Aquaculture
Table of Contents
Long-term Goals
Establish the pond as a health, productive, and harvestable body of water
There is a large pond on campus not currently being used for aquaculture. The goal will be to set up the pond for effective fish production.
Short term Tasks to Work Towards this Goal
Sounding - grid and map the depth of the pond. We'll study thermocline and what it means for oxygenation of the water depending on pond depth.
Weed Removal - weeds grow in the pond due to an over abundance of nutrients. The weeds themselves are concentrations of these nutrients. We will study nutrient management, and harvest the weeds and use them as mulch on the garden where they will slowly release those nutrients into the soil. Next we will stock grazing fish (specifically White Amurs) to keep the weeds down.
Water Testing - Test water to determine pH, turbidity, concentrations of oxygen, carbon-dioxide, and different nutrients to determine what steps should be taken to improve the water quality.
Hydrology - determine where water is coming from and where it is flowing out of the pond
Set up aquaponics in the greenhouse
There is a small concrete pool with gold fish in the corner of the greenhouse which could be used as the base of an aquaponics setup. This would mean plants are grown hydroponically using the water from the fishs' enclosure. The plants draw nutrients from the water, filtering it for the fish
Short term Tasks to Work Towards this Goal
Design - We will study designs of aquaponic setups, determining advantages and disadvantages of different arrangements and materials. We will then use what we learn to create our own design that suites the needs of our space.
Prototype - build small scale with fish tanks to determine most effective design
Build - construct the design and implement it in the greenhouse
Test - monitor to determine effectiveness of design at scale