hot air scape. This phenomena will drastically increase the cost for heating the greenhouse. It is
important to note that any automated window opener should be disconnected during the winter.
2.3.2 Aquaponic System Structural Components
The aquaponic system involves many different parts and components. Choosing the right parts and the
most efficient ones is deeply related to the type of the system we are going to use. The system parts are
closely related to the type of fish and plants that we are going to grow, so we can make the system more
efficient. The next step is to define the size of our greenhouse and type of our growing beds. The
location plays a really important role because it affects the type of equipment we are going to use. For
example if the green house is located in a very cold location, we will need to buy heaters and a very
powerful one. For those reasons studying all environmental constraints is a crucial part of the job to be
done. There are also other parts that we take in consideration like the fish tanks that will accommodate
the fish. We also need to flow the water in the system so we will need pumps and a piping system.
Circulating the water around will also come with solids and debris so we have to utilize mechanical
filters to keep the system clean. To promote ecological balance we will need biological filters and
appropriate growing beds for the plants also artificial light.
2.3.2.1 Fish Tanks
Fish tanks can be made from different materials like concrete, metallic, polyethylene, fiberglass etc., but
generally fiberglass and plastic tanks are used in aquaponics systems. The most used shapes are the
rectangular and cylindrical. The first type of tank is cylindrical with a wide base as shown in Figure 19
Figure 19. Flow in Round and Rectangular Tanks. Rectangular tanks suffer from reduced flow at corners.
Most of the commercial and backyard aquaponics systems used this shape of tank because it offers
some advantages. Cylindrical tanks don’t have sides connected together by other materials, for this
reason they are more stable than rectangular ones. They have a good water exchange, which means all
parts of the tank are covered by water flow. For example if we direct the upcoming water from the pipe
it will make circular movements so all the mass of water will move in the tank and get replaced by fresh
water. All this factors taken in consideration result in greater gas exchange and cleaner .It also prevents
the growth of algae’s in the non-flow zones. Non flow zones are the corners of the rectangular tank
were no flow of water occurs (Flow in a Rectangular Tank).