Claims:We Claim,
1. A solar-powered rooftop aquaponics food production system comprising:
at least one Fish tank (1) to hold table and/or ornamental fishes and send fish faecal matter to the Rotary sedimentation tank (2) which sediments fish faecal matter to the bottom by swirling movement and send it to the Mineralization tank (3), while sending the upper clear water to the Bio-filtration tank (4) to convert toxic Ammonia in fish faecal matter to Nitrite and then Nitrate by aeration and nitrification by microbes and
plurality of Inter-connected Sumps (5) to hold water and pump the stored water to Overhead tank (6) which in-turn supplies water to Fish tanks (1) and Plant cultivation tanks (7) which produce food;
wherein the system is provided with Solar power production unit (8) to produce power for Water pump (9)and Aerator (10).

2. The solar-powered rooftop aquaponics food production system as claimed in Claim 1, wherein, the system is installed on the building roof with dimensions of 7m x 9.56m, on the site with the dimensions of 9m x 12m, considering the standard setbacks around the building, as per the norms prescribed by the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP).

3. The solar-powered rooftop aquaponics food production system as claimed in Claim 1, wherein, the system is designed to have a H shaped plumbing between the Fish tank (1) and the Rotary sedimentation tank (2) to maintain a constant safe level of water in the fish tank; to have overflows in Bio-filter tank (4), Overhead tank (6) and Floating raft tanks (7b) to avoid water spill over and to have branched outflow from Mineralization tank (3) to distribute its water to Sumps (5) below fish tanks.

4. The solar-powered rooftop aquaponics food production system as claimed in Claim 1, wherein, the entire system except for the rotary sedimentation tank (2) is made up of metal caged Intermediate Bulk Containers/Tote either in full (Overhead tank-6) or 3/4 (Fish tank 1) or 1/2 (Sumps below Fish tanks-5 and Plant cultivation tanks-7) or 1/4 (Sumps below Growbed tanks-5).

5. The solar-powered rooftop aquaponics food production system as claimed in Claim 1, wherein, water with faecal matter in the bottom of Fish tank (1) is constantly sucked out by placing an air stone at the bottom of outlet pipe at the centre of Fish tank (1) and closed with a perforated inverted Tower cap, so that the lifted water is sent to the Sedimentation tank (2) continuously, simultaneously aerating the water in the Fish tank (1).

6. The solar-powered rooftop aquaponics food production system as claimed in Claim 1, wherein, the fish faecal sediments are air-sucked continuously from Rotary sedimentation tank (2) into Mineralization tank (3) and aerated intensely for nitrification and mineralization and distributed to Sumps (5).

7. The solar-powered rooftop aquaponics food production system as claimed in Claim 1, wherein, design is made to end the Plant cultivation tanks (7) at one meter height, by dividing the sump into 8 inter-connected tanks: 4 each under the Fish tanks (S1 to S4) and the Growbed media tanks (S5 to S8), while the sumps (S1 to S4) are made of ½ IBC tank without pallet base, sumps (S4 to S8) are made of ¼ IBC tanks with pallet base and Growbed media tanks (7a) are made of ½ IBC tanks without pallet base. Plant tanks are placed with width (1m) facing walkways, so that all corners of the tanks are accessible by Indian with standard height of 177cm (Men) / 162cm (Women), for culture operations.

8. The solar-powered rooftop aquaponics food production system as claimed in Claim 1, wherein, the Sump system (5) contains eight inter-connected tanks that are little pulled out from the tanks above them, so that can be serviced and used for culturing freshwater pearls, ornamental plants and duckweeds, except for the Sump where pump is placed.
9. The solar-powered rooftop aquaponics food production system as claimed in Claim 1, wherein the Plant cultivation tanks (7) are categorised and arranged from rotary sedimentation tank side, in the decreasing order of water requirement and drainage, as: (a) Growbed media, (b) Floating raft, (c) Drip irrigation and (d) Wicking bed tanks.

10. The solar-powered rooftop aquaponics food production system as claimed in Claim 1, wherein, different media are used in plant cultivation tanks (7) viz., in Growbed (7a): (i) Stone gravel (20mm), (ii) Cinder, (iii) Coconut shell pieces and (iv) Clam shells; in Drip-irrigated tanks (7c): (i) Light Expanded Clay Aggregate (LECA), (ii) Pumice, (iii) Sponge stones and (iv) Vermiculite and in Wicking bed (7d): (i) Vermicompost and (ii) Microbial consortium enriched Cocopeat, for multiple purposes, including educating about aquaponics.

11. The solar-powered rooftop aquaponics food production system as claimed in Claim 1, wherein, a water proof chamber is made just below the solar panels and fairly above the Fish tank (1) to accommodate: (a) Solar charge controller, (b) Inverter, (c) Batteries, (d) Aerator and (e) Water level controller.

12. A process for development of a solar-powered rooftop aquaponics food production system as claimed in preceding claims comprising the arranging of at least one fish tank (1) to hold table and/or ornamental fishes and send fish faecal matter to the Rotary sedimentation tank (2) which sediments fish faecal matter to the bottom by swirling movement and send it to the Mineralization tank (3), while sending the upper clear water to the Bio-filtration tank (4) to convert toxic Ammonia in fish faecal matter to Nitrite and then Nitrate by aeration and nitrification by microbes and
plurality of Inter-connected Sumps (5) to hold water and pump the stored water to Overhead tank (6) which in-turn supplies water to Fish tanks (1) and Plant cultivation tanks (7) that produce food; and
the solar power production unit (8) mounted in a Chamber above fish tank (1) to produce power for Water pump (9) and Aerator (10).

Dated 17th day of March, 2021 SHARANABASAVA,
Patent Agent (IN/PA-1375) for applicants
, Description:FORM-2
THE PATENTS ACT, 1970
(39 of 1970)
(See section 10; rule 13)

