Over the period of my freshman school year, we created a self sustaining aquaponic garden. Me and my partners Peter Giannetos and Jakob Sukhman. We had to adjust multiple things during the course of our project. The original vision we had planned was changed multiple times in the process of making our project. We had many learning curves throughout our project but eventually, we produced a working finished product.
One of the many things that we learned was about how superglue lasts under water. We noticed how some of the superglue came of underwater. Another thing was that we realized that the wood structure we built on top of the fish tank was not going to last. The material was warping and the material was not lasting very well against the water. We fixed this problem with using plexiglass to create a better material that resisted against water. We designed a template that we engraved into the plexiglass.
Initially, I was very scared for the fish because I was worried if our system was going to work but after watching for a couple of weeks, I can see the fish growing and they are healthy. Also, the idea of growing plants in rocks did not seem like it was going to work. The rocks are very porous so the water can be retained and the roots absorb the water. I am very happy that I did this project because I learned many new things in the process.
STEM Principles
Science- We will use the nutrients from the feces to feed plants and grow them. We will need to understand the science of plants to know what kind of aquatic animal provides the best nutrients.
Technology- We have a timer set up to control the time when the plants receive sunlight and also we have something that only feeds the fish every 12 hours.
Engineering- We need to make a wood frame that can hold the fish tank and a small garden. We also need to engineer and design the tube system which would cause the water pressure to suck up the feces and place them in the garden efficiently, while also watering the garden.
Math- We need to calculate how often to pump the water to the plants to not over water them but still give the plants enough water, this also applies with the nutrients. We also need to measure the tubes and frame to make sure that the tank and garden are stable and that there is enough water pressure.
Joshua kim 