The Plant Blog 4: Preparation Process (aka we got fish!)

Hi everyone,

There is much to talk about in this week's blog. Because we received the lettuce seeds this week, we started preparing the system for when the lettuce plants are mature. We got the fish in the tank so that they can prepare the water for the plants. Finally, the structure for the whole system is under construction.

The Butterhead Lettuce Indoor

We received the seeds for the Butterhead Lettuce this week, and have been planning on how we will go about growing the lettuce. We will be growing our lettuce indoors, and with our aquaponics system, but we will start them off in a bag, as mentioned in Element 14 Starting Seeds Indoors blog. Then once they sprout we will move them into seedling trays. Once the lettuce seeds are in the seedling tray, we will position the trays in the grow bed so that the aquaponics system waters the seeds. The seedling trays will allow the lettuce to mature their roots until they are able to support themselves in the growbed. Now there are inherently a lot of problems with growing these plants indoors (and not to mention with an aquaponics system). The most important problem will of course be the intense light the plants need in their infant state.

The lighting of the system will be treated differently between stages of the plant: stage out of the aquaponics system, and plant in aquaponics system. When the plant is not in the aquaponics system, it will be grown under the sun. Once the plant reaches a mature stage, or able to be placed into the seedling trays, this is when we will move the plant into the aquaponics system which will be lit by LED strips.

Fish!

Once we received the seeds, we can only assume that we will be planting them soon; therefore, we are beginning to prepare our system with the fish. The fish are the motor that drives an aquaponics system. They provide the nutrients for the bacteria and the plants. In order to provide the nutrients, the fish need time to prepare the water so that the bacteria can culture, and the water chemistry can adjust. The sooner we introduce the fish to the system, the sooner we can introduce the plants. The problem with our system right now is that, it is not 100% ready for the fish yet. The fish require a habitat with enough dissolved oxygen in the water. We were hoping to provide that dissolved water with the pump from the sump tank to the fish tank; however, we are waiting for pump to arrive. For now, we will have to buy an air pump to keep the water oxygenated. Because the system is not fully ready for fish, we obtained goldfish since they are robust fish to say the least.

Construction of the Structure

The framework for the whole system is currently under construction. We had decided to make our structure out of PVC pipes because the material is cheap, water proof, and gives us full control of the structure's design. The first module of the system, the module that will hold the sump tank, is complete. The module that will hold the fish tank will be done as soon as the material come in. The construction of the structure is the only part without foreseeable problems so far. Knock on wood.

Summary:

We are currently in our preparation stages for when we introduce the plants into the system. We our gathering our material for the moment when we have to start planting the seeds. We are preparing our aquaponics system by priming the chemistry of the water with the fish. Finally, we are building the structure that will house the whole system.

Future Work:

We are in our preparing stages, and this week I am hoping that we are completing the preparation stage. We hope to finish the two modules for the structure: the sump tank and fish tank section. We are looking more into the sensor package this week, where we already have the software and hardware infrastructure for the pH sensor, but now will develop the infrastructure for lighting and temperature. We still have not received the kit, but once we receive the kit, we are hopefully ready to integrate it into our system.

If you guys have any questions or comments, please let us know and we will answer as soon as we can.

I do have to say, I am amazed by the creativity of every contestant, and it is inspiring to read all your blogs. Keep it up Element 14'ers.

Also, btw, we have 10 gold fish now that need names. We need names! If not I will name them all after contestants, and Dave of course. =)

Erik