Entry 5: Meeting with Mentor (2)

19 March 2012

Today we had a meeting with our mentor to discuss about the prototypes we have used and their effectiveness. We managed to choose the prototype ideas to work on and finalise these prototype designs with our mentor’s suggestions.

The first prototype that we chose:

Basically, the most significant design feature in the prototype would be the tray. The tray would be rectangular in shape and this allows water to flow around it equally, ensuring effective and fair plant growth. The tray is filled with leca, which are small and ball-like and unlike soil, it does not contain small harmful particles that may poison the fish tank and harm the fish. There are holes in-built into the tray which contains filter such that the filtered, clean water can re-enter the tray via gravity. The tray is supported by stilts, which are attached from the top of the fish tank to the tray and support the tray directly above the fish tank. The water is first pumped into the tray, then after flowing to the end of the tray, the water is filtered before re-entering the tank.

The second prototype that we chose:

This prototype utilizes trays placed on the exterior of the fish tank to transport water throughout the system. The trays wrap around the sides of the fish tank, which helps boost aesthetics and support. The trays are supported by hooks which cling on to the top of the fish tank, though we are still researching more efficient methods for attachment. There is also an in-built filter incorporated r to filter water before it re-enters the tank. Also, the trays, like the first prototype design, are filled with leca and in each of these trays, different types of plants/herbs can be grown. We have come up with 2 designs for the base of the tray:

First, we have the gently sloping design. This design allows water to flow down the trays quickly with the help of gravity, which saves time and energy. Furthermore, with a gentle slope, leca will not be transported with the water to one side of the tray and retain their positions.

Second, we have the “rice terrace” design.  This base design contains steps of different elevations. This allows water to flow down the trays with energy exerted from the pump as well as gravity, which also saves time. However, this type of base can retain leca more securely, with leca being retained on each step of the base due it not being directly sloped diagonally.

Water is first pumped into the tray at the highest point of the tank, in which water will flow down each of the trays and finally, upon reaching the end of the last tray, water is filtered then pumped back into the tank and as long as the pumps are switched on, the cycle is continuous.

Thus, these 2 prototype designs were our finalised prototype ideas that we would work on and modify in the future.

Entry 4: Meeting at IKEA

13 March 2012

Today, we went to IKEA see some of the innovative and perhaps eco-friendly systems that they have been known for, which would then, hopefully, provide for us some ideas to work on in our project.

Even though the first prototype idea had already been formulated, we decided that it would be best that we come up with more ideas first so that we can compare and perhaps modify these prototypes before receiving a prototype that would receive the best of all worlds. Thus, out main purpose in going to IKEA was to develop new ideas and methods to create the Indoor Aquaponics System which had to boast eco-friendliness, convenience and pleasant aesthetics.

The IKEA that we went to was quite small, and thus, the selection of items in it was limited. Because of this, we were unable to find many outstanding or special products which we were ideally looking for. However, when we sat down to rest for a bit, we realised the truth was, the products we needed were actually all around us.

The first idea that we formulated was an idea to create a flowing tray aquaponics system. The trays containing plants and leca in which water would be pumped into were to be placed on the exterior of the fish tank, which was attached to the sides of the fish tank.  Although this idea seemed viable and unique, there were many problems that we anticipated. First, we had no idea how the trays were going to be attached to the tank. Thus, this already affected the effectiveness of our prototype. Furthermore, we also realised that placing the tray at the front of the tank would definitely hinder convenience and aesthetics of the setup. However, we managed to develop ideas for the base of the tray, which were the slope plane as well as the “rice terrace” idea. The slope plane allowed for water to flow down efficiently, however leca would also flow down with the water, which was undesirable. The “rice terrace” base would allow leca to be retained, but the flow of water could be affected.

The second idea that we formulated was to make a hole in the centre of the fish tank, then grow plants in the centre of the fish tank. This boosted the aesthetics of the fish tank, as well as allowed for the effective growth of plants due to it being directly exposed to the light source for the fish tank. However, this idea lacked the factor of convenience to remove it, and we could not think of a suitable container to fill in the hole of the fish tank. The plants that could be grown were also limited due to the lack of space when the hole had four sides which obstructed plant growth. Finally, we realised that we were not being eco-friendly in this idea. Despite the fact that this idea had many flaws, we may still consider improving and using this prototype in the future.

Thus, with all these ideas we had obtained, we concluded that we would finalise these ideas with our mentor in the next meeting.