Ever thought of how you can grow fish and plants together in harmony?
Fish eat the food and excrete waste, which is converted by beneficial bacteria to nutrients that the plants can use. In consuming these nutrients plants help to purify the water.
An Ecosystem in a man-made container!
Have you heard of aquaponics? It’s aquaculture taken to the next level. It’s not just growing fish, it’s growing fish to feed plants, and it’s also growing plants to clean water for the fish. The end goal is a complete ecosystem that’s self-sustaining. Aquaponics has been gaining popularity in recent times as a possible mean to produce organic food at an industrial level. It is a combination of aquaculture, which is growing fish and other aquatic animals, and hydroponics which is growing plants without soil.
What is aquaponics?
Aquaponics is a new form of farming in which fish and plants share the same environment. The waste produced by the fish helps to naturally fertilize the water needed to grow healthy, nutrient dense plants.
Aquaponics is a combination of aquaculture (raising fish) and hydroponics (growing plants without soil). Learn more about the benefits of aquaponics, what you can grow, and how to get started.
How are aquaponic systems different from hydroponic ones?
Aquaponic systems are often confused with hydroponic systems, but there are some key differences between the two. First, aquaponics is a combination of aquaculture, which is the raising of fish, and hydroponics, which is the growing of plants in water. In aquaponics, plants and animals coexist. The plants take up the fish waste, which is ammonia. This is broken down by bacteria and used by the plants. In return, the plants clean the water for the fish. The plants are grown in gravel or sand and are held in place with net pots, which allow the roots to grow through. The plants are also fed with fish food. Hydroponics, on the other hand, is the growing of plants without soil. The plants are grown in water, which is the most common hydroponic system. The water is kept in a reservoir and is pumped to the plants when it is needed. The plants are supported by stakes, string and plastic mesh. They are fed with a nutrient solution.
The Benefits of Aquaponics
A sustainable and self-sufficient food production system is a dream of many people. The idea of being able to produce food in your own backyard, or even in your home, is a dream that many people have. However, food production has become a very difficult and complicated process. Even though there are many people who can grow fruits and vegetables, a lot of them are not capable of producing enough food to feed a whole family. This is why many people have turned to aquaponics gardening. Aquaponics is a sustainable food production system where both the fish and plants are being grown in the same environment. Because of this, the fish are being fed with the plants’ waste, and in return the plants are being fed with the fish’s waste. Not only does this system make food production possible in places where it wouldn’t be possible otherwise, but it also helps to produce a better quality of food.
Is aquaponics right for you?
While it’s true that aquaponics offers a range of benefits such as cheap and convenient food production, there are certain challenges that come with the use of this method. Aquaponics systems rely on both fish and plants for producing food, and each require specific conditions in which to grow effectively. The best ways to ensure optimal health for your fish as well as your plants is by creating intricate systems which take time and effort to maintain properly. Additionally, aquaponics comes with some costs like frequent cleaning and minor repairs which may seem insignificant at first but can really add up over time!
This can be done on a small scale?
Small Scale Aquaponics provides a safe and easily manageable way to produce food for your family through growing fruits, vegetables and even fish. The next step for many families is to do the same in their own backyard! This can be done by investing in some home aquaculture hardware such as an aquarium, pump filtering system and grow trays, or grain beds if you’re starting out with a larger garden space. Regardless of your aspirations, Small Scale Aquaponics provides simple to install products which help maximize water quality for your fish stocks while nourishing anything from herbs and leafy greens to traditional vegetable crops!
The genius setup provides natural filtering directly in the aquaponics fish tank, which results in a very clean surrounding environment for your plants and fish alike, while also converting waterborne toxins into nutritive solids and liquids that improves both the quality of the crops and livestock. Maximize the space you have to grow crops by adding an aquaponics growbed system.
Now that we have the right tools and information about aquaponic systems, you can start small and go big with it in the future.
