PLEASE DELETE FEEDBACK WHEN COMPLETED1-Feedback:2- Need more background research, especially about similar existing products including specs, price, design, patents, etc. Provide more details about your market analysis – Which commercial products did you compare? What is the range of costs of current systems?3- Include figure captions/ correct page numbers on list of tables and figures4- concepts are presented but there is not enough explanation for each ones.What are the unique features? How does it work? Very short pro and con.5– Include in-text citations of reference sourcesSelf-Reliant Aquaponics System
Spring 2020
Submitted on 04/3/2020
by
Team Members:
Abstract
Many people want to start a small garden with fruits, vegetables, or spices but don’t have
the outdoor space to do so. On top of that, many of those people don’t have the time or know
how to take care of a small garden. A self reliant aquaponics system that is small enough to
fit on a window sill or easily be set up outside would allow anyone to grow their own food.
The system would be aquaponics meaning there is no dirt involved, only water. Systems to
regulate water level, water temperature, and chemical levels assist in making the system self
reliant. A system such as this could help anyone grow their own food resulting in less
reliance on grocery stores for produce. The aquaponics system we intend to build must be
self-reliant. Although there are many existing systems on the market, they require the
consumer to add chemicals to it over time, which can prove deadly for the plants if the user
adds too much or forgets altogether. Our design is a system that automatically checks the pH
level of the water and adds chemicals as needed. It will also add nutrients to the water when
necessary. It must be compact enough to use in a household, and ultimately, be successful at
providing edible herbs and/or vegetables.
Table of Contents:
List of Figures:
List of Tables:
4
5
Introduction: 6
Background: 6
Concept Design and Specification: 7
Appendix:
10
References:
10
List of Figures:
1. Sketch 1 Page: 7
2. Sketch 2 Page: 7
3. Sketch 3 Page: 7
4. Sketch 4 Page: 7
5. Sketch 5 Page: 7
6. Sketch 6 Page: 7
7. Sketch 7 Page: 7
List of Tables:
1. Gantt Chart Page: 6
2. Decision Matrix Page: 9
3. Decision Matrix Results Page: 9
1. Introduction:
1. Market Needs & Problem Statement –
Many people want to start a small garden to fruits, vegetables, or spices but don’t have the
outdoor space to do so. On top of that, many of those people don’t have the time or know how to
take care of a small garden. A solution to this problem would allow many people to feed
themselves and others with fruits, vegetables, and herbs that they grew themselves. By the end of
the semester we intend to have our functioning prototype with an instruction manual with basic
set-up guidelines in addition we will make up our final project after we pick our design.
2. Project Timeline (Gantt Chart) –
2. Background:
Aquaponics refers to any system that combines conventional aquaculture with hydroponics
in a symbiotic environment. The use of water as opposed to dirt results in a cleaner system,
but requires more upkeep due to PH balances of water. The most important ingredients in an
Aquaponics system are nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, calcium, sulfur, and magnesium.
Your plants will also need trace amounts of boron, copper, chloride, zinc, molybdenum, iron
and manganese. While conducting market research many designs that are on the market
together either have no system for reliable nutrient delivery or require pet fish in the system
for nutrients. Many people who want to grow their own food do not want to also have fish to
take care of. Our design will address both of those problems and allow anyone to run the
system efficiently. Our system is unlike any others because we have designed it to have two
grow tanks with an onboard filter and nutrients system.
3.
Concept Design and Specification:
While going through the design process we introduced many different designs before choosing
a final design. Our design is based on the general concept of a hydroponics system, but the
system has many key features that make it a marketable product. Our design has the most grow
space out of any indoor aquaponics systems with its double layer design. It also has an integrated
system that allows for filter and nutrients capsules to be replaced periodically for ease of use. For
everything to run smoothly there is a pump that pumps water from the lower deck to the upper
deck. After the water leaves the upper deck it flows to the lower deck again completing the cycle
allowing it to repeat.
1.
Operational Requirements and Design Requirements:
The functional requirements that we set for ourselves are primarily involving the self reliant
asp[ect of our design since that is the main point of our project. The system we designed must
have a filter that lasts at least two months, a nutrient system capable of sustaining the plants for
at least two months, and a sensor to keep water at a PH of 6.5-7. Other non nume
2.
Concept Drawings:
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
3.