COMPLETE SPECIFICATION

SOLAR-POWEREDROOFTOP AQUAPONICS FOOD PRODUCTION SYSTEM

1. UNIVERSITY OF AGRICULTURAL SCIENCES (BANGALORE) INDIAN GANDHI KRISHI VIGNAN KENDRA, BENGALURU-560065

2. BEGALI VENKATARAMANAPPA KRISHNAMURTHY INDIAN 9TH MAIN ROAD, SAMPANGI RAMA NAGARA, BENGALURU-560027

The following specification particularly describes the nature of the invention and the manner in which it is performed.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to the development of rooftop aquaponics food production system. It particularly relates to development of solar-powered rooftop aquaponics food production system. It specifically relates to the development of solar-powered rooftop aquaponics food production system by using affordable, light weight and durable container/s (metal caged Intermediate Bulk Container-IBC/Tote used in the present working model) to hold fish and plants, that can fit onto the rooftop of the most preferred size of residential site in India (9m x 12m), with a new design to reduce wastage of organic matter, to run independently utilizing solar power to grow different types of vegetables (leafy, bearing and tubers) and fish (table and/or ornamental). It also relates to the development of suitable method for production of food by using the solar powered rooftop aquaponics food production system.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
In urban and semi-urban regions, it is increasingly becoming important for its residents to raise their own food. Poor availability of organic food at affordable price, increasing food-mile, restrictions and cost of disposal of domestic wet-wastes and emerging distress situations like climate change and COVID-19 epidemic-all have necessitated our preparedness for domestic food production, with multiple far reaching benefits. Aquaponics could be the most suitable choice in this context.
FAO, 2016 [Report of the FAO technical workshop on advancing aquaponics: an efficient use of limited resources, Bogor, Indonesia, 23–26 November 2015. FAO Fisheries and Aquaculture Report No. 1133. Rome, Italy] defines Aquaponics as a symbiotic integration of two mature food production disciplines: aquaculture and hydroponics. The nutrient-rich effluent is filtered from the settleable part of its solids and then passes through an inert substrate containing plants. Here, bacteria metabolize the fish waste, and plants assimilate the resulting nutrients. The purified water is then returned to the fish tanks. The result is value-added products such as fish and vegetables, together with reductions in nutrient pollution into the watershed.
Aquaponics is not popular in India because of the following reasons:
i) Standard equipment is not available for aquaponics.
ii) It is difficult for most of the people to procure different components of aquaponics and assemble them, in a do it yourself (DIY) mode, into a complete system.
iii) Aquaponics needs almost continuous supply of power, with the use of batteries.
M. Crippa et al, 2021[M. Crippa, E. Solazzo, D. Guizzardi1, F. Monforti-Ferrario1, F. N. Tubiello and A. Leip, 2021, Food systems are responsible for a third of global anthropogenic GHG emissions, Nature Food, https://doi.org/10.1038/s43016-021-00225-9] found that in 2015, food-system emissions amounted to 18Gt CO2 equivalent per year globally, representing 34% of total GHG emissions. The largest contribution came from agriculture and land use/land-use change activities (71%), with the remaining were from supply chain activities: retail, transport, consumption, fuel production, waste management, industrial processes and packaging.
In this context, rooftop food production gains importance and akin to rooftop rainwater, solar and wind energy tapping, rooftop aquaponics too is likely to become a necessity in near future. Fortunately, India is blessed with good sun shine almost throughout the year. There are many rooftop gardening units in most of the cities, which can be upgraded to aquaponics.

Amritha Bhargavan Nair, Jayasree, S and Ajith Thomas John, 2018 studied the Status and prospects of aquaponics in Kerala vide International Journal of Pure and Applied Mathematics, Vol.118, no.20, 4087-4103 and found that aquaponics is in popular in Kerala where land availability is less i.e., the land holdings used for agriculture are limited to less than 0.2 hectares. In the survey, amongst 220 respondents interviewed, about half of the aquaponics units were designed and built by the owner-operator farmers themselves. The rest were designed with the help of external consultants. As the systems become larger, the reliance on consultant will grow. About 86% of the sample farmers used media bed alone for their aquaponics system, 3% each used floating raft and NFT for the plant production. Only about 5% of respondents used a combination of media based method and NFT. 57% of the respondents opted to grow their aquaponics outdoor, 3% on the rooftops, 40% inside a net house.76% of the respondents used electricity as their source of energy for the working of the system whereas, 12% preferred solar energy and 12% respondents preferred other backup sources such as generators and invertors.
The present study is to make available a ready-made system for the aquaponics farmers, thus saving their time in sourcing different components involved; freeing them from consultants; provide different types of aquaponics in a single unit that utilizes solar power.
While rooftop gardening is popular in many cities and towns, rooftop aquaponics is rare, with only a handful of people practicing it. If rooftop gardening is upgraded to aquaponics, the existing benefits get multiplied.

Table: 1. Need for upgrading Rooftop Gardening to Rooftop Aquaponics
Sl. No. Rooftop Gardening Rooftop Aquaponics
1 Only one category of food i.e., plant is grown. Both fish and plants are grown simultaneously, thus providing wholesome food for the grower.
2 Soil borne pests can pose problems for the plants. As this is soil-less culture, there is no problem of soil borne pests.
3 Involves regular weed control Weeds rarely occur here.
4 The plant substrate i.e., damp soil is heavy. The plant substrates viz., floating rafts and stone pebbles with air spaces are lighter than damp soil.
5 Daily time is to be spent for irrigating plants. No need of frequent irrigation, as water is recirculated almost continuously, between fish tank and plants.
6 Requires climbing on to rooftop daily, for irrigating plants. Climbing on to the rooftop daily can be avoided by using Demand/Remote fish feeders.
7 Replenishment of nutrients to the soil is required, crop after crop. No need of replenishment of major nutrients, as their supply is continuous from fish tank.
8 Less aeration for plant roots results in poor growth and yield. There is aeration of plant roots, resulting in good growth and yield.
9 Plants that require continuous contact with water (eg: Lettuce), cannot be grown in this system. Plants like Lettuce can be grown by suspending them in water using floating rafts in aquaponics.
Sl. No. Rooftop Gardening Rooftop Aquaponics
1 Only one category of food i.e., plant is grown. Both fish and plants are grown simultaneously, thus providing wholesome food for the grower.
2 Soil borne pests can pose problems for the plants. As this is soil-less culture, there is no problem of soil borne pests.
3 Involves regular weed control Weeds rarely occur here.
4 The plant substrate i.e., damp soil is heavy. The plant substrates viz., floating rafts and stone pebbles with air spaces are lighter than damp soil.
5 Daily time is to be spent for irrigating plants. No need of frequent irrigation, as water is recirculated almost continuously, between fish tank and plants.
6 Requires climbing on to the rooftop daily, for irrigating plants. Climbing on to the rooftop daily can be avoided by using Demand/Remote fish feeders.
7 Replenishment of nutrients to the soil is required, crop after crop. No need of replenishment of major nutrients, as their supply is continuous from fish tank.
8 Less aeration for plant roots results in poor growth and yield. There is aeration of plant roots, resulting in good growth and yield.
9 Plants that require continuous contact with water (eg: Lettuce), cannot be grown in this system. Plants like Lettuce can be grown by suspending them in water using floating rafts in aquaponics.

