Fresh by Design has completed the design and installation of a custom educational seaweed culture and life support system for Frankston Tech School, part of Chisholm Institute in Victoria.
Developed specifically for a hands-on learning environment, the new system gives students the opportunity to explore seaweed cultivation, water quality management and the operation of marine life support systems using equipment and processes that reflect real-world aquaculture practices.
The installation combines a custom bench-mounted seaweed culture system with mobile filtration and life support equipment, along with an external seawater storage and treatment system. This flexible configuration allows teaching staff to operate the system as a recirculating setup or use fresh truck-delivered seawater depending on the requirements of individual classes and experiments.
A range of interchangeable acrylic culture tanks can be configured to suit different activities, while programmable full-spectrum LED lighting provides controlled conditions for seaweed growth and observation.
The mobile life support system incorporates mechanical and biological filtration, UV sterilisation, heating, chilling and aeration. An external 3,000-litre seawater reservoir with bag filtration and UV sterilisation provides additional capacity for storing and conditioning seawater before use.
Importantly, the entire installation was designed with students and teaching staff in mind. Clear layouts and labelling, intuitive controls, flexible tank configurations and reliable equipment help make the system practical for everyday educational use.
Fresh by Design supplied, installed and commissioned the complete system, together with the documentation required for ongoing operation.
The completed facility provides Frankston Tech School with an adaptable teaching platform that connects classroom learning with practical experience in aquaculture and marine system management, while demonstrating how professional aquatic technologies can be successfully adapted for education and research.
