Construction and Testing of an Aquaponics System to

Determine Optimal Hydraulic Loading Rate

Evan LastName1
Telephone: 123-456-7890
Box Number: C-XXXX
eln01@somewhere.edu

&

William LastName2
Telephone: 123-456-7890
Box Number: C-XXXX
wln02@somewhere.edu

Mrs. Karin Knisely

Department of Biology

Professor Charles Knisely

Mechanical Engineering Department

November 6, 20XX

_____________________________________________________________________
Signatures of Students

_____________________________________________________________________
Signatures of Advisers

© 2015 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved.

1
Introduction

New forms of harvesting animals and plants have been gaining importance over the past few

decades. Current fishing and farming practices do not reflect the “green” culture that society is

moving towards. Overfishing and pollution is reducing the availability of seafood while the

contamination of water resources with pesticides is making food production a harder task.

Additionally, the expanding global population is demanding more food every day from a limited

supply of arable land which is quickly approaching its physical output limits [1].Some of the

alternate practices that address how to solve these problems are aquaculture, hydroponics and

aquaponics.

The farming of aquatic organisms, also referred as aquaculture, is usually practiced in opened,

semi-closed and closed systems. Opened systems require little maintenance as they are closer to

natural processes. Fingerlings or shellfish are raised and harvested after the growth period to be

sold. Semi opened systems employ techniques to allow producing aquatic organisms in numbers

that are beyond of which they are found in nature, such as aeration and prepared feeds. Closed

systems require the culturists to provide all necessary nutrients for the cultured organism as well

as constant oxygenation, nutritional rations, waste management and water filtration [2].

One way to reduce the intensive management required by closed systems is to integrate them

with hydroponic systems. Hydroponics is a technique used to grow plants in nutrient-rich water

without the use of soil. It is preferred over traditional culture techniques due its resistance to

some pests such as aphids, easiness to automate, lack of soil use, high crop density, and its time

independency [3]. A plant can grow on a hydroponics system any time of the year.

© 2015 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved.

2
The integration of the aquaculture and hydroponics is called aquaponics. An aquaponic system is

a re-circulating integrated system where the by-products of fish growth are channeled into

secondary crops of aquatic or terrestrial plants [4]. The fishes generate the nutrients necessary for

the plants to grow, while the plants filter the water to be recirculated.

The nutrient rate of change in an aquaponic system can be modified by varying several different

parameters. One of the methods to adjust the amount of nutrients in the solution is to change the

fish to plant ratio. Ideally, the water should have the exact proportion of nutrients required for

growing plants. However, the difference in the ratios of consumption of different nutrients soon

lead to a non-optimal nutritional adequacy solution for the plants [5].

One solution to this problem is to change the hydraulic load ratio (HLR) of the recirculating

aquaponics system (RAS) [5]. By changing the flow rate of the water in the system, different

proportions of nutrients in the water can be achieved. An optimum flow rate that maximizes the

absorption of nutrients by the plants for a given species of fish culture can also be found.

Proposed Project

The proposed research project will focus on determining the optimal hydraulic loading rate of an

aquaponics system. While there are many possible plant and fish variations of aquaponics

systems, the proposed project will build on the work of Endut et al. [5] and utilize a flathead

catfish (Pylodictis olivaris) and water spinach (Ipomoea aquatica) system. Specifically, we

propose to examine the effect of and determine the optimal hydraulic loading rate for a flathead

© 2015 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved.

3
catfish and water spinach aquaponics system. The results of the flathead catfish system will be

compared the African catfish system of Endut et al.

The proposed project work will consist of constructing an aquaponics system and utilizing the

system for three growing cycles. The recirculation aquaponic system will be modeled after the

proven system of Endut et al. as shown in Fig. 1 [5]. Modifications will be made so that the

system has only two culture tanks, two hydroponic troughs, and one rapid sand filter. The

smaller system will reduce costs and upkeep while still providing enough testing cycles in the

five month time frame. A benefit of this design is that the system is reusable. Future projects can

bypass the construction phase and simply test any of the numerous variable parameters of the

system.

Fig. 1: Diagram of aquaponic setup with A: culture tank, B: hydroponic trough (planted bed), C:
hydroponic trough (control bed), D: filter, E: sprinkler, F sump, G: pump, H: rapid sand
filter, I: water storage tank, J: air blower, and K: valves (from [5])

© 2015 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved.

4
A carefully controlled environment is required to grow the plants in consistent conditions.

Additionally, the testing will be conducted during the winter season which is not the appropriate

environment for catfish or spinach growth. These restrictions require the aquaponic system to be

located in one of the three greenhouses owned by the biology department. It is vital that space in

the greenhouse be provided for this project because any other locations will introduce

uncontrollable environmental variables that will skew the results. Construction of the aquaponic

apparatus will require a temporary 3 week space in a Mechanical Engineering (ME) lab with

substantial use of the Engineering College Manufacturing Facility (ECMF). Both members of the

team have a general access badge for the ECMF and are capable of operating the necessary

machines for construction.

