Hey guys!
My name is Alberto and I'm from a town in the mid-west known as Chicago.
I'm currently in school for Mechanical Engineering and will be graduating in May 2012.
I like playing the guitar, reading as well as writing, sports, music (the usuals), and learning/trying new things.
Well, I guess that's enough about me.
Since I'm in my final year as an undergrad, we have a design project to complete this fall semester.
A friend and I came to class with a project offered to us by The Plant Chicago (http://www.plantchicago.com).
It's a really cool place whose purpose is to create a self sustainable (zero net-waste) non-profit business looking to focus on sustainable food production. They have a brewery, bakery, tea place, and various different grow systems.
They have already made an aquaponic system and were looking into a new design to dramatically increase plant growth area.
The design they have us working on consists of a vertical wall which shelves plants on either side as water flows down the inside of the wall (over the roots) and out of the bottom. So imagine a super-market with isles, except the shelves will be flat and have holes into which the plants will be placed. There will also be a track overhead moving back and forth with lights hanging down from it. The prototype will be made with 4x8 ft foam boards stacked on top of each other. 8 feet high, 16 feet long. I'll attach a picture of their design to give a better idea, we need to make ours different but still use the wall.
Anyways, we are not too worried about the aquaponic side of this system before the water reaches the "nutrient wall". We are assuming the filtered culture water will be coming into the wall ready.
Since many of you have actual build experience and enjoy these sorts of design projects, I thought I'd come here for some ideas on how to build the thing. Our main concerns are the structure itself, the lighting track (which has to be movable for harvesting), and the water distribution and plumbing system.
Our current ideas include: a lighting track and motor (support attached to ceiling) which allows a harvesting ladder to be hooked on to it; using a long pvc pipe with a slit down the middle to distribute water down the wall, height-adjustable walls; removable foam boards for root area maintenance.
Hope all is well and hope you guys can help!
Thanks for reading this long post!
Alberto