Planted Aquariums Rather than Algae Tanks make more Sense for Space Colony Life-Support

Algae tanks are often considered for use when designing the air recycling of Lunar bases, Mars colonies, and rotating space stations. Such are most common in highly centralized air and food production system designs.  Such are unforgiving of mistakes, easily contaminated and create additional failure points. Decentralizing such systems isn’t an option either; bubbling algae tanks in every room are too fragile. They require precise PH, temperature, nutrient, and mineral control. Contamination can quickly wreck them. Even unfiltered air can upset them. An alternative to having an algae tank bubbling in every room is to have well-planted aquariums in each room of the living sections.

What small efficiency is lost in the decentralization of big bubbling vats of algae into a room by room of planted aquariums is more than made up in durability and robustness of the system. The aquatic plants available come close to being as effective as algae while at the same time being evolved to tolerate a far wider range of conditions and be better suited to surviving contamination. A properly set up large planted aquarium can process all the CO2 a couple of people produce. If one becomes less efficient it has little effect on the others.

Unlike Algae tanks, such a setup is also effective at air filtration. Aquariums make these rooms fresher, and more alive creating a far healthier environment for the people living there.  Both must be harvested almost daily.  Algae produces algae proteins, sugars, and enzymes.  The plant, insects and small fish harvested from aquariums produce those and a wide range of other  proteins, sugars, enzymes, and fats that the enclosed biosphere needs.

Then there is the psychological benefit of having numerous aquariums. Many studies have demonstrated how having aquariums in rooms increase mental stability. The effect can be seen in rural environments and is far more pronounced in urban homes and offices.  Away from Earth, with no easy access to outside, this helpful stabilizing effect should not be left out.

Artistic planted aquarium

Algae only works in centralized systems, and is problematic there.  Centralized systems may work for ships where mass and volume constraints are ultra-critical concerns.  On colonies, bases, and stations decentralized room by room systems are better for many different reasons. It is more robust. So robust in fact that it is close to impossible to damage a significant amount of it at once. Another important factor is; if each apartment, office, hall, business, and home is taking care of its own air recycling, then no company or government gets to say you must pay us if you want to continue to have fresh air.

Advertisement

Any of these reasons are sufficient to favor decentralized planted aquariums optimized for O2 production, over large central algae vats.  Done correctly this system will require supplement CO2 from other sources than just the people breathing in those rooms to maintain peek performance unless you routinely overcrowd them or have too few.

Aquariums everywhere many be the way the future Lunar base, Mars colony looks.

Artistic planted aquarium

 

Creating biomass on Mars

One if the key factor that makes Mars a good place to colonizing is the ability to create biomass right there. In very simplified terms the greater the amount of biomass there is there, the cheaper a person can live there. In many cheap science fiction stories finding and having enough air is a significant problem to be overcome. This is far from likely to be the case. Plants are very damn good at turning out o2. So good infact that less than a single percent of the o2 in the environment is in the form co2. Extreme abundance of o2 dangerous shortage of co2 has been the normal for millions years because of this factor. Using plants in a high efficiency Bioregenative life-support system will have the same effect.

It takes an h2o molecule and a co2 molecule to produce a simple sugar and o2 molecule. These simply sugars are combined with each other and with minerals to produce the more complex sugars, proteins and other organic molecules. This is the means that plants are constantly adding to the activity biomass.

This is very important because you are going to need a quite large amount of biomass . For many different reasons the greater the biomass the better off the colony in both actually tons and tons per capita.

The larger the biomass the more robust and resistant to damage . The larger the biomass the less expensive food production is. Are only two of the reasons . A very large percentage of the every day items that people use are the rresult of having a very large biomass to work for. Within the past 100 years we have learned to substitute fossil fuels for biomass to produce these items cheaply but that isn’t going to be possible on Mars. Building up a large biomass will be needed to produce the thousands upon thousands of different things needed.

The larger the active biomass the cheaper and easier waste recycling becomes. The larger the active biomass the more diverse it is possible for it to be. Not only is a more diverse biomass more stable but it is capable of more diverse production.

Whether it is a home aquarium, a home garden or large scale aquaponics production system any thing with lots of plants it it will be beneficial in increasing and maintaining a large active biomass. Nearly any biomass produced can be harvested and sold to others also. Such if properly maintained will also be an important part of maintaining a healthy living environment as they constantly remove toxins from the environment.

Striking and maintaining a good ecological balance is easier the larger the biomass you have on hand. Microorganisms, fungi and yeast being consumed by small insects and large. These consumed by others small fish and animals. Those then feeding still more all powered by the plants and algae that use the light co2 h2o and minerals to create biomass be it in the large aquaponics system or the home aquarium .

All of these are part of the completely decentralized Bioregenative life-support system that will make the colony prosperous and healthy.