This presentation was the result of 5 students working as a team to develop an efficient integrated aquaponics system (hydroponics and aquaculture) for use in the Great Park in Irvine. We presented this to the representatives of our industry sponsors: Thomas Grimm of Makers Depot and Tom Larson of the Orange County Great Park. In this project the student team evaluated the viability, efficiency, and design requirements of an aquaponic system to determine its sustainability as a business model for food production. This presentation is a summary of the results.

1. Industry Sponsor: Thomas Grimm, OC Great Park
Faculty Advisors: Dr. Vince Mcdonell, PhD, Dr. Farzad Ahmadkhanlou, PhD
Students: Darren Zack,Teresa Nguyen,Henry Gomez,Mark Annevelink,Lee Tea

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3. Project Goals
Design an aquaponics system for use in an educational
environment. The model should include a 10ft. By 10ft.
greenhouse, a composting unit, house freshwater prawns
and 2 types of fish, grow plants and seedlings, and collect
and store rainwater.
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4. New System
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5. System Components
• Greenhouse
• 10 feet x 10 feet, designed to be easily expanded
• Rainwater Collection and Storage
• Rainwater is collected and used to replace evaporated water
• Compost Box
• Drawers with a removable front panel
• Seedling Box
• Drawers with slotted trays
• Fish Tank
• Two tanks with tilted bases, circulated with air pumps
• Grow Bed
• Two ebb and flow grow beds with nitrogen fixing plants
• Grow Tubes
• Multiple tubes hung above the grow beds for added plant capacity
• Control system
• Digital controller to monitor sensors (O2, temperature, etc.)
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6. Greenhouse
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● Base unit is 10 feet x 10 feet x 10 feet
● Side panels can open and close for access to hard to
reach areas
● Can be expanded to create a rectangular shape, that is
longer than wide

7. Rainwater Collection System
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● Rainwater collected in gutters
● Stored in tank at rear of greenhouse
● Elevated so water flows into greenhouse without
using a pump

8. Compost Unit
● Grow worms to feed fish
● Time for composting to finish
● Worms: 1-3 months
● Black Soldier Fly: 3 weeks
● Design of clear drawers to allow children to see the composting in
action
● Drawer pivots on central axis for easy compost removal
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Downselect of Compost Design

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Seedling Unit
● Replace mature plants with new seedlings
● Clear trays allow students to see root growth
● Sell seedlings for profit
● Seedlings grown from seed or clone

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Fish Tanks
• There are two tanks, one for koi and the other for striped bass
• They have tilted bases to facilitate the collection of wastes
• Circulation is done through an air lift
• Water is pumped to the growbeds and grow tubes with a water
pump
• The prawn cages are located within the fish tanks (not pictured)

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Grow Beds
• There are two ebb and flow grow beds
• Bell siphon used to control ebb and flow
• Water drains directly into the fish tank below
• Gravel used as a grow medium

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Grow Tubes
• 3 tubes are suspended above each growbed
• Continuous water flow

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Control System
• A digital feedback system that allowing monitoring of
system parameters
• Examples: Dissolved O2, pH, Humidity, Temperature,
Water Level
• Incorporation of controllers to simplify maintenance
and allow remote monitoring
• Integration of a control system is vital for realization of
commercial Aquaponic systems in practice
Atlas Scientific Dissolved O2
Kit (Audrino Compatible)

15. Audrino Environment
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• 256K Flash Memory
• 54 Digital I/O pins
• 16 Analog Inputs
• Capable of running
controllers / sensors
in Aquaponic systems
• Open-Source
• Allows greater
collaboration with
project community
• Simple programming
suited for
beginners/students
Audrino Mega 2560 R3

16. Considerations to Aquaponic
Control Systems
 System will have to have redundancy due to the system
being continuously run
 The maintenance and building of a control system
circuit may be integrated into school curriculums
 Power consumption will increase , adding to the total
annual power cost
 Water-based Ammonium sensor must be regularly
replaced
 Ammonium BNC sensor deemed too costly
 Upwards of $2000 in cost
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Additional Components
• Table for pumps and other equipment located in the
back left corner
• Pipe circuit located on the inside of the greenhouse
ceiling – water runs through and is heated by sun (not
shown)

18. Lifeforms in Our System
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Life forms
Liveable
Conditions
Breeding Feeding
Striped Bass
• Temperature range
around 80 F
• 7-8.5 pH
• Three Phase growth
• 12-16 months for harvest
• Require varying levels of
protein across phases
• 1.5-2% of body weight per
day
• 50% protein , 12% lipids
for brooding fish
Koi
• 59-77 F
• 7-8.5 pH
• Harvest time varies
• Most successful
reproduction after 2 years
but can reproduce after 1
• Protein content around
30% with supplements for
carbohydrates
Shrimp/ Prawn
• Prefer temperature ranges
of 75-81 F
• 7-8.5 pH
• Hydrogen sulphide and
chlorine absense
• Will reach 1/10 lb in 4
months , 2-3 annual crops
• Bottom feeders, will eat
leftover fish food and
waste in the system
Worms
• 59-77 F
• Can survive at 10 c but
30C and above will harm
them
• 2-3 weeks hatching
• 6 weeks until reproduction
• Feed best at 15-25 C

