Blog #4

Team: Aquaponics/Biogas

Project Updates

After much back and forth we have decided upon what our final project will entail. We will be fully committed to working on our project at Middlebrook Gardens. As for our stand alone unit, which we were all very excited about, we will put this on the back burner for now and if time permits we will begin designing this in the second semester.

Our finalized semester goals are as follows:

• First semester: connect aquaponics with biogas, and create sensor unit for pond
• Second semester: connect stormwater to aquaponics, and make autonomous/least amount of user input required

We have also completed our budget and found that our spending will be relatively low, coming in at just under $400. Sensors will make up the majority of our expenditures. Below is a chart of our current budget.

Aside from establishing plans for the year and a clear budget we began the process of “starting up” the biogas unit at Middlebrook Gardens. Two of our team members, Aaron and Hector, volunteered to drive to a local farm, called Dario’s Ranch, to get horse manure to inoculate the biogas unit. This is where the essential bacteria come from that help turn the fish and food-waste into methane. The incubation time is two weeks so this was a crucial step in the process. Below is a diagram of how the biogas unit works. As pictured, the bacteria (from the horse manure) are very important for the breakdown of waste material.

https://homebiogas.com/how-homebiogas-works/

We have began purchasing materials, and will begin working on the piping in the next couple of weeks!