INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF
ENERGY AND ENVIRONMENT
Imam Al-Kadhum College (IKC) Conference on Applications of
Engineering Techniques in Renewable Energy and Environment
(AETREE), Najaf, Iraq, 5
th
May 2019.
Journal homepage: www.IJEE.IEEFoundation.org
ISSN 2076-2895 (Print), ISSN 2076-2909 (Online) ©2019 International Energy & Environment Foundation. All rights reserved.
Design and construction of smart IoT-based aquaponics
powered by PV cells
Baraa Abd Al-Zahraa Naser, Aajam Laith Saleem, Ali Hilal Ali, Salam Alabassi,
Maher A.R. Sadiq Al-Baghdadi
Department of Electronic and Communications Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, University of Kufa,
Iraq.
Abstract
An aquaponic is a system that combines aquaculture with hydroponic to form a bio-integrated structure
that aims at achieving a symbiotic environment for both aqualife and crops growth. Fish excretions in
fish tanks contains ammonia which is poisonous and is considered very dangerous on fish survival.
However, ammonia can be converted by the action of the nitrifying bacteria into Nitrites and then to
Nitrates which can be used as nutrients for the plants, hence the symbiotic relationship between the two.
The aim of this project is to monitor and control aquaponics by using Internet of Things (IoT) technology
by recording various parameters in real time settings. Our proposed system consists of sensors that
measure pH, temperature, Oxygen and ammonia levels. In turn, these sensors are connected to a remote
database over the internet to enable users to get the values of these sensors. We used NodeMcu to acquire
sensors data and deliver them to a web server. The low power consumption of the system has resulted in
the possibility of powering it by solar power. We have registered levels of ammonia without the action of
aquaculture part between 0.05 to 0.4 mg/L over a period of one week. These values have since risen to a
dangerous level of 0.5mg/L leading fish deaths. However, a stable range of 0.02 to 0.04 mg/L were
registered with the integration of the aquaculture part. In addition, a normal pH level of 6.5 to 8 were
recorded and the temperature was between (23-25.57) C°. these results are considered acceptable for a
healthy growth of both aqualife and hydroplants.
Keywords: Aquaponics; Internet of things; NodeMcu; Environmental parameters.
1. Introduction
Aquaponics is a term used to describe a system that combines aquaculture and hydroponics operating in
a symbiotic relationship. An aquaculture is considered more suitable option than traditional agriculture in
cases where both space and water, among other resources, are limiting factors [1]. The shared water
resource between the plants and fish could achieve an optimum environment for the nourishment of both
parties while keeping water consumption at minimum. Ammonia is a by-product of fish, which although
very poisonous to fish, is converted by the nitrifying bacteria into Nitrites and then to Nitrates. Nitrates
can be used as nutrients for plants. However, aquaponics requires continuous monitoring and the
presence of man-power should the balance between the two environment is lost. This could result in a
higher operation cost than traditional agriculture. Nevertheless, in this research, we proposed IoT, to