Hydroponics Aquaculture Integration
Setup:
My experiment will be using
Macrobrachium rosenbergii or the giant river prawn and common lettuce
L. sativa. River prawns were chosen since they are a commonly aqua cultured freshwater species that is easily maintained and disease resistant. Lettuce was chosen because it is commonly grown hydroponically so it would be a good test case. My experimental design is to have 3 setups plant only, shrimp only, and the combined setup of shrimp and plants and each setup will have 2 replicates. General tank design would be separate containers for plants and shrimp set on racks one above the other the water from the shrimp tank will be pumped up to the filter and will then drain into the lettuce tank (or empty tank). This is shown in the diagram below. To determine results I will be measuring several things. I will be measuring growth rates of both shrimp and lettuce. For water quality check I will be measuring nitrate, nitrite, pH, and ammonia levels of the water. The levels of these different waste products will be used to determine the effectiveness of integration as well as a raw weight of organisms
Hydroponic section:
![IMG_0364.jpg IMG_0364.jpg](files/IMG_0364.jpg)
The lettuce is grown in rock-wool which provides a stable start area for the seeds and stabilizer in the hydroponic set up.
![IMG_0368.jpg IMG_0368.jpg](files/IMG_0368.jpg)
The plants were put into their hydroponic holders and put into the systems On Thursday 6/23/11.
Tank Cycling
One of the major parts in determining the effectiveness
Date Ammonia Nitrite Nitrate pH