What is Aquaponics?
Aquaponics is the combination of aquaculture (raising fish) and hydroponics (the soil-less growing of plants) that grows fish and plants together in one integrated system. It is a concept
that mimics mutually beneficial natural systems.
Vegetables and fish grow together: the combination of aquaculture and hydroponics. Aquaponics is a sustainable, self contained, closed loop food producing ecosystem. Aquaponics systems are becoming very popular across the world, with many small to medium size aqua farmers starting Aquaponic systems in the backyard. Aquaponic systems use a cycle of symbiotic relationships: the fish feed the plants with it's waste products, and the plants support the fish by filtering out the waste and using it as fertilizer. Aquaponic systems uses no chemicals, requires a fraction of the water that is normally used in field crop production. With California facing extreme drought this year. Aquaponics could save the California AG industry! The fish supply nutrients to a bed of plants (called Grow Beds), and plants clean up the water that the fish live in, making a mutually beneficial environment. No chemicals are added what so ever. The only thing added to the system is food for the fish.
- Aquaponics produces ten times more crops in the same amount of space
- Aquaponics uses 75% less energy than almost any other farming method
- Aquaponics is free of chemical fertilizers, pesticides, and herbicides
- Aquaponics require 1/2 the labor necessary of other food production methods
- Aquaponics eliminates weeds, pests, and diseases for fish and plants
- Aquaponics can range in size from desktop systems to commercial farms
- Aquaponics uses 90% less water than conventional farming methods
- The symbiotic relationship is efficient and sustainable
An aquaponics system is made up of a tank containing your fish of choice, and a series of grow beds for vegetable production. The fish water is pumped to the grow beds, and is evenly distributed by a simple system of pipes. The fish water feeds the plants, such as tomatoes, cucumbers, lettuce and other green leafy vegetables, then filters through the grow bed that is filled with gravel/round river stones, finally returning to the fish tank by gravity or by pump. The water is returned to the fish tank cleaned and ready for use by the fish. And so the cycle continues. It is totally organic.
Aquaponics is a balanced, self-contained eco system that works, a natural balance is achieved. Earthworms can be raised to feed the fish and the earthworm compost is used in other parts of the garden or perhaps planter box gardens. The worm farm is fed on excess vegetable material from the aquaponic system. The plants perform essential filtering functions, the solid waste removal, and bio-filtration. Once the system is initialized, the water stays Ph balanced and remains crystal clear. The water is basically recycled, with a small amount of water added weekly to compensate for what is lost by evaporation, and transpiration by the vegetables. Aquaponic systems use about 10% of the water required for traditional gardening. Aquaponics is the future of commercial food production.
Planter Grow Bed
Planter beds provide better plant support and are closely related to traditional soil gardening. The cost of building the system is lower because there are fewer components, and it is easier to understand and learn. The industry standard is to be at least 12″ (300 mm) deep to allow for growing the widest variety of plants and is made of food safe material.