The report of JL Eguíbaret. al, 2020 [José Lobillo-Eguíbar, Víctor M. Fernández-Cabanás, Luis Alberto Bermejo and Luis Pérez-Urrestarazu, Agronomy 2020, 10(10), 1468] discloses that, the aquaponics involves the simultaneous production of plants and fish and it is increasingly being used with a self-consumption purpose. However, there are uncertainties and little information about the economic sustainability of small-scale self-managed aquaponic systems. The objective of the study was to obtain economic information about these systems, including the level of commoditization of food production as a measure of their autonomy. For this purpose, two small-scale aquaponic systems (SAS) based on FAO models were self-constructed using cheap and easy-to-obtain materials and monitored for a year. A total of 62kg of tilapia and 352kg of 22 different vegetables and fruits were produced, with an average net agricultural added value of 151.3 €. Results showed positive accounting profit but negative economic profit when labor costs were included. The degree of commoditization was around 44%, which allows certain autonomy, thanks to the use of family labor force.
Table: 2. Comparison of the present invented system with the JL Eguíbaret. al, 2020:
Sl. # System component dealt-within the JL Eguíbar et. al, 2020 The present invented system Remarks
Difference/s between SAS and the invented system Novelty/
Status
1 SAS includes one each of fish tank, Grow-bed media, Floating Raft system and Nutrient Film Technique component. SAS is a simple system while the proposed system is a higher version with fish tank/s, Grow-bed media, Floating Rafts, Drip-irrigated and Wicking bed tanks. The proposed system produces different vegetables and fish fair enough for a family of four members. The proposed system is designed for rooftop of a building on the most preferred size of residential site in India i.e., 9mx12m.
2 Fish tank The water is not drawn from the bottom of the tank where fish faecal matter is most likely to be present. The water is drawn from the bottom of the tank where fish faecal matter is present. Faecal matter from the fish tank is removed efficiently, for conversion into nitrite and nitrate.
3 Clarifier/Sedimentation tank The fish faecal sediments are to be taken out periodically out of the system in SAS. Sediments are air-sucked from Sedimentation tank into Mineralization tank and aerated intensely to reuse it within the system. Mineralized wastes helps plants grow and there is hardly any wastage of nutrients from the system.
4 Bio-filter media bed Bio-filter media works with a Bell-siphon which empties water, at once, due to ebb and flow, into sump-floating raft. This makes the floating raft with plants to rise and fall abruptly in the tank and may imbalance and affect the plants. Additionally, water head available for raft is very less for operation of the pump which lifts water to both fish tank and NFT, posing danger for the pump. Water from Bell siphons in growing beds flow to sumps and does not affect the water level in floating rafts. Water inflow and drainage in each media of cultivation works independently.
5 Sump-floating raft
6 Nutrient Film Technique (NFT) NFT is most suitable for Hydroponics for certain leafy vegetables. NFT is not a component of the proposed system. Shallow tubes of NFT do not support bulky roots. Inflowing water needs more filtration.
RA Borden et al., 2019 [Riley Albright-Borden, James Wang and Sydney Thompson “Design of an Urban Garden Aquaponics System” (2019).Mechanical/Electrical Engineering Senior Theses, SANTA CLARA UNIVERSITY] discloses that, the project objective is to create a durable, off-the-grid, large-scale aquaponics system consisting of over 90 sq.ft. of growing space, a 650 gallon fishpond, and four types of sensors to transmit water quality data to the internet for remote water quality monitoring. The end goal of the project is to supplement produce grown in the garden to further increase fresh, nutritional options available in meals cooked and distributed by Loaves and Fishes Family Kitchen to combat food insecurity in San Jose. This report presents the need for a system, details the various subsystems, and the rationale for the designs. It serves as a comprehensive guide to all the work that has been completed, provides an outlook for future iterations, and demonstrates the viability of aquaponics as an efficient method to grow food.
Table: 3. Comparison of the present invented system with the RA Borden et al., 2019:

Sl.# System components dealt-with in RA Borden et. al., 2019 The present invented system Remarks
Differences Novelty/
Status
1 The system being simplistic, has many drawbacks The proposed system is a higher version with tank/s for fish, Grow-bed media, Floating rafts, Drip-irrigation and Wicking bed. The proposed system produces different vegetables and fish fair enough for a family of four members. The proposed system is designed for the rooftop of a building on the most preferred size of residential site in India i.e., 9mx12m.
2 Fish tank The water pump placed in the fish tank has drawbacks. Due to some reason, if there is no inflow into the fish tank from floating rafts, both the pump and fishes are in danger. Water pump is in a sump. Arrangement is made such that a constant safe level of water is maintained in fish tanks. This is made possible by making a H shaped plumbing between the fish tank and the Rotary sedimentation tank.
3 Clarifier/Sedimentation tank There is no Clarifier/Sedimentation tank in this system. There is a Clarifier/Sedimentation tank in the proposed system. Organic sediment from Sedimentation tank is used within the system.

4 Bio-filter media beds Bio-filter media beds works with Bell-siphons which empty water all of a sudden, due to ebb and flow, into floating rafts below. This will make the floating raft with plants to rise and fall abruptly in the tank and may get imbalanced and affect the plants. Water from Bell siphons in growing beds flow to sumps and does not affect the floating rafts. Water inflow and drainage in each media of cultivation works independently.
5 Floating rafts

Y. Wei et al. 2019 [Yaoguang Wei, Wenshu Li, Dong An, Daoliang Li, Yisha Jiao, and Qiong Wei, IEEE Access, vol. 7, Page(s): 169306 – 169326, 14 November 2019], review article discloses that, the traditional planting and aquaculture has the problem of large consumption of water resources and land resources, and the water environmental pollution is also a difficult problem facing human beings. Population growth and food safety issues have promoted the concept of aquaponics-a recycling ecological planting and breeding mode. It combines hydroponics and recirculating aquaculture technology to realize water resources and nutrient recycling, low pollution and high productivity and efficiency. In this paper, hydroponics as the main vegetable cultivation method in aquaponics and the main equipment of water treatment in recirculating aquaculture are introduced, and the traditional equipment and its development prospects are analyzed. The greenhouse environments, water quality and nutrient circulation involved in intelligent monitoring and control of aquaponic systems are systematically analyzed and summarized. This paper summarizes the current development of technology and methods in aquaponics and provides prospects for future development trends. With the development of technology, in the future, the aquaponics system will become more intelligent, intensive, accurate and efficient.
Table: 4. Comparison of the present invented system with the Y. Wei et al. 2019:
Sl. No. System components dealt-with in the Y. Wei et al. 2019 The present invented system Remarks
Differences Novelty/
Status
1 Fish rearing tanks As per the drawing, water pump is present in the fish tank and this can have many disadvantages i.e,, accidental complete draining of water can pose problems for both pump and fishes therein. Water pump is in a sump. Arrangement is made such that a constant safe level of water is maintained in fish tanks. This is made possible by making a H shaped plumbing between the fish tank and the Rotary sedimentation tank.
2 Clarifier tank/Rotary drum micro-filter The sediments are to be taken out of clarifier frequently out of the system. Rotary drum needs power usage and it removes faecal sediments very efficiently. However, complete removal of sediments is not desirable in aquaponics, as it is the source of nutrients for plants. Drum filter is more common in Recirculatory Aquaculture System (RAS), where plants are not grown as part of the system. Sediments are air-sucked from Sedimentation tank into a mineralization tank and aerated intensely for reusing it within the system. Mineralized wastes help plants grow and there is hardly any wastage of nutrients from the system.
3 Ultra violet disinfection Present between biological filtration and vegetable cultivation area. Absent, as UV disinfection kills beneficial nitrifying bacteria Beneficial microbes are encouraged in aquaponics.
4 Vegetable cultivation area Details about media of cultivation like Growbed/Floating raft/ NFT are not given.

T. Ryan et al., 2017 [Toal, Ryan; Claggett, Kevin; and Goh, Justin, ‘Smart and Sustainable Aquaponics’ (2017). Electrical Engineering Senior Theses. 36, SANTA CLARA UNIVERSITY] discloses that, as the global population increases, new ways of sustainable and efficient food production need to be explored in order to meet the growing demand from society. In this paper we explore the methods and functionality of an off-grid, semi-autonomous aquaponics system. This system will serve as a proof of concept for a large scale aquaponics system which can be modelled in other parts of the world where arable land is scarce. It was found that though the initial start-up cost is high, it will be able to reduce the cost of food in the long run. The system implements a solar array and battery system, lighting, temperature controls and a plumbing system.

