Denver, CO, July 06, 2016: AST is a world leader in mechanical filtration, biofiltration, and water clarification technologies. The company’s new Louisville, Colorado office partnered up with Colorado Aquaponics and the Mental Health Center of Denver’s Dahlia Campus for Health and Well-Being to bring a unique take on Horticultural Therapy (HT) to Colorado.
View of FIT 2800 Model
The expert engineers at AST worked diligently with Colorado Aquaponics and the Mental Health Center of Denver to create a state-of-the-art system that will allow patients to interact with an aquaponics garden and experience the healing elements of nature. The system will allow patients to go beyond simple gardening and learn how to raise both fish and plants in a symbiotic system.
The aquaponics garden will stock both tilapia and catfish, and will output leafy greens of all kinds including kale, lettuce, chard, mustard greens, collard greens and more. Fish and produce from this system will be available to the surrounding urban community.
In addition to the main aquaponics gardening system, AST also helped design and install smaller isolation systems that will be used to ensure new fingerling fish are healthy before they are added to the larger tanks.
Michael Malone, Senior Systems Designer at AST, expresses: “We are very encouraged by how this system came together, and believe that it is a state-of-the-art approach to Horticultural Therapy and aquaponics as a whole. We would like to thank Colorado Aquaponics for the opportunity to work with them to provide a system that is meant to help our community.”
The aquaponics system works by pulling water from the hydroponic plants and then piping it through to the fish and back again. The volume of water that enters the fish tanks will displace an equal volume of water out to the garden, supplying the plants with nitrogen-rich fertilizer from the fish waste. AST used two of their filter models for the project; two FIT 400 units for the new fingerlings and two FIT 2800 units to create the primary, custom system that will be used by the Denver Mental Health Center to help with patient therapy and grow food for the community for years to come.
AST’s FIT units are a revolutionary modular tank system with built-in filtration. To learn more about AST and their innovative products, visit their website at www.astfilters.com.
About Aquaculture Systems Technologies (AST): AST is the beacon of efficiency in biofiltration and water clarification products. The company is the leading innovator of advanced bead filtration systems for koi ponds, fish hatcheries, zoos, aquariums, and more. www.astfilters.com, 800.939.3659. Louisville, CO.
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