The first 2.5 weeks of the project will be the construction phase. Parts will already have been

ordered and the system will be constructed in the ME lab during this time. The project will then

be moved to the greenhouse for the testing phase. The testing phase will consist of 3 consecutive

trials each with two different hydraulic loading rates (HLR) for a total of 6 different HLRs. Each

trial is comprised of a 5 day plantless stabilization period followed by the introduction of spinach

and a 35 day growth period. After the four month testing phase, a 1.5 weeks post processing

phase is scheduled for data processing. The post processing phase also serves as a safety buffer

to account for any unexpected delays during the process.

Following the construction phase, upkeep of the experiment will be a moderate time

commitment. Fish will need to be fed daily with accurate statistics kept on exact amount of food

© 2015 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved.

5
fed, feedings per day, and total feed per day. Additionally, fish body weight and length will need

to be measured daily to keep track of fish growth. Plant growth will be monitored by measuring

spinach height and number of shoots once per week. Water samples will also need to be taken

once per week to examine its nutrient properties. Specifically, standard methods will be used to

measure biochemical oxygen demand (BOD5) and total suspended solid (TSS) while a

spectrophotometer owned by the biology department will measure total ammonium nitrogen

(TAN), nitrite nitrogen (NO2-N), nitrate nitrogen (NO3-N), and total phosphorus (TP). All tasks

will be split between the two team members. Assistance by Mrs. Knisely of the biology

department will be necessary, however, during the first couple of water tests to instruct us on the

use of the spectrophotometer.

The mentors for this project will be Mrs. Karin Knisely and Professor Charles Knisely. Mrs.

Knisely’s biology background will be very useful resource throughout the project. Prof. Charles

Knisely will serve as our consultant on design and assembly of the pumps, tanks, and general

plumbing. We currently plan to meet with both advisers on a weekly basis to discuss how the

project is progressing and solve any problems that arise. The one week guideline is flexible and

will be adjusted to reflect the changes in workload as the project advances through the different

phases. Professor Knisely and Mrs. Knisely will also be familiar with the aquaponic system

upkeep and have agreed to serve as an emergency back-up in the case that both team members

are unavailable.

A preliminary budget for the project can be found in Table 1 in the appendix. We are requesting

$800 to build and test our aquaponic system. This is a rough, conservative estimate and the

© 2015 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved.

6
project cost should not exceed this ceiling. More accurate results will be determined as the

specifics of the system are determined.

Conclusion

Aquaponics has the ability to change completely the dynamics of the food production sector.

Despite aquaponics huge potential, relatively little information is known about the ideal

parameters of the relatively young technology. Our research will begin exploring aquaponics by

determining the optimal hydraulic loading rate for a flathead catfish and spinach system. The

results for our flathead catfish system will be compared to those of the African catfish system

studied by Endut et al. to determine if HLRs are consistent between the catfish species. Our

research is an important first step in opening the door for continued research of this exciting new

technology at Somewhere University.

References

[1] http://web.mit.edu/12.000/www/m2012/finalwebsite/problem/agriculture.shtml

[2] Flimlin, G., Buttner, J., Webster, D., 2008, "Aquaculture Systems for the Northeast," . NRAC
Publication No. 104-2008.

[3] http://ezinearticles.com/?Hydroponic-Gardening-Theory&id=1130179

[4] Rakocy, J., Masser, M., Losordo, T., “Recirculating Tank Aquaculture Tank Production
Systems : Aquaponics - Integrating Fish and Plant Culture,”. SRAC Publication No. 454.

[5] Endut, A., Jusoh, A., Ali, N., 2010, "A Study on the Optimal Hydraulic Loading Rate and
Plant Ratios in Recirculation Aquaponic System," Bioresource Technology, 101(5) pp. 1511-
1517.

© 2015 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved.

7
Appendix
Table 1 Preliminary cost estimate
Part Purpose Cost ($)
Spinach Seeds Spinach Plants 12.00
Catfish Fish 150.00
Fish Feed Feed the fish 675.00
Tank and Trough
Wood Construction 75.00
PVC System Piping 25.00
Valves System Flow Regulation 75.00
Pumps Circulation of Water 250.00
Epoxy Paint Waterproof Wood Seal 78.00
Filter Water Purification 50.00
Sprinkler Water Distribution 20.00
Rapid Sand Filter Water Purification 100.00
Water Storage
Tank Water Storage 60.00
Preliminary Total 1570.00
10% Cost Overhead 157.00
Total 1727.00

© 2015 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved.

8