This semester the Iron Range Engineering Aquaponics Design
Team toured Victus Farms. Victus Farms
is an aquaponic growing facility located in the Silver Bay Eco-Industrial Park
in Silver Bay, Minnesota. The facility
is owned by the City of Silver Bay and leased by the University of Minnesota
Duluth’s Center for Sustainable Community Development. The building is an 8,600 square foot facility
producing tilapia, lettuce, basil, and kale 365 days a year. It is a proof-of-concept facility and is currently
being used to conduct research. There
are plans in place to build a 26,000 square foot commercial facility which will
employ the same technology while using improved concepts attained through the
results of this research.
The idea behind aquaponics is to use fish waste, which is
transformed from ammonia to nitrate by nitrifying bacteria, to feed
plants. The plants, in turn, clean the
water for the fish. This is an
ecological cycle with numerous benefits.
Some benefits include:
- fish and greens, such as kale, can be grown using this process in Minnesota in the middle of winter
- products from one process that would otherwise be considered waste are used as an inputs to subsequent processes
- very little water is used in this process compared to traditional agricultural practices
- systems can range in size from desktop, to back yard, to industrial
Viewing the process of aquaponics on such a large scale was
an excellent experience. It is a
privilege to have access to fresh, local fish and produce here in northern
Minnesota. There is something to be
gained from observing such an efficient process in which the output of one step
is the input to another. As engineers, we can learn from this type of
process to build a better, more resourceful future.
The Iron Range Engineering Aquaponics Team is currently working to design and build a mobile aquaponics system that will be used to educate k-12 grade students, college students, and the community. Look for it at the Iron Range Earth Festival on Saturday, April 26 in Mountain Iron.
Proofread by Sue Benolken
Proofread by Sue Benolken
