Aquaponics is sustainable, ethical farming at its best.
Aquaponics is sustainable, ethical farming at its best. Aquaponic is where fish and plants co-exist in a mutually dependent ecosystem, essentially it is the integration of recirculating aquaculture (RAS) and horticulture crops, such as hydroponics in one production system.
Combining these two systems and methods provides an all-natural nutrient solution for plant and fish growth while eliminating the fish and nutrient waste product which is often disposed in the environment. Water from the fish tank full of waste nutrients is recirculating in a continuous cycle through an area planted with crops, this provides nutrients to plants and a means to obtain clean water for the fish. Aquaponics has been developed from the beneficial build-up of nutrient in aquaculture.
Why Aquaponics?
Uses a fraction of the water, up to 90% less to soil farming
No tilling, no weeding
No chemical pesticides, herbicides or fertilisers
Grow two food products together, protein and vegetables
High crop yield
No waste – compared to soil and aquaculture
Food security, grow your own food, indoors, cities, year-round
Works in places with poor soil quality
How Aquaponics Works:
Fish are raised in a tank
Water from the fish tank is pumped to the plants
Bacteria convert ammonia and nitrites to nitrates
Plants absorb the nutrient-rich water
Filtered water is returned to the fish tanks, clean
Hydroponics
Hydroponics is the method of growing agricultural crops without the use of soil. Instead of soil, various inert growing media also called substrates are used. These media provide plant support and moisture retention. Irrigation systems are integrated within these media, thereby introducing a nutrient solution to the plants’ root zones.
This solution provides all the necessary nutrients for plant growth. Most soil-less culture methods use a fraction of the water necessary for traditional soil-based production because the nutrient solution is re-used in a closed loop.
Aquaculture
Aquaculture is the captive rearing and production of fish and other aquatic animal and plant species
under controlled conditions, using species have been cultivated: fish; crustaceans; mollusks and
aquatic plants and algae. RAS is the most applicable method for the development of integrated aquaculture agriculture systems because of the possible use of by-products and the higher water nutrient concentrations for vegetable crop production.
About RAS
In a RAS operation water is reused for the fish after a cleaning and a filtering process. Although a RAS is not the cheapest production system owing to its higher investment, energy, and management costs, it can considerably increase productivity per unit of land and is the most efficient water saving technology in fish farming.
How does Aquaponics work?
In an aquaponic unit, water from the fish tank cycles through filters, plant grow beds and then back to the fish. In the filters, the fish waste is removed from the water, first using a mechanical filter that removes the solid waste and then through a bio-filter that processes the dissolved wastes.
The bio-filter provides a location for bacteria to convert ammonia, which is toxic for fish, into nitrate, a more accessible nutrient for plants. This process is called nitrification. As the water (containing nitrate and other nutrients) travels through plant grow beds the plants uptake these nutrients, and finally the water returns to the fish tank purified.
This process allows the fish, plants, and bacteria to thrive symbiotically and to work together to create a healthy growing environment for each other, provided that the system is perfectly balanced. In aquaponics, the aquaculture effluent is diverted through plant beds and not released to the environment, while at the same time the nutrients for the plants are supplied from a sustainable cost- effective and non-chemical source.
This integration removes some of the unsustainable factors of running aquaculture and hydroponic systems independently. Aquaponics can be