Table: 5. Comparison of the present invented system with the T. Ryan et al., 2017:
Sl. No. System components dealt-with in the T. Ryan et al., 2017 The present invented system Remarks
Differences Novelty/Status
1 Fish tank The water pump placed in the fish tank has many drawbacks. Due to some reason, if there is no inflow into the fish tank from floating rafts, both the pump and fishes are in danger. Water pump is in a sump. Arrangement is made such that a constant safe level of water is maintained in fish tanks. This is made possible by making a H shaped plumbing between the fish tank and Rotary sedimentation tank.
2 Clarifier/ Sedimentation tank There is no Clarifier / Sedimentation tank in this system. There is a Sedimentation tank in the proposed system. Having Sedimentation tank helps in separation of sediments and reusing it after mineralization.
3 Growbed media bed Growbed media bed works with a Bell-siphon which empties water all of a sudden, due to ebb and flow, into a shrimp tank. This will make the floating raft with plants to rise and fall abruptly in shrimp tank and may be cause problem for shrimps. Water from Bell siphons in growing beds flow to sumps and does not affect other components in the system. Water inflow and drainage in each media of cultivation works independently.
4 Shrimp tank In Shrimp tank there is another pump, which again can accidentally drain out water completely. Shrimp tank is absent.
5 Floating rafts Absent Present

Aquaponics is a new method of cultivation which is becoming popular in recent times. As of now, it is being practiced by only few enthusiasts who are concerned about eating what they grow. Though there are reports on the state of the art on aquaponics food production systems, none of the documents disclose or teach the solar-powered rooftop aquaponics food production system. The comparison of the present invented system with the state of the art is given in the below Table 6.
Table. 6: Comparison of the present invented system with the existing state of the art
Sl. No. Features of the prevailing state of the art Novel features of the presently invented system Remarks
1 Fish fecal sediments are removed from Sedimentation tank once in 1-2 weeks, for mineralization. Some of the sledge is totally removed from the system. Sediments are air-sucked continuously from Rotary sedimentation tank into a Mineralization tank and aerated intensely and then distributed to sumps below the fish tanks. The invention greatly reduces the wastage of organic matter and increase the efficiency of the system.
2 Methods of drip irrigation and wicking bed are not integrated into a system of aquaponics. Most systems are with Growing-bed media and / or Floating rafts that require more water. Methods of drip irrigation and wicking-bed methods are integrated into the new system with Growing-bed media and Floating rafts. The invented system saves water and power, besides enabling production of tuber vegetables.
3 Culture of freshwater pearl, ornamental plants and fodder like Azolla are not practiced, either because of system design or by ignorance. System is designed to enable culture of freshwater pearl, ornamental plants and fodder like Azolla, enabling better utilization of organic matter in the system The Applicant viz., University of Agricultural Sciences (Bangalore) is conducting National Hands-on Training Programs on Freshwater Pearl Culture.
4 The systems and their materials are non-descript, not uniform, not easily available, not durable, not easily affordable and not easily replicable and hence not advisable to large section of people. The invented system uses trash plastic containers viz., metal caged Intermediate Bulk Containers (IBC)/Tote which are used for shipment of liquids in containers of ships. These are made of light-weight High-Density Polyethylene (HDPE); with hallow metal frames, mounted on plastic/wooden base. After liquid transportation, they become second-hand materials and sold at lesser prices. Their use in aquaponics results in reuse of material. As IBC is of International standard, the invented system can be replicated. The invention helps in advocating uniform material, establishment and package of practices for aquaponics across the country, as the container (IBC) is of International size, material and structure. Nevertheless, the design, principle and the method in the invented system can be used with containers for fish and plants.
5 The systems, may or may not be supported by solar power and normally not set as a standard fitting of the system. A solar power generation unit with photovoltaic panels and batteries, matched with the power requirement of water pump and aerator, is integrated into the design of the aquaponics system. The invented design of the aquaponics system saves space and cost, making it eco-friendly, reliable and independent of State power supply.

The existing systems and methods for aquaponics food production system are having several drawbacks. Therefore, the present inventor has developed the solar-powered rooftop aquaponics food production system which overcomes the drawbacks of the existing systems and has several advantages.
Business information available on www.indiamart.com gives only skeletal details of the systems available for sale as in Table 7
Table 7: Aquaponics System Suppliers in India and Details of Systems offered
Sl. No. Supplier name Material used Water capacity Expected fish yield Automation Grade Plants Cost (Rs.)/Unit
1 The Sucros, Vennala, Kochi, Ernakulam, Kerala HDPE 5000 L (500 fish) N.A.* Semi- Automatic 4 grow beds (As 5 batches) 50000
HDPE (size: 120cm x 110cm) 1000 L
(15 kg fish capacity) N.A. N.A. 1 Grow bed to get 20-40 kg vegetables 17500
2 Spacos Innovations Pvt. Ltd., Karnataka Plastic 1000 L N.A. N.A. N.A. 28000
3 Vatodar Green Water Farms, Gujarat Manual UPVC DIY N.A. N.A. N.A. 40 planters 31910
4 Polybionic technology, Ooty
Zinc aluminium with PVC liner 10000 L N.A. N.A. N.A. 150 000

Source: www.indiamart.com
*N.A.=Not available

OBJECTIVES OF THE INVENTION
The main objective of the present invention is the development of the rooftop aquaponics food production system.

The specific object of the present invention is the development of solar-powered rooftop aquaponics food production system.

The particular object of the present invention is the development of solar-powered rooftop aquaponics food production system by using safe, affordable, light weight and durable container (caged Intermediate Bulk Container-IBC/Tote) to hold fish and plants, that can fit onto the rooftop of the most preferred size of residential site in India(9m x 12m),with a new design to avoid wastage of organic matter, to run independently utilizing solar power to grow different types of vegetables (leafy, bearing and tubers) and fish (table and/or ornamental).

The other object of the present invention is the development of fabrication method for development of solar-powered rooftop aquaponics food production system.

The further object of the present invention is the development of practicing method for the production of food by using the developed solar-powered rooftop aquaponics food production system.

The other object of the present invention is the development of solar-powered rooftop aquaponics food production system which is portable/handy and user friendly.

The other object of the present invention is the development of solar-powered rooftop aquaponics food production system which is having more durability and sustainable in the long run.
The other object of the present invention is the development of solar-powered rooftop aquaponics food production system which is a healthy way of growing of fish and plants symbiotically and simultaneously in less space, with multiple and far reaching benefits.

The other object of the present invention is the development of solar-powered rooftop aquaponics food production system which Enables urban and semi-urbanites to grow their own food on rooftops, to save food-miles and to utilize their domestic wet-wastes (as manure in plant nursery).

The other object of the present invention is the development of solar-powered rooftop aquaponics food production system which prepares us for facing contingent/distress situations, like climate change and COVID-19 like epidemics, by having own food production system.

