Methodology-
(1) Planning and Design
Aquaculture unit (Fish tank with aeration pump)
Hydroponics unit (Grow beds for vegetables)
Filtration Unit (Mechanical filters to remove solids, excess ammonia and
fish waste.)
Pipes for connection.
Automation and IOT components -
Sensors ( pH and water level)
Actuators (Water pumps, aerator, solenoid valves, LED grow lights)
Controllers (Real time monitoring)
Cloud integration (Remote Data logging)
(2) Work flow system
Water circulator
Filter pump
PH control (6.5-7.5)
Water top-up
(3) Data collection and monitoring
Sensors send real time data to micro controller
Cloud platform (to store and visualize data)
Alerts sent via mail or text
(4) Testing and optimization
Run system for 8-12 weeks for monitoring
Fish and growth rate (weight/length)
Plant yield (leaves and biomass)
Water quality trends
Working:-
Step 1:- The first step is to determine the location for your system,
considering factors such as sunlight exposure, temperature
fluctuations, and proximity to electricity and water sources.
Step 2:- Once the location is selected, the components of your
aquaponics system, including the fish tank, grow beds, plumbing, and
pumps are assembled. Proper seed selection and germination
techniques are crucial for successful plant growth.
Step 3 :- Assembling the IOT components. The sensons are placed in
fish tank to determine pH and water levels.
Step 4:- Integrating all the components together
Step 5 :- Calibration of sensors and checking the working of project by
a trial experiment run with known data.
(pH should be between 6.5-7.8)
Step 6:- If calibration is correct,
Plant the crop in the Hydroponic tank, by filling the tank
with water based growing media and placing a thermocol sheet with a
cavity in centre on the upper water meniscus to support the plant.
Step 7:- Run the system.
Step 8:- Water is circulated among the three tanks as the following
cycle:
Fish Tank
Hydroponic
Purifier
growing
Tank
tank
The Nitrogen rich water is supplied to the growing tank, the spent and
waste water from the growing tank is drained to purifier tank where the
water is filtered and oxygenated. The filtered water is then supplied to
the fish tank for adding nitrogen.
The cycle is continued for 15- 30 mins.
Data analysis :-
The data is continuously recorded with the sensors which is displayed on
the cloud dashboard.
A SMS/ Mail is sent if any issue is detected.
If pH fluctuations are detected, then the buffer solution is added.
If Water level is low, solenoid valves are opened to facilitate inlet of water
and if high then drainage valves are opened to drain water.
FLOW CHART OF AUTOMATED AQUAPONICS SYSTEM
Syst
em Fill fish tank and plants beds
Initi sensor caliberation ( pH and water level)
aliz
ati-
on
Auto Sensors Read Data
mate
d pH
Mon Water level
itori
ng
Dat
Loop
a Arduino/raspberry Pi processes inputs
sen
t to Uploads to cloud
con
troll
Act
er If pH< 6.5→ Add buffer solution
uat
or If water low → Open solenoid valve
Con
trol
Rec
Pump water from fish tank → Grow beds → Fish tank → Filter tank → fish tank
ircu
la- Repeat every 15-30 mins
tio
n
Dat
a cloud dashboard displays trends
Log
ging SMS/Email alert if critical issue detected
and
Aler
Mai
ts Clean tanks
nte Check fish health
n- Prune plants
anc
e
START
