Introduction to Aquaponics

There is a new plant-growing technique that is catching on quickly all over the world. It’s easier than gardening and less physically challenging too. There are no studies available on the current growth but if you were tracking websites and internet forums you would be impressed with the high-speed growth of this new farming technique internationally. It is called aquaponics. It is the combination of the best parts of aquaculture (the farming of fish) and hydroponics (the farming of plants in a non-soil medium). Let’s cover these in a little more detail so that we can improve our understanding.

Aquaculture is the farming of fish in large quantities usually this is done in large tanks but sometimes aquaculture farms are located in rivers or dams.

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The biggest challenge of aquaculture is water quality. Most fish species are very sensitive to the quality of the water that they live in. Usually these fish species occur naturally in flowing rivers or large bodies of water like dams or lakes. There are natural filtration processes at work in these waterways that filter the water and keep it clean and free of poisons. One of the by-products of the life of a fish is fish waste (a.k.a. fish poo). Fish poo becomes toxic to fish as it contains ammonia which is very poisonous to fish. One aspect of breathing underwater is that a fish also gives off ammonia from its gills. Both of these processes release toxic ammonia into the water which can kill the fish. In large bodies of water this is not a problem as the ammonia is washed away and dissipates after a while or is converted into other compounds which are not toxic to the fish.

Maintaining water quality – the process of cleaning the water of ammonia and other toxic substances and also establishing a healthy pH for the fish is an important and high maintenance element of aquaculture. This is achieved by removing large amounts of water and replacing it with fresh water as well as the addition of certain chemicals to control pH and other water characteristics. This can be costly.

Hydroponics on the other hand, is a plant growing process which is based on controlling the environment in which the plants grow in order to maximise growth and yield. In hydroponics the plants are planted in special media like ceramic balls or other suitable media and the water is filled with plant nutrients and passed through the growing media to feed the plants. Many hydroponic installations are indoors under lighting. Once the water has been used up it is regarded as waste. New water and new nutrients have to be provided. The lighting is special grow lights which are expensive to buy and to run. Hydroponics can be expensive too.

Enter aquaponics (cue dramatic music). The set up costs for an aquaponics (AP) system can vary from “next-to-nothing” to “buckets-of-money”, depending on what you choose. There are many AP systems which were made from recycled materials and therefore cost very little. The running costs however are much lower than comparable aquaculture and hydroponics systems. This is how AP works: you get a large tank to grow fish, you get some plumbing supplies, you put in some grow beds (large plastic or marine fibreglass containers, usually about 3ft by 4 ft by 1 ft deep) and some grow media like gravel or clay balls. You pump the water from the fish tank to the grow beds. The grow beds are planted with seedlings or direct seeded. The gravel media develops a bacteria colony that converts the fish waste (filled with ammonia) into nitrates. Now this is quite miraculous for two reasons: 1. Nitrates are not toxic to fish and 2. Nitrates are plant food! That is correct; you will probably have noticed in the past that most good fertilisers are packed with nitrates. Once moved through the grow beds the water is drained back into the tank – re-using the water.

Suddenly you have a process which acts nearly like a small eco-system. The fish eat food you provide and grow to become food later, they release waste into the water. The fish waste is converted into plant food in the grow beds thereby feeding the plants and the grow beds also filter and clear the water for the fish. It is not a closed loop system but it is very efficient. And this is why aquaponics is growing so rapidly; the maintenance on the system is very low and you get a high yield in plants (tasty, healthy edible vegetables) and you grow fish for protein. The running costs are low and the vegetables you eat have not been sprayed by poisons so they are healthier. All-in-all there are many advantages and very few disadvantages. Welcome to aquaponics!

Want to learn how to make your own aquaponics at home? Visit Easy DIY Aquaponics today!