The other object of the present invention is the development of solar-powered rooftop aquaponics food production system which is useful to urban dwellers for production of the organic food.

The other object of the present invention is the development of solar-powered rooftop aquaponics food production system which is cost effective and affordable.

The other object of the present invention is the development of solar-powered rooftop aquaponics food production system which can fill-in the gap of non-availability of a ready-made aquaponics system in the market to save time, labour and cost for interested ones who are now studying the intricacies of the components and trying to build a system by sourcing materials and assembling them as a Do-It-Yourself (DIY) venture.

Another object of the present invention is the development of solar-powered rooftop aquaponics food production system which is safe and practical to use with little technical expertise.

Yet another object of the present invention is the development of solar-powered rooftop aquaponics system which can be used an education tool for children and people who need information and skill in eco-friendly production of organic food, free of chemicals.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES/DRAWINGS

Fig.1. The 3D picture which shows the developed solar-powered rooftop Standalone
aquaponics food production system.
Wherein,
1- Fish Tank;
2- Rotary sedimentation tank (RST);
3-Mineralization Tank (MT);
4-Biofilter Tank (BFT);
5-Inter-Connnected Sumps (S);
6- Over Head Tank (OT);
7 (i)-Grow-Bed Media with Bell Siphon (GB):
(a) Stone Gravel (20mm),
(b) Cinder,
(c) Coconut Shell Pieces,
(d) Clam Shells.
7 (ii)- Floating Rafts (FR);

7(iii)- Drip Irrigated Media (DI):
(a) Pumice Stone,
(b) Light Expanded Clay Aggregate (LECA),
(c) Sponge Stone,
(d) Vermiculite
7(iv)- Wicking Bed (WB)
8- Solar Power Production Unit (SPPU)

Fig 2: The 2D Top view of the developed solar-powered rooftop aquaponics food production
system.

Label Description Purpose
1 Fish tank Designed to hold table / ornamental fishes without a chance of complete emptying and send fish faecal matter to the Rotary sedimentation tank.
2 Rotary sedimentation tank Sediments fish faecal matter to the bottom by swirling movement and send it to the Mineralization tank, while sending the upper clear water to the Bio-filtration tank.
3 Mineralization tank Convert toxic Ammonia in fish faecal matter to Nitrite and then Nitrate by intense aeration and nitrification by microbes on Moving Bed Bio-film Reactor (MBBR) media or shade net or similar substrate.
4 Bio-filtration tank Convert toxic Ammonia in fish faecal matter to Nitrite and then Nitrate by aeration and nitrification by microbes on Moving Bed Bio-film Reactor (MBBR) media or shade net or similar substrate.
5 Inter-connected Sumps Hold water and supports culture pearl and duck weeds.
6 Overhead tank Supplies water to fish tanks (1) and plant cultivation tanks (7) which produce food. The tank has an overflow connection to the Sump (5), to avoid spill over of water.
7 Plant cultivation tanks Cultivates plants in different media:
(a) Grow-bed media: (i) Stone gravel (20mm), (ii) Cinder, (iii) Coconut shell pieces and (iv) Clam shells;
(b) Floating raft,
(c) Drip irrigated media: (i) Light Expanded Clay Aggregate (LECA), (ii) Pumice, (iii) Sponge stones and (iv) Vermiculiteand
(d) Wicking bed: (i) Vermicompost and (ii) Microbial consortium enriched Cocopeat.
8 Solar power production unit Produces power for water pump (9) and aerator (10).
9 Water pump Pumps water from Sump (5)
10 Aerator Supplies air to Fish tanks (1), Mineralization tank (3), Bio-filter (4), Sumps below fish tanks (5) and Floating rafts (7b).
11 Water-level-controller Saves Water pump (9) from its dry-run.

SEQUENCE OF OPERATION

1) Water, preferably fresh bore/tubewell water is pumped to the overhead tank (6).
2) Two main valves viz., fish tank valve and plant tanks valve are opened, so that flows into Rotary Sedimentation tank (2), Mineralization tank (3), Bio-filter tank (4), Plant cultivation tanks (7a, 7b and 7c) and Sumps (5).
3) When all the inter-connected sumps are full, switch on the water pump to lift water to the overhead tank (6).
4) After loading the overhead tank (6) to such an extent that there is water overflow from the overhead tank (6) to the sump (5), the inflow of bore/tubewell is stopped, to allow loaded water get recirculated within the system.
5) To make up water loss due to plant growth and evaporation, fill the overhead tank (6) again.

