Let the Cycling Begin!

Welcome to Ecolibrium Aquaponics, the new experimental endeavor of  Joe Steinmacher, Mark Powell, and Jeffrey Oberholtzer.

Before we begin, let’s take a moment to define Aquaponics and the design challenge we were given; the birthplace of our endeavor…

What is Aquaponics?

Aquaponics is described as: “… the cultivation of fish and plants together in a constructed, re-circulating ecosystem utilizing natural bacterial cycles to convert fish wastes to plant nutrients.  This is an environmentally-friendly, natural food growing method that harnesses the best attributes of aquaculture and hydroponics without the need to discard any water or filtrate or add chemical fertilizers.”  “Aquaponics is the cultivation of fish and plants together in a constructed, re-circulating ecosystem utilizing natural bacterial cycles to convert fish wastes to plant nutrients.  This is an environmentally-friendly, natural food growing method that harnesses the best attributes of aquaculture and hydroponics without the need to discard any water or filtrate or add chemical fertilizers.”  (Aquaponics Gardening Community, 2014)

 

What is the Design Problem?

Design, Build, Test, and Troubleshoot a small-scale, self-contained aquaponic gardening system using available resources and components, keeping space and cost requirements to a minimum.  Include active or passive automatic monitor and control systems to augment the aquaponic garden’s life-cycling.

 

What are the Constraints?

  • Plants must be harvest-ready by the close of the Academic Semester
  • System must be contained in a 12 cubic-inch space, expandable to a larger size if authorized
  • System Cost should be kept below $45.00
  • System should be capable of growing three different types of plants

Stay Tuned and Follow Along as we create our Aquaponics System !  More to follow soon!