What is Aquaponics?

DIY – Aquaponics System

Aquaponics combines hydroponics and aquaculture into one self-sustaining system. The “hydro” in the word hydroponics comes from water or liquid. The idea of a hydroponic system is to grow plants without soil. Usually there is a soil-less grow media, such as gravel, rocks, clay pebbles, rockwool or any other suitable media. Sometimes, there is no grow media and the plants (lettuce or etc.) are floating on a Styrofoam raft with their roots suspended into the water at all times. The objective is to provide the optimum nutrient level and growing conditions for the plants at all times. Since water doesn’t contain any nutrients, these have to added. This is one of the downsides and maintenance intensive task that comes with a hydroponics system.

Aquaculture is referring to a method and setup of growing fish or crustaceans (shrimp, lobsters, crayfish etc.). Here the challenge is to remove nutrients (fish waste) from the water in order to keep the fish healthy and alive. This is typically done by mechanical and bio-filtration as well as water exchange.

Aquaponics combines the best of both worlds and creates a more self-sustaining system. The fish produce waste, which is converted into nutrients by beneficial bacteria. Plants are removing excess nutrients from the water and help maintain a healthy water quality for the fish. All you have to do is feed the fish and watch the plants grow. Well, actually it isn’t quite that simple. I have shared my real-world experience in this blog and will continue to do so.

There are several sub-categories or system approaches for aquaponics systems. They typically differ in the way the water circulates through the system. Some systems continually pump the water from the fish tank through the grow bed, others use a timer to flood the bed every few hours and drain it afterwards (ebb and flow).