STATEMENT OF THE INVENTION

A solar-powered rooftop aquaponics food production system comprising:
at least one Fish tank (1) to hold table / ornamental fishes and send fish faecal matter to the Rotary sedimentation tank (2) which sediments fish faecal matter to the bottom by swirling movement and send it slowly to the Mineralization tank (3), while sending the upper clear water to the Bio-filtration tank (4) to convert toxic Ammonia in fish faecal matter to Nitrite and then Nitrate by aeration and nitrification by microbes on Moving Bed Bio-film Reactor (MBBR) media or shade net or similar substrate; and plurality of Inter-connected Sumps (5) to hold water and pump the stored water to Overhead tank (6) which in-turn supplies water to Fish tanks(1) and Plant cultivation tanks (7) which produce food;
wherein the system is provided with Solar power production unit (8) to produce power for Water pump (9) and Aerator (10).
The system is installed on the building roof with dimensions of 7m x 9.56m, built on the site with the dimensions of 9m x 12m, leaving the standard setbacks around the building, as per the norms prescribed by the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP).
The system has design of H shaped plumbing made between the Fish tank (1) and the Rotary sedimentation tank (2) to have a constant safe level of water in the fish tank; overflows made to Bio-filter tank (4), Overhead tank (6) and Floating raft tanks (7b) to avoid water spill over and partitions made to outflow from Mineralization tank (3) to distribute its water to Sumps (5) below fish tanks.
In the present working model, except for the rotary sedimentation tank (2), the entire system is made up of metal caged Intermediate Bulk Containers (IBC):in full (Overhead tank-6),3/4th(Fish tanks-1), 1/2 (Sumps below fish tanks-5 and all Plant cultivation tanks-7) and 1/4th (Sumps below Growbed tanks-5).
The water with faecal matter in the bottom of Fish tank (1) is constantly being sucked out by placing an air stone at the bottom of the pipe which is placed at the centre of Fish tank (1) and closed with a perforated inverted Tower cap, so that the lifted water is sent to the Sedimentation tank (2) continuously and simultaneously aerating the water in the Fish tank.
Considering the standard height of Indians (Men: 177 cm and Women: 162cm), the plant cultivation tanks (7) are arranged on iron stands of 0.5m height to end at an height of one meter. This is made possible by dividing the sump: portions of 1/4 IBC tanks which are left over after making 3/4 IBC tanks as fish tanks are used as sumps(S5 to S8) under the Growbed media tanks, while having ½ IBC tanks as sumps (S1 to S4) under the fish tanks. To maintain flow gradient from (S5-S8) to (S1-S4), Pallet base of Growbed media tanks and Sumps (S1 to S4) are removed.
The Sump system (5) contains inter-connected tanks, where culture of freshwater pearls, ornamental plants and duckweeds can be done in sumps S1 to S3.
The Plant cultivation tanks (7) are divided into four lines parallel to fish tanks and are arranged after rotary sedimentation tank, in the decreasing order of water requirement and drainage: (a) Growbed media, (b) Floating raft, (c) Drip irrigation and (d) Wicking bed.
The purpose of educating about aquaponics is met by including different media in plant cultivation tanks (7) viz., in Growbed media tanks (7a): (i) Stone gravel (20mm), (ii) Cinder, (iii) Coconut shell pieces and (iv) Clam shells; in Drip irrigated tanks (7c): (i) Light Expanded Clay Aggregate (LECA), (ii) Pumice, (iii) Sponge stones and (iv) Vermiculite and in Wicking bed tanks (7d): (i) Vermicompost and (ii) Microbial consortium enriched Cocopeat.
The water proof chamber is made just below the solar panels and fairly above the Fish tank (1) to accommodate: (a) Solar charge controller, (b) Inverter, (c) Batteries, (d) Aerator and (e) Water level controller.
A process for development of a solar-powered rooftop aquaponics food production system comprising the arranging of at least one fish tank (1) to hold table and/or ornamental fishes and send fish faecal matter to the Rotary sedimentation tank (2) which sediments fish faecal matter to the bottom by swirling movement and send it to the Mineralization tank (3), while sending the upper clear water to the Bio-filtration tank (4) to convert toxic Ammonia in fish faecal matter to Nitrite and then Nitrate by aeration and nitrification by microbes on Moving Bed Bio-film Reactor (MBBR) media or shade net or similar substrate and
plurality of Inter-connected Sumps (5) to hold water and pump the stored water to overhead tank (6) which in-turn supplies water to fish tanks (1) and plant cultivation tanks (7) that produce food; and the solar power production unit (8) to produce power for Water pump (9)and Aerator (10).
A method for production of the food comprising the solar-powered rooftop aquaponics food production system is invented.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
The invention enables growing of fish and plants simultaneously.
Space requirements are less i.e., 4.8m x 8.5m=38.4m2 only. It can fit on rooftop (7m x 9.6m) of the most preferred standard dimension of site in India i.e., 9m x 12m, after leaving the standard setbacks.
The produces viz., fish and plants are organic, as chemicals are normally avoided for the production.
There is multiple use of water, as the same water recirculates in the system, loading nutrients to plants and unloading fish wastes.
The culture is eco-friendly, as wastes viz., Ammonia in fish tank is converted into nitrite first and then into nitrate, which is a nutrient for plants.
Electrical devices used in the system are one each of Water pump, Aerator, Water-level-controller, Solar charge controller and four each of Solar panels and Batteries.
Solar energy, produced by photovoltaic cells and stored in batteries, is used to operate water pump, aerator and water-level-controller. Thus the system is eco-friendly and reliable, as power supply is uniform and continuous.
Both deep rooted plants and the plants which are required to be cultured on floating rafts can be grown in the system.
Both table and ornamental fish can be grown in the system, either as mono-crop or in combination.
The system is affordable as its total cost is Rs.5.35 lakhs.
All the materials used in the system are available locally and there is no dependence on import.
The system can be operated by unskilled manpower and maintenance is minimal.
The test kits for maintenance of water quality are easily available and affordable.
There is nothing that causes pollution i.e., toxic discharge/emissions/wastes or noise or visual, from the system. In fact, it enriches the local environment.
The system educates children about clean energy usage and organic food production methods.
As the food viz., fish and vegetables are produced in-house, food-mile is avoided, thus contributing to clean environment. (Greenhouse gases emitted in transport account for around 12% of overall food-chain emissions).
The system is expandable depending on availability of space and other resources.
A working model of ‘Solar-powered rooftop aquaponics food production system’ that can fit onto the rooftop (7m x 9.6m) of a building in 9m x12m (30ft x 40ft) site has been developed. The following Table is considered to arrive at the dimensions of the rooftop:
Table: 8. Setbacks for building Height up to 11.5m & Plot size of up to 4000sq.m
Width of site Depth of site
Width/Depth of site (m) Right side Left side Right side Left side
Up to 6.0 1.0 m 0 1.0 m 0
Above 6.0 up to 9.0 1,0 m on all sides
Above 9.0 8% 8% 12% 8%

Source: https://bbmp.gov.in/PDF/townplanning/Zoning_Regulations_RMP2015f%20(1).pdf, page 19, Table 8.

In the present Working Model, table and/or ornamental fish is cultured in IBC/Tote tanks from where the water with faecal matter goes out and gets processed for conversion of toxic ammonia to a plant nutrient viz., Nitrate. This water cultivates different vegetables (palak, coriander, lettuce, methi, tomato, chilli, capsicum, cucumber, brinzal, radish, carrot, potato, etc) in soil-less media and returns clean to the fish tank. The entire unit is powered by solar panels and runs independent of State power. Innovative features are built into this system to conserve water and to achieve reduced wastage of organic matter.

Following are the features making the invention novel:

1) A method is invented and integrated to this Aquaponics system to enable reduced wastage of organic matter. The water with fish faecal matter in the bottom of Rotary sedimentation tank (2) is continuously sucked out by placing an air stone at the bottom of the pipe which is placed at the center of the connected Mineralization tank (3) and then subjected to intense aeration. Outlet from Mineralization tank branches out into sumps. Recirculation of bio-degraded fish wastes within the system and their absorption by plants greatly reduces wastage of organic matter.

2) More crop-per-drop is made possible by novel invented methods of incorporation of drip irrigation and wicking-bed irrigation methods for plant cultivation.

3) Culture of Freshwater Pearls, ornamental plants and duckweeds like Azolla are made possible in the sumps (except for the sump with water pump) of this Aquaponics system.

4) The system uses trash plastic containers viz., Intermediate Bulk Containers (IBC)/Tote, Bathtubs or the like, thus resulting in reuse of materials. As the system is made of standard materials that are easily available, it can be replicated. The materials are also safe, light-weight and relatively cheap.

5) Solar energy, produced by photovoltaic cells and stored in batteries, is used to operate one each of water pump, aerator andwater-level-controller. Thus, the system is independent of State power supply, eco-friendly and reliable, as power supply is uniform and continuous.
Advantages of the Invention:

The advantages in terms of reductions in capital cost, operating cost for the same performance. Improved reliability, performance, productivity, robustness, safety, layout, serviceability, range of applications, utility, directly or as an attachment.

