A COMPREHENSIVE ANALYSIS OF TRADITIONAL AND AUTOMATED TESTING METHODS FOR AQUAPONICS

Abstract

Aquaponics is a sustainable method of food production that involves combining aquaculture and hydroponics to utilize fish waste as nutrients for plant growth. However, maintaining the water quality parameters such as pH, temperature, ammonia, dissolved oxygen, and flow rate is crucial for the survival and growth of both fish and plants in the system. Traditional methods of testing these parameters are timeconsuming and prone to human error. Therefore, it is necessary to develop an automated aquaponics system that can continuously monitor and control the system using smart sensors and actuators to collect real-time data on a graphical user interface (GUI).This survey article discusses the traditional and automated testing methods used to measure water quality parameters in aquaponics systems. The traditional testing methods are less reliable, time-consuming, and not always accurate. On the other hand, the automated testing method relies on sensors and is significantly faster and more reliable. The system also provides alerts and notifications to the user if any abnormalities are detected, allowing for timely remediation before the losses become significant. The implementation of an automated aquaponics system enhances the management of the system, reduces costs, and increases productivity. A microcontroller processes the sensor data and activates the corresponding actuator when necessary to regulate temperature, light, water flow, and fish feeding. Real-time data is transmitted to the cloud storage system for remote monitoring through mobile and web applications. The automated aquaponics system is designed for healthy fish growth and organic plant production, focusing on low power consumption, secured cloud storage, and minimal bandwidth Wi-Fi. In conclusion, the future of aquaponics lies in developing bio-integrated and sustainable food production systems that include automated aquaponics systems. The automated aquaponics system can help reduce operating costs and extend the production and profitability of the system while ensuring water quality parameters are maintained at optimal levels. The key parameters for designing an automated aquaponics system include low power consumption, less bandwidth Wi-Fi, secured cloud storage, real-time data acquisition, and healthy fish and plant growth. The keywords for this survey are aquaponics, automation, internet of things, monitoring, sensors, graphical user interface, data acquisition, and real-time systems