Design and construction of a solar powered aquaponic water fountain :

Abstract

The water fountain at Busitema university is a Solar powered Aquaponic water fountains. This fountain consists of filtration systems, drainage and overflow systems, fish and plants (aquaponics), solar power system and Automation system. Samples of the fishpond effluent were collected for its quality characterization. The parameters tested included Total ammonia, Dissolved oxygen, pH, temperature. The results showed that ammonia levels were high above the acceptable range. The DO level in the effluent was below the minimum acceptable of 5mg/L. However, when the fishpond effluent was passed through a vegetable-based bio-filter, the concentration of ammonia in the fishpond effluent was reduced to the acceptable range (below 1mg/L), safe for reuse in the fishpond. The water was pumped back to the fish tank through the fountain sprinkler and nozzles. This system recirculates used water hence reduce water wastage and consumption compared to traditional farming. The only losses in the system are due to evaporation and transpiration. The system is controlled using a mobile App. Arduino Uno is programmed using Arduino software to control the electronic components like pumps including pH sensor, temperature sensor, and water level sensor. The sensors were used to measure the water quality parameters; that is, pH, temperature and water level in the tank respectively. The micro controller reads data from the sensors, and sends and commands to actuators to execute an operation. All information is visualized from the app which also enables the user to turn off the main pump, and sturdy variations of temperature and pH in a day.