THE SPECIFICATIONS OF THE SYSTEM:

1. Presumed dimensions and area of the site: 9m x 12m = 108 m2
2. Dimensions and area of rooftop, after leaving setbacks as per BBMP regulations:
1m (8% of Width/Depth, with a minimum of 1m) on 3 sides and 1.44m (12% of 12m) on front side= 7m x 9.56m = 66.92m2
3. Dimensions and area of the developed Solar-powered aquaponics food production system: 4.8m x 8.5m = 40.8 m2.
4. Number of IBC/Tote tanks used in the developed system: 15.
Table9: Container components of the developed System and their make:
Sl. No. Container Component No. of units IBC /Tote portion No. of IBC used
1 Fish tank 4 0.75 3.00
2 Rotary Sedimentation Tank: Fiberglass Reinforced Plastic drum (Dia: 1.2m x Ht:0.9m) 1 0 0
3 Mineralization tank 1 0.50 0.50
4 Bio-filter tank 1 0.50 0.50
5 Sumps: 8
i Those under Fish Tanks 4 0.50 2.00
ii Those under Growbed media Tanks 4 0.25 1.00
6 Plant cultivation tanks:
i Growbed Media 4 0.50 2.00
ii Floating Raft 4 0.50 2.00
iii Drip Irrigation 4 0.50 2.00
iv Wicking Bed 4 0.50 2.00
Total No. of IBC / Tote tanks used 15.00

5. Number of Fiberglass reinforced plastic/ polyethylene tank used: 1
6. Dimensions of metal caged Intermediate Bulk Container (IBC)/Tote: LBH = 122cm x 102cm x 117cm, Capacity=1040 L
7. Total volume of water in the system: About 9300 litres.
8. Weight of the fully loaded system: 7447 kg.
9. Total cost of thesystem:Rs.5.35lakh
Table 10: Component-wise input details for the invented System
Sl. # Inputs for the developed system Specifications Quantity Unit weight (kg) Total weight (kg) Unit Price (Rs.) Total Price (Rs.)
1 IBC/Tote tank 1050L 15No.s 64 960 3500 55500
2 FRP tank 1000L 1No. 70 70 20000 20000
3 Iron stand 35mm x 5mm 84 Length 13.5 1135 55/kg 62425
4 Water pump 210W/17900L 1No. 7 7 13570 13570
5 Aerator 160W/200LPM 1No. 11 11 17936 17936
6 Solar panels 330 wpk 4 No.s 20 60 45000 44000
7 Charge control MPPT-60amps 1No. 5 5 12000 14000
8 Inverter 1700VA 1No. 8 8 9440 9440
9 Tubular Battery 150 Volts 4 No.s 60 120 15360 61440
10 Plant culture media 350L media in each tank of 430L capacity
a Grow-bed media (L/kg) Cinder:0.7, Coconut shell pieces:1.5, Clam shell:1.0 & Crushed stone:0.8 500+233+350+4370=1520 kg - 1520 (Av.) 9.5 14440
b Floating rafts Water 350L water - 1400 0 0
c Drip irrigation (L/kg) Pumice:1.5, LECA:3.0, Sponge stone:1.0 & Perlite:1.1 350L

(233+116+350+318) =1017 kg - 1017 (Av.) 70
70800
d Wicking bed (L/kg) Arka Microbial Consortium enriched Cocopeat:1.4 &Vermicompost:1.1 350L

125+125+318+318 = 886 - 886 7 6202
11 Chamber to accommodate Sl. No. 5-9,13 &14 3mm, 96 m2 0.5 48 100.3 9628
12 Plumbing items 200 96000
13 Water level controller 230V/6W 1No. - - 1500 1500
14 Styrofoam sheets 30x0.6x1m 20 No. - - 310 6200
15 Airoxy tube 12.5x25mm 20m - - 165 3300
16 Switch Board 3Pin 15amp 1No. - - 250 250
17 Labour 40 manday - - 700 28000
TOTAL Weight 7447 Cost 534631

10. Supporting MS angle stand dimensions (LBH) m:
(a) For fish tank: 1.30m x 1.08m x0.7m.
(b) For plant cultivation tanks: 1.25m x 1.05m x 0.5m.
11. Solar power production Unit
i. Solar panels: 330wp, 3 No.s, 1m x1.6m each
ii. Solar Charge controller: MPPT Type,32 AMP / 12 V
iii. Batteries capacity and numbers: 150AH, 2No.s
iv. Capacitor/Inverter:1700 VA
v. No. of hours of battery back-up = {[Battery power (AH) x No. of Batteries] x Power factor x 12 V} / Load in Watts i.e., (Water pump 210W+Aerator 160W=370W, considering margin for transmission loss, it is 450W).
= [(150 x 4) 0.8 x 12] / 450= 12.8 hours (Dusk to dawn).
12. Total area of crops from16 Plant-cultivation tanks: About 20m2
13. Fishes suitable: Both table and ornamental fishes which can tolerate and grow well in crowded conditions. Eg: Genetically Improved Farmed Tilapia (GIFT), Pangasius, Murrel, Magur, Koi carp, Common carp etc., as a mono-crop or one variety in each tank.
14.The Applicant viz., the University of Agricultural Sciences (Bangalore) is producing all-male seeds of Genetically Improved Farmed Tilapia (GIFT) seeds in its maiden and only such hatchery in Karnataka, with permission from the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, New Delhi [vide No.35029/6/2015-Fy(Trade) dated 5th February 2016].
15. Number of freshwater mussels which can be stocked in 3 sumps viz., S1 to S3:
About 130 @ of 10L/mussel.
16. Plants suitable:

i. In Growbed Media: Deep rooted plants. Eg: European cucumber, Tomato, Coloured
capsicum, etc.
ii. In Floating rafts: Leafy vegetables Eg: Lettuce, Broccoli, Palak, etc.
iii. In Drip Irrigation: Leek, Spring onion, Chilly, Cherry tomato, etc.
iv. In Wicking bed: Tubers Eg: Radish and Carrot. Also used as a Plant Nursery.

Table: 11. Components of the Developed System, Innovative Features and Rationale:
Sl. No. Component Innovative Features Rationale
1 Fish tanks (FT) i) IBC tank cut at its 3/4 portion is used a fish tank. With an iron stand of 0.7m height, the fish tank ends at1.5m height, for convenience of Indian house holder. The remaining 1/4 portions are used as interconnected sumps below the Growbed tanks. i) The National average height for Indian men is 177 cm and for women it is162 (https://weather.com/en-IN/india/health/news/2020-09-29-national-institute-of-nutrition-changes-ideal-weight-height-for)
ii) Arrangement is made such that a constant safe level of water is maintained always in fish tanks. ii) No need of using float switch or any other gadget for water level maintenance in fish tank.
iii) The water with faecal matter in the bottom of Fish tank is constantly sucked out by placing an air stone at the bottom of the pipe which is placed at the centre of Fish tank and closed with a perforated inverted Tower cap, so that the lifted water is sent to the Sedimentation tank continuously. iii) This achieves both aeration and removal of faecal matter simultaneously.

iv) Solar panels (3 No.s) are installed on FT 1 (2 No.s) and FT 3 (1 No.) Over FT1, a water-proof chamber is made on which solar panels rest, at an inclination facing the South. Inside the chamber, Solar charge controller, Inverter, batteries, aerator and water level controller are kept. iv) This saves space in the overall system dimensions.

