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Aquaponics Greenhouse
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The The The GreenGreenGreenhousehousehouse The Greenhouse system combines sustainable closed loop crop production with renewable energy
technologies for a truly low carbon solution to the way in which we grow our food.
The greenhouse is multifunctional in that it provides both a diverse and year round supply of high value
crops, but also functions as an interactive participatory learning environment.
The greenhouse is designed to utilise an ecosystem
approach to growing food, utilising wastes as
resources.
• Wastes from fish are used as hydroponic
nutrients.
• CO2 produced by the fish is absorbed by the
plants.
• Heat from the sun is converted with an air
source heat pump to store energy in the water
(25-28oC)
• Plant off-cuts are recycled in wormeries to
provide worms as feed for the fish.
Aquaculture - Fish Production. In the Greenhouse tilapia are grown as a food fish. Three tanks allow for fish to be grown from
stocking at 20-50g through to a harvest weight of around 500g, fish are continually harvested from
the system every week and are feed with a mixture of fish pellets and worms from the greenhouse’s
wormery. Tilapia are an omnivorous cichlid species from Africa but now widely cultured across the
globe. They are a fast growing and good quality white flesh fish and are also known as “fresh water
snapper” and the “aquatic chicken”.
The fish tanks have been designed with
windows to increases the interaction
with the stock and to help observe their
condition, behaviour and size.
The optimal temperature of range of 25
to 28oC also provides an efficient range
for heat storage.
Learning outcomes from the green-
house include fish physiology, fish be-
haviour, water quality, feeding and nu-
trition.
The The The GreenGreenGreenhousehousehouse
Information boards are placed around the
greenhouse outlining the basic principles of
aquaculture and also the parts of a fish (in this
case tilapia).
The Information boards are designed to remind
participants of the fishes requirements and also
the correct terminology.
Participants in the greenhouses are encouraged to
hand feed the fish as regularly as possible (little
and often) as physically seeing the fish respond to
feeding is a vital tool is understanding the health
and condition of the stock.
Tilapia can be cultured at up to 70kg/m3
however in an aquaponics system densities
of 20-30kg/m3 are more manageable.
Tilapia are mouth brooders and can easily
be breed, however for the growing of food
fish, male fish are favoured due to
increased growth rates and reduced inter
completion.
The The The GreenGreenGreenhousehousehouse
Hydroponics - Vegetable, Fruit & Flower Production.
Edible crops are grown on floating rafts in deep water circulation channels. The floating rafts suspend
the plants above flowing oxygenated nutrient rich water providing them with an ideal growing
environment, the rafts also act to insulate the body of water to prevent heat loss.
The crops themselves are grown in
plugs in a nursery system
Lettuce plugs are planted on the
floating rafts at day 21 from seed
and then grown on for a further 28
days before harvest.
This 6x9m greenhouse is designed to
produce around 72 lettuces per
week.
A range of crops can be grown from
fresh herbs to flowers, tomatoes,
peppers and salad crops.
Strawberries are also grown in the
Greenhouse in “strawberry towers”
where water trickles down vertical
planters filled with expanded clay
balls, the towers produce prolific
yields of fruit and provide a tasty
reward for those involved.
The greenhouse is capable of producing a wide variety of
crops ranging from salad crops, to herb, soft fruit,
flowers as well crops such as cucumbers, tomatoes and
peppers.
The Greenhouse is flexible in terms of the type of crops
that can be grown and their respective planting and
harvesting schedules, however it should be understood
that the plant and fish biomasses must be maintained in
balance.
The The The GreenGreenGreenhousehousehouse
Vermiculture: ”Wormeries” The recycling of plant off cuts and solid wastes from the filter tanks is a vital component of the
Greenhouse’s function. Wastes such as root material, uneaten food, and solid wastes are added to
wormeries to produce two valuable outputs.
1. Live worms .
Worms either for use as a
supplementary fish food, or for sale
as fishing bait.
2. Worm Tea
Made from the worm castings, worm
tea provides both a foliar plant feed
as well as a bio pesticide.
Vermiculture provides a valuable and
fun addition to the greenhouse system
and provides yet another visible link
between wastes and valuable resources
and most importantly reduces inputs to
and outputs from, the Greenhouse.
