Sustainable Chicago Summer 2010 : Page 5
SUSTAINABLE CHICAGO Summer 2010 ABLE CHICAGO Summer 2010 The plants benefit from the nutrients and Central to the farming space in The Plant will TAINABLE CHICAGO Summer 2010 The The plants benefit from the nutrients and ABLE CHICAGO Summer 2010 The plants benefit from the nutrients and Central Central to the farming space in The Plant will be the elaborate yet simple aquapon- ics system. The first component will be tanks of tilapia. Tilapia are ideal for culturing due to their docility, rapid growth rate, palatability and their will- ingness to eat virtually any- thing. Once the fish waste—mostly ammonia—runs through a clarifier, it will be introduced to beneficial bacte- ria to create nitrates. This wa- ter, now rich with organic material, will then be pumped to a series of growing beds. The plants in these beds rest in a clay bead medium, which reduces pest and soil- based disease problems. Using a series of bell siphons, the plants will extract the nitrates as food, effectively filtering the water before returning it to the fish tanks to complete the sys- www.Sustainable-Chicago.com tem. Everything that leaves the loop is edible, be it vegetable or fish. Another plan calls for an aeroponics system. In this de- sign, foam beds float vegetable plants above ten inches of wa- ter. Fish-supplied nutrients are kept in suspension. Arduino microcontrollers will monitor water and air temperatures, oxygen and carbon dioxide levels, lighting conditions, nutrient levels and other fac- tors. These microcontrollers can then open the switch on a pump, fan, light or other mechanical system to get the levels back into range for maximum efficiency. There’s no such thing as being in competition when the market is so giant here. There’s no possible way that we could saturate it. 5 Matt Baker
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