Concept Selection Process:
To decide between all of our designs we decided to design a decision matrix that will allow us to
unbiasedly score each sketch. After we decided all of the criteria and the grading scale for the
decision matrix we each filled out our own decision matrix and found the averages of the results
to get everyone’s opinions. The design with the highest score was chosen to be the basis of our
final design.
4.
Evaluation of each concept:
While looking at all of the sketches that we completed, many of the designs were completely
feasible. Each concept had its own pros and cons list to help us decide our final design. Concept
one’s pros were that it included the grow light and display while its cons were that it was not a
very reliable system and did not have much grow space. Design two’s pros were that it also
included a display and it was a very reliable system while its cons were that it did not include a
grow light and would not have as much grow space. Design three’s pros were that it was the
most simplistic design and would be reliable while its cons were that it did not include a grow
light or display. Design four’s pros were that it was also one of the most simplistic designs and
had its own nutrient system in the fish while its cons were that it did not include a grow light or
display and it would be more difficult to build. Design five’s pros were that it was another
simplistic design and would be reliable while its cons were that it did not include a grow light or
display and it was not the most attractive design. Design six’s pros was the most attractive
design, would be reliable, and has the most growth space while it did not have many notable
cons. Design seven’s pros were that it also included its own nutrients with the fish while its cons
were that it did not include a grow light or display and would not be attractive.
5.
Concept scoring:
The criteria we used to score our designs were: design simplicity, grow space available,
reliability, how self reliant, cost, and whether it included a grow light or display. Each design
would be scored on a scale of one to ten with one being the worst and ten being the best. For the
yes and no questions a no would be considered an five and yes would be ten. After completing
our decision matrix process our results were that design six would be chosen after scoring the
highest with a score of 743.
6.
Decision Matrix
7.
Results
8.
Design requirements for selected concept:
Before continuing the design process we first set forth some design requirements. The first
requirement pertained to dimensions. Our original designs were meant to fit either on a window
sill or on any table in a house. To comply with this requirement we decided to set the dimens at
24 inches wide by 20 inches deep by 20 inches tall. We also thought about how this will look
inside of a house and how it must be attractive to a consumer. Since we want to make sure it
looks good our design must be minimalist and be attractive to the majority of people. To have an
aquaponics system with a filter and nutrient delivery system we had to decide how to design this
subsystem into the whole system. To do this we decided to add a hollow shell on the edges
where we will store pumps, tubes, electronics, and most importantly out filter/nutrient system.
Our filter/nutrient system will be similar to the concept of a Keurig K-Cup where a cup with
filter material and nutrients will be inserted into a slot where water will flow through and release
nutrients after filtering.
9.
Summary
All together our design will be the most self reliant and efficient aquaponics system that could be
on the market. We should easily be able to come under our budget of $250 and complete
everything we hope to by the end of the semester.
10.
Acceptance Criteria: To accept our final design implementation the following criteria
must be met:
a.
The final design must have an overall cost of $250 or less.
b.
The design must be simplistic and attractive where it will fit in anyone’s home setting
well and look like it fits there.
c.
Since the main objective of an aquaponics system is to grow plants the system must have
a large grow area to allow the most amount of plants to be grown.
d.
To differentiate our design with others already on the market the final design must have
an integrated sub-system to balance chemicals and feed the plants growing in the system.
References:
Brooke, Nick. “Adding Aquaponics Nutrients” How to Aquaponic. 27 Jun. 2016,
“What Is Aquaponics?” Nelson & Pade Aquaponics, 22 Jan. 2020, aquaponics.com/aquaponicsinformation/.
White, Holly. “What Is Aquaponics?” The Aquaponic Source, 31 Jan. 2019,
www.theaquaponicsource.com/what-is-aquaponics/.
PLEASE DELETE FEEDBACK WHEN COMPLETED
Feedback: Ali
–
Report needs some proofreading. Section 3.1 abruptly ends. Johan
Need more background research, especially about similar existing products including specs,
price, design, patents, etc. Provide more details about your market analysis – Which commercial
products did you compare? What is the range of costs of current systems? Ali
–
Include figure captions/ correct page numbers on list of tables and figures Ali
–
Include in-text citations of reference sources EVERYONE(Citations where needed)
7 concepts are presented but there is not enough explanation for each ones.What are the
unique features? How does it work? Very short pro and con. Ali
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