An Expert System for Aquaculture Environment Control

This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will explore the use of a fuzzy logic based expert system in a closed loop control system for nitrate removal (denitrification) from large aquaculture systems. Nitrate is naturally generated by the bio-mass in any aquatic system. Current techniques for the control of nitrate levels are almost exclusively based on water exchange. For large scale systems these water exchanges are of such large volume as to tax the water and disposal systems on which the aquarium or aquaculture system is dependent. Our system will avoid these water exchanges by naturally removing the nitrate from the water by controlled usage of anaerobic bacteria, thus allowing large aquarium systems and aquaculture systems to operate in a more environmentally sound, viable, and cost effective fashion. During Phase I we will build a fuzzy logic based expert system for application to autonomous nitrate control in aquaculture systems and prove its feasibility by implementing and testing it in the University of Texas Marine Biomedical Institute's Cephalopod Culture Project. During Phase I, we will develop a control system design for Phase II, including parts and pricing, of a full scale system and identification of specific characteristics and capabilities the Phase II system should have.