High School Greenhouse

Watsonville, CA

Even before their 18′ x 20′ educational greenhouse was constructed on their campus, Diamond Technology Institute knew they wanted an aquaponics system. Of course, classroom aquaponics exists and a greenhouse isn’t mandated to operate an aquaponics system.

However, wanting to have a small to medium scale system coupled with advantageous free energy from California’s sunny skies led the leadership team to decide on a greenhouse.

Watch this brief video for a tour inside their school aquaponic greenhouse and hear from the students themselves what they expect to put into the system and, more importantly, what they hope to get out of it.

The Aquaponic System

The Fish

A 300 gallon tank allows the growers to harvest a certain number of fish without decreasing nutrient production from the remaining fish. We installed a fish tank window for fish health monitoring and an added aesthetic.

The Endurance 2000 Bead Filter was added for solids separation and bacteria cultivation. This filter has a low water loss and high nitrification rate. The discharge sludge is still rich in nutrients but also dense in solids, which can be devasting in a system. When the filter is discharged of the solids, the discharge can be added to soil crops or further mineralized and reintroduced (solids-free) into the system.

Because they’re growing inside a greenhouse with ample sunlight, we connected a UV sterilizer to the bead filter for post-solids filtration of algae and harmful water-based pathogens.

• 300 gallon AquaBudance Fish Tank
• Coupled or decoupled fish and plant sumps
• Endurance 2000 Bead Filter
• Viewing window

• 50W UV Sterilizer
• Automatic Water Top Offs
• Remote Monitoring & Controller
• Water Heater

60 Fish Capacity

90 Total lbs

Freshwater: tilapia, koi, catfish, etc..

The Plants

Food production wasn’t the goal. Education was. The school was interested in growing a dense crop variety, so we designed a system layout for them that accommodated both deep water culture and clay media growing methods. Starting with four AquaBundance media beds, shorter vining and rooting crops will thrive within their waist-high frames. The crops will receive enough sunlight for most of the year but we added a trellising rack that doubles as a light rack for supplemental lighting during those cloudy months. Students will be able to put their hands on crops such as beets, radishes, celery, eggplants, tomatoes, peppers, strawberries, and many others. The school also upgraded their media bed frame to include chalk board panels that act as a canvas for student-driven art and illustrative documentation.

Their leafy green production will take place within a 4′ x 8′ Growasis Elevated Raft System. Since the Growasis system is placed in the middle of the greenhouse, students and faculty can access and demonstrably teach from all four sides of the frame. Another waist high frame for easy gardening.

Off to the side is a fully disconnected, free standing but mobile hydroponic seedling start and microgreen tower. Our Growasis 4-tier Nursery & Microgreen System packs 32 ft² of plant production into only 8 ft² of floor space. The nursery is a fully automated hydroponic system with state of the art full-spectrum LED lighting, pumps, and timers included as standard.

• 36 sq/ft growing space
• Fruiting & vining crops
• 25lbs tomatoes per plant

• 32 sq/ft growing space
• 112 planting spaces
• Waist high-No bending!

• 32 ft² of plant production
• Seedling starts, microgreens
• Fully automated

720 lbs Annually

1,165 Heads Annually

180 lbs Annually

Supplies

We don’t just sell systems. From seedling plugs and curriculums to fish food and online courses and everything in between, we also provide all the supplies and educational resources required to start up and operate an aquaponic system. We do not sell fish or seeds but we’re happy to point our growers in the right direction for vendors.

Monitoring is critical for peace of mind when over school breaks and holidays. This wifi-enabled HYDROS monitor was installed with various probes and sensors to track pH levels in both the fish and plant sump, water temperature, flow rate, leak detection, and water level.

Having an aquaponics system at their school will provide students with a hands-on way to learn science, sustainability, and food production. Aquaponics combines math, biology, chemistry, ecology, art, and agriculture into a system that students can observe and maintain.

Do you want an aquaponics system at your school?