectly measure the existence and quantity of these bacteria.

Aquaponics, ækw??p?n?ks, pisciponics http://aquaponics-commercial-backyard.blogspot.com.es/

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Aquaponic Systems Growing Methods

3:07 AM in Aqua, aquaponic, growing, methods, systems

 Aquaponic Systems Growing Methods

The way aquaponic systems are built are endless. The two parts that are the same are the fish tank and a plant bed. Some of the differences include filtration techniques, plumbing, the type of plant bed, growing medium, and the frequency of water and aeration. Some of the more popular aquaponic methods emerging in the industry are methods based on a hydroponic system design, and raising fish for filtration.

Raft Methode

Aquaponics, ækw??p?n?ks, pisciponics

The raft system method is the first  of our easy aquaponic systems.  The raft system is also known as deep channel, float and deep flow.  The plants are grown on rafts made from Styrofoam boards that float on the water. The rafts are usually in a tank separate from the fish tank. Water flows continuously from the fish tank, through filtration components, through the raft tank where the plants are grown and then back to the fish tank. The beneficial bacteria live in the raft tank and throughout the system.
The water in the raft tank provides a buffer for the fish, reducing stress and potential water quality problems. This is one of the greatest benefits of the raft system. Plus, this method has been improved for over 20 years. The raft system is a well developed method that allows for high plant production per square foot.  Commercial raft systems can cover large areas, best utilizing the floor space in a greenhouse. Vegetable seedlings are best placed on one end of the raft tank. The rafts are pushed forward on the surface of the water over time and then the mature plants are harvested at the other end of the raft. Once a raft is harvested, it can be replanted with seedlings and set into place on the opposite end. The optimizes floor space, which is especially important in a commercial greenhouse setting.

The NFT (Nutrient Film Technique) Method

Aquaponics, ækw??p?n?ks, pisciponics

The second setup is hydroponic  NFT (Nutrient Film Technique), which is a method in which long narrow channels are used to grow the plants.  A thin film of water continuously flows down each channel, providing the plant roots with water, nutrients and oxygen. As with the raft system, water flows continuously from the fish tank, through filtration components, through the NFT channels where the plants are grown and then back to the fish tank. In NFT, a separate bio filter is required, however, because there is not a large amount of water or surface for the beneficial bacteria to live. In addition, the plumbing used in a hydroponic NFT system is usually not large enough to be used in aquaponics because the organic nature of the system and “living” water will cause clogging of small pipes and tubes. NFT aquaponics shows potential however,  it is used less than other aquaponic methods.

The EBB (Flood and Drain) Method 

Aquaponics, ækw??p?n?ks, pisciponics

Hydroponic EBB and Flow is the third method of aquaponic systems.  EBB and Flow or Flood and Drain uses media filled beds that are periodically flooded with water from the fish tank. The water is drained after the water level rises above the bell siphon and flows back to the fish tank. All waste, including the solids, is broken down within the plant bed. Sometimes worms are added to the gravel-filled plant bed to enhance the break-down of the waste. This method uses the fewest components and no additional filtration, making it simple to operate and naming it one of the best aquaponic system methods. The plant production is less than the two methods described above. The media-filled bed is often used for hobby applications where maximizing production is not a goal.

The Aeroponic Method

 

Aquaponics, ækw??p?n?ks, pisciponics

 








Another method that can be use with aquaponic systems it the basic principle of aeroponics.  Your vegetables and plants are suspended in a closed or semi-closed environment by spraying the plant’s dangling roots and lower stem with an  nutrient-rich fish water. The leaves and crown, often called the “canopy”, extend above the the growing container. The roots of the plant are separated by the plant support structure. Many times closed cell foam is compressed around the lower stem and inserted into an opening in the aeroponic chamber, which decreases labor and expense; for larger plants, a trellis structure is used to suspend the weight of your crops.
Ideally, your system is kept free from bugs, pests and disease so that the plants may grow healthier and more quickly than plants grown in a medium or the soil. However, since most aeroponic environments are not perfectly closed off to the outside, pests and disease may still cause a threat. Controlled environments advance plant development, health, growth, flowering and fruiting for any given plant species and cultivators.

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Aquaponic Calculator

7:18 AM in Aqua, aquaponic, calculator

Download the Calculator

Aquaponics calculator

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