v) Over FT4, the overhead tank (OHT) i.e., a full IBC tank with opened top is mounted.
vi) Below all the Fish Tanks, sumps made of ½ IBC tank are placed and inter connected. In the sump S4 below Fish tank FT4, a water pump is placed to lift water to OHT.
v) This saves space in system dimensions.
2 Rotary Sedimentation tank (RST) This tank is provided with a bottom outlet and a valve to allow sediments to move out gradually and continuously to the Mineralization tank, to get processed and distributed to the Sumps S1 to S3. The water from fish tanks with fish faecal matter enters this tank at half the height, through an Elbow, creating a swirling movement and making the faecal matter to sediment at the bottom of this tank. The upper clear water goes out to bio-filter tank, through an elbow at the centre of the tank.
3 Mineralization tank (MT) Sediments are air-sucked continuously from Rotary sedimentation tank into Mineralization tank and aerated intensely for nitrification and mineralization and distributed to Sumps. Here inlet is at the bottom and outlet is at the top, draining into sump. An additional outlet is provided at the bottom for servicing. In most other existing systems, it is collected once in many days and only a part of it may or may not be added back to the system.
4 Bio-filter tank (BFT) Inlet is at the top and outlet is at the bottom, draining into sump. An overflow is provided, draining into sump. Overflow avoids water spillage from this tank.
5 Inter-connected Sumps (S) The sump system is divided into eight inter-connected tanks: 4 each under the Fish tanks (S1 to S4) and the Growbed media tanks (S5 to S8).While the sumps (S1 to S4) are made of ½ IBC tank without pallet base, sumps (S4 to S8) are made of ¼ IBC tanks with pallet base. All the eight sumps are inter-connected, through a web of pipes for balancing and providing water for the pump in the Sump S4. Growbed media tanks are made of ½ IBC tanks without pallet base. The entire arrangement reduces the overall height of the system, for the convenience of Indian with standard height of 177cm (Men)/162cm (Women), for culture operations. The arrangement has also taken into consideration the flow of drain water from plant cultivation tanks to the water pump.
iii) Freshwater mussels, ornamental plants and duckweeds can be grown in three sumps viz., S1 to S3. iii) This reduces organic load, produce pearls, ornamental plants and duckweeds (supplementary feed for Tilapia).
6 Overhead tank (OHT) Overhead tank on the fish tank (FT4) with an overflow and a supply line to and from sump (S4). This saves space and its shade is not casted on plants. Overflow avoids spillage of water.
7 Plant cultivation tanks i) Arranged in a decreasing order of water requirement, from the Rotary Sedimentation tank, parallel to fish tanks: Growbed, Floating raft, Drip irrigation and Wicking bed. i) This helps in Growbed media and floating rafts to get water with good force from the overhead tank.
ii) While the Growbed media drains water from their Bell siphons directly into the sumps below them, Floating raft tanks drain their water through pipes into the sumps. Water outflow from Drip irrigated tanks is very less, through small pipes. Wicking beds basically do not have water outlets. ii) This arrangement synchronizes water inflow and outflow for the plant cultivation tanks.
iii) The plant tanks are arranged with the width (1m) portion of IBC tank facing the walkways, so that all corners of the tanks are accessible. iii) This orientation is suitable for an Indian (men 177cm and women 162cm height) to carry out culture operations with ease.
i Grow-bed media with bell siphon (GB). i) Four different media are used: (a) Stone gravel (20mm), (b) Cinder, (c) Coconut shell pieces and (d) Clam shells. i) The system can be used as an educational tool and for experimenting with different options. The one which is easily available and yields more can be selected.
ii) Below all the GB tanks, sumps made of 1/4thIBC (left over of fish tanks) are placed and interconnected to sumps below fish tanks. ii) This makes the height of the plant cultivation tanks at a comfortable height of 1m.
ii Floating rafts (FR) Overflow is provided from each tank viz., FR1-FR4 to sumps S5-S8 This avoids spillage of water, if there is excess inflow of water.
iii Drip irrigated media (DI) i) In addition to filtration before entry of water into the tank, a method to avoid clogging of the holes in the drip pipe is made. i) This avoids clogging of irrigation pipes.

ii) Four different types of media are used, one in each tank. They are: (a) Pumice stone, (b) Light expanded clay aggregate (LECA), (c) Sponge stone and (d) Perlite. ii) This helps to use the system as an educational tool and to experiment with different media and crops.
iv Wicking bed (WB) Two different types of media are used in two tanks viz., vermicompost and Microbial consortium enriched cocopeat. This helps to use the system as an educational tool and to experiment with different media and crops.
8 Solar power production Unit (SPPU) Solar panels on the fish tanks FT1 and FT3. This saves space and helps in better exposure to sunlight.

Table. 12: Estimated Economics for the developed solar-powered rooftop Aquaponics food production system.
A. Fixed Cost: Rs.534631 (Table 10).
B. Operational cost and income
(i) From aquaculture
(a) From fish (b) From Pearl Culture
Seed cost: @ 10 L/GIFT Fry, 60 Fry/Tank, Total: 240 Fishes @ Rs.3/GIFT fry=Rs.720
Fish feed @ 1:1.2 FCR and @ Rs.35/kg feed, 130kg*Rs.35=Rs.4550
Total fish seed and feed cost=Rs.5270, Cost/year=10540
@ 95% survival, 228 fishes, @ 0.5kg in 6months, fish yield= 114kg, @ Rs.150/kg, Gross income=Rs.17100.
Gross income from 2 fish crops/year=Rs.34200
Net income/Year from fish=Rs.34200-10540=Rs.23660/year @Rs.5/Mussel, cost of 130mussels=650
@Rs.10/Mussel, cost of rearing=1300/Year
@ 25% survival, No. of mussels with designed pearls=30/Year
@ 2 designed pearls/mussel, No. of designed pearls=60
@ Rs.250/Designed pearl, Gross income=Rs.15000/Year
Net income=15000-1950=13050/Year

(ii) From Crops:
Sl. No. Expenditure/
Income Crops in different plant cultivation media (5m2each)
Growbed Floating raft Drip Irrigation Wicking bed
Colored Capsicum Lettuce Chilli Radish (Red)
1 Seed Quantity (gm/No.) 2.00 5 2.00 20
2 Rate (Rs.) 30 125 30 96
3 Amount (Rs.) 60 125 60 96
4 Seedling trays QR=A,
10No.x Rs.15=150 30 60 30 -
5 Coco peat, 15Kgx8=120 40 80 40 160
6 19:19:19 fertilizer (Nursery)
1KgxRs.191=191 191 - 191 -
7 IIHR- Vegetable special
1kgxRs.180=180 180 180 180 180
8 Neemark, 1LxRs.648 648 - 648 -
9 Yield (Kg/5m2) 15 6.25 15 8.75
10 Rate (Rs./Kg)* 232 120 120 76
11 Gross income (Rs.) 3480 750 1800 665
12 Net income (Rs.)/Crop 2331 305 651 229
13 No. of crops/Year 3 3 3 6
14 Net income (Rs.) /Year 6993 915 1953 1374
Total net income (Rs.) /Year/20m2 11235

Total net income from aquaculture and horticulture in the invented Solar-powered rooftop aquaponics system=B(i)(a)+ B(i)(b)+ B(ii)=23660+13050+11235=Rs.47945 per annum.

The initial investment of Rs.534631lakhs (Table 10) is recoverable in about 11 years.