Activity 4.1.6 – Bioengineering: What is
Aquaponics?
Name: ______________________________________ Date: __________________
Directions: Using the website listed below (and any others you may need) complete the chart
below and answer the conclusion questions:
Sites on Nutrient Cycles
http://www.fishlore.com/NitrogenCycle.htm
http://aquariuminfo.org/cycling.html
Sites on Aquaponics:
http://www.aquaponicshowto.com/aquaponics-systems-how-to/home/1/
http://aquaponics.com/page/build-a-mini-aquaponic-system
http://www.squidoo.com/AquaponiGarden
Conclusion
Questions of Biology:
1. How do plants use water, carbon dioxide, and sunlight to grow? In other words, what is the
process referred to as photosynthesis?
Photosynthesis is the process plants use to generate their own food by using the ingredients listed
above.
2. What type of nitrogen waste do fish produce and how can this be broken down into a form
suitable for plant roots to absorb? (Hint: this answer will include bacteria)
Fish produce ammonia and ammonia can be converted to nitrate by bacteria for the plants to use.
3. Explain the relationship of oxygen and carbon dioxide generated and utilized by plants and
animals?
Plants take in carbon dioxide and produce oxygen then animals take in oxygen and release carbon
dioxide.
Questions of Technology and Setup
4. What equipment do I have at my disposal?
We have a fish tank, a light, a filter, water, tube, hose (water pump system), and gravel
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PLTW TM - BE – Unit 4 – Lesson4.1 – Optional Activity 4.1.6 - Bioengineering: Agriculture Student Worksheet - Page 1
5. Which plants and animals can I use in my system
We are going to use spinach for plants and a Bream for our animals.
6. How can water be circulated between plants and animals?
Water pumps system. Hose and tubing
7. How will I determine if my design is successful?
If the water circulates through the tubes to the plants in order to water the spinach.
8. Design and sketch an aquaponics system that can be built within this classroom (I will provide
the aquarium tank, filter, aerator, rocks, lights, and water pump.)
Biotic Factors of Aquaponic System
Type of plants (must be an edible plant for
humans)
Growth media for plants (no soil)
Time to maturity (plants)
Light source (include proper wattage and possible
color)
Type of fish
Time to maturity (fish)
Cilantro because it is a winter plant
Gravel because cilantro can grow with in it
3+ weeks because that is the amount of
time given
Lamp (25) to take the place of our light
source
Belly-Ups, Goldfish
3+ weeks
Abiotic Factors of Your Aquaponic System
Optimum pH
Optimum Temp
Ammonia levels
Dissolved oxygen levels
Size of tank for fish
7.8 because anything greater than it will turn
into ammonia which is bad.
20 C
Not high because ammonia is not good for
fish or plants.
9.0 ppm because nitrification will not occur if
DO concentrations drop to 2.0 ppm
12x10x20 because it was the fish tank given
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PLTW TM - BE – Unit 4 – Lesson4.1 – Optional Activity 4.1.6 - Bioengineering: Agriculture Student Worksheet - Page 2
Number of appropriate fish for tank size
Suggested frequency of feeding
Amount of food to be fed per feeding (mass)
Filtration
Aeration
Frequency of Data Collection
to us and it works well with the amount of
fish.
2 fish so the aquariam wont get crowded
Once a day so we wont overfeed the fish
One pinche of fish food per average sized
fish because we don’t want to overfeed the
fish but feed it enough to produce the
nutrients needed.
Don’t need one
We have a water pump and air pump to
circulate nutrients and water
Every day to keep the experiment updated.
9. Which technologies can be utilized to engineer an aquaponics or a hydroponics system and to
monitor its progress?
We can measure the growth in the spinach and record the progress. We can check it every
day to monitor the progress.
10. Explain why you selected the technologies listed in Question 1. In other words, what are the
advantages of those technologies versus other available technology?
We selected the hose and the tube for the water pump system because it was perfect to filtering
out the water in a cycle so that the nutrients can reach the plants and the water can return to tank.
This is very efficient in growing the spinach. We are using spinach instead of a different plant
because it is good in the winter and hopefully it will grow easily in our aquaponics system. We are
using a light bulb (25 watts) to take the place of sun. Since there are no windows in our lab room,
we needed a source of light which brought us to the light bulb. We will be using fish food to feed
the fish. Gravel will be used because the spinach can grow in it Gravel is being used as the
material in which the spinach is grown.
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PLTW TM - BE – Unit 4 – Lesson4.1 – Optional Activity 4.1.6 - Bioengineering: Agriculture Student Worksheet - Page 3