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 Growth
 Phase 1- from hatching to fingerling size
 Raised in sump tanks or hatchery beds
 30-45 days before size grading
 Will feed on zooplankton in this stage
 Phase 2- from fingerling to 525 g
 Grown to 125g before regarded and grown to
525g
 Phase 3- 525g to market weight
 Growout to 725g (~1.75 lb)
 Harvest occurs in 12-16 months
Striped Bass

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 Breeding
 Bred as show fish
 Best reproduction occurs after 2 years of
growth, but can reproduce after 1
 Selective breeding can be used to
increase the quality of their coloration.
 Harvest Cycle
 Eggs should be harvested immediately
after spawning
 Longer harvest cycle since they are bred
for show
Koi

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 Special Traits and Qualities
 Will clean out unwanted waste in the system
 Territorial, need horizontal room to prevent fighting
 Must be partitioned from fish
 Higher water flow will also prevent fighting
 Reproduction and Harvest cycle Cycle
 Require brackish water for first 30-45 days
 Growpools with mixed freshwater and brine
 After brackish water period they are moves to larger
tank for growout
 Will reach 1/10 pound in 4 months, 2-3 crops annually
Shrimp and Prawn

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Prawn Partition
● The prawn will be partitioned
from the fish with mesh wire
along the rear gate
● Layers of netting will be strung
between each vertical layer
giving the prawn horizontal
space to claim their own space
reducing territorial disputes
● The horizontal layers serve to
reduce fighting between the
prawn and maximize the
efficiency of the space allotted
for the spawn

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Vermicomposting● The Process
● Worms are put into compost in order to tun the compost to
worm casting
● Castings are a potent fertilizer and soil conditioner
● Castings and harvested and compost is replaced
● worms will feed on the compost and reproduce in a 6 week
cycle
● The Benefits
● Provides worms and castings as two additional system products
● Produced worms can be used as protein sourrce for the fish
● Castings can be marketed as a high potency fertilizer
● Worms of Choice
● Red Wigglers (Eisenia Fetida)
● English nightcrawler and white worms are also viable choices

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Cost Analysis
System
Aspect
Part List SKU/Serial # Quantity Price Per Part Cost
Control
System
Atlas Scientific
Dissolved Oxygen
Sensor Kit
SEN-11194 1 $189.95 $189.95
BNC pH Audrino
Sensor Shield
P-0010 1 $38.55 $38.55
RHT-22
Humidity/Tempertur
e Sensor
SEN-10167 1 $9.95 $9.95
Barometric
Pressure Sensor -
MPL115A1
SEN-09721 1 $12.95 $12.95
Pacific Sentry
Ammonia Aqua
Sensor
5 $8.99 $44.95
G1/2" Water Flow
Sensor
POW110D3B 1 $9.50 $9.50
Water Level Switch SEN134B3B 1 $5.50 $5.50
MR-W1-P Flow
Switch
SEN104A2B 2 $12.99 $25.98
Serial Camera Kit 815001001 1 $29.90 $29.90
8" eTapeLiquid
Level Sensor
SEN-10221 1 $39.95 $39.95
Graphic LCD
128x64 STN LED
Backlight
LCD-00710 1 $19.95 $19.95
Arduino Mega 2560
R3
DEV-11061 1 $58.95 $58.95
Wires/Connectors Various $50.00
Total Cost $536.08

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Cost Analysis
System
Aspect
Part List SKU/Serial # Quantity Price Per Part Cost
Plant/Fish Main Tank 2 $400.00 $800.00
Caster Wheels McMst. 9008T48 4 $116.00 $464.00
Glass Window ACRYCLR0.750PM24X48 2 $174.60 $349.20
Growbed 2 $250.00 $500.00
Growbed Stand 2 $200.00 $400.00
Total Cost $2,513.20
Seedling Box Housing & Drawers 1 $170.00 $170.00
Seedling Holder 9 $1.50 $13.50
slide McMst.11435A28 9 $20.57 $185.13
Total Cost $368.63
Compost Box Housing & Drawers 1 $160.00 $160.00
Total Cost $160.00
Greenhouse Aluminum Bars Metals Depot P412-6061 2 $1,261.44 $2,522.88
Polycarbonate
Paneling
Enco 319-5055 34 $126.77 $4,310.18
Hinges McMaster 8401A17 13 $13.17 $171.21
Screws McMaster 91465A128 184 $6.07 $111.69
Total Cost $7,115.96
Shrimp Box
1-1/2x20 SCH40 PVC
Pipe
UPC: 038561301298 1 $15.39 $15.39
4x7 feet nylon fish
netting
2 $19.99 $39.98
1" PVC Sch. 40 90°
Elbow
SKU:413-010 16 $1.85 $29.60
4 square feet mesh
bird wire
1 $9.97 $9.97
Total Cost $94.94
Cost of System: $10,788.81

26. Continued Development
 In order to create a profit margin on this product we
would need to find a way to find cheaper materials for
the system.
 Research how to automate a response to a system
failure. No human interaction required.
 Changes required to the product based on desired
location of use (eg. Heating, cooling, ventilation)
 Other markets for similar product (eg. Red Cross,
Peace Corps., restaurants)
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27. Conclusion
We have designed a concept for use by young
students to gain greater knowledge on food health, water
use, and space efficient growing methods. Our system is
designed to require minimal human input while
maintaining a highly functional system with substantial
output of fish and food products.
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