IPM - closing the loop The goal with aquaponics is to establish a natural balance of both predators and pests. Pesticides
are not used, however a range of complementary techniques are used including beneficial insects,
sticky traps and non toxic barrier treatments such as soap sprays.
As a further adoption of the ecosystem approach to growing food, we have stocked giant fresh
water prawns into the water of the hydroponic tanks to help clear up any solid wastes, algae and to
act as an additional food output, as well as freshwater mussels into the filter tank to absorb fine
Filtration System The filtration system serves three purposes; firstly to removed faeces and
uneaten food (to wormeries), secondly to remove fine solids (freshwater
mussels), and thirdly to remove gases in the water such as carbon dioxide and
nitrogen.
The filtration system is gravity fed and as such requires
no energy inputs.
Water is directed through the filtration system via baffles
and screens ensuring that the hydroponic tanks receive water that is rich in dissolved nutrients and
well oxygenated. Requiring regular but simple maintenance the filtration system, allows for the
conversion of ammonia into nitrites and then nitrites into nitrates which are then available for
absorption by the plants.
The The The GreenGreenGreenhousehousehouse
At an air temperature of 20-30oC inside the
greenhouse the air source heat pump operates
at a coefficient of performance (COP) of over
4.2, meaning that for every 1kw of electricity
input, 4.2kw of heat is produced.
Heat is extracted from the air and the cooled air
is returned into the Greenhouse, whilst the
heated water transferred to the water via a flat
plate heat exchanger.
The air in the Greenhouse can be heated in the
air handling unit (AHU) which also provides the
ability to control the extent of air recirculation
through variable dampers on the intakes.
The Greenhouse’s energy system provides an
energy efficient solution to heating and cooling
to provide a consistent and year round climate
for consistent crop production.
Building Management System (BMS) The Greenhouse is governed by a Priva BMS
controls. The control system allows for the
systems operation to be optimised according to
the outside air temperatures,
The BMS system also functions as a data logging
device and when linked to broadband, provides
remote maintenance and diagnostics, as well as
data collection for nationwide research.
BMS software and controls designed by
Aquaponics UK & Thermotec Ecosystems and
built by Ecotech.
Heating and Cooling
The Greenhouse’s energy system was developed
by Thermotec Ecosystems Ltd in partnership with
Aquaponics UK.
The idea behind the system is to capture the
solar energy during the day, using and air source
heat pump, and storing the surplus energy (25-
28oC) into the water of the aquaponics system
for passive back extraction (28-25oC) during the
night time for energy efficient heating.
The air source heat pump is utilised to provide
heating, cooling, dehumidification, and
ventilation.
The The The GreenGreenGreenhousehousehouse
Is the Greenhouse right for my application? The Greenhouse is ideally suited for areas where the requirement for high value food production
exists alongside the need for hands on educational and training resources.
For example in schools, colleges and probationary service institutions where food cant be used
onsite whilst the system itself provides a valuable and interactive resource.
The Greenhouse is an adaptable system that can be tailored to meet your requirements either in
terms of space, fish, or plant production.
Economies of scale exist so once investing in climate control for year round production, scaling up
is relatively cost effective, providing expansion is still within the supply to high value niche
markets.
For advice on the applicability of the Greenhouse system for your need please don’t hesitate to
get in touch — [email protected]
‘
About Us: Aquaponics UK was formed to provide a much needed link between the research community and
proactive organisations and individuals that share a common goal in developing Aquaponics.
We are a social enterprise company, limited by public guarantee and operating as a not for profit
organisation reinvesting any profits into scholarships, training, research grants and development.
We maintain strong links with both academic institutions and also commercial and industrial
organisations. Aquaponics UK intends to bring together these partnerships in a socially
transparent framework for the benefit of all.
Contact Us:
For further information on the
Greenhouse please contact:
Aquaponics UK (Ltd)
Institute of Aquaculture
University of Stirling
Stirling, Scotland
FK9 4LA
[email protected] www.aquaponics.org.uk
Aquaponics UK Director Charlie Price with George Alagia
during the filming of “The Future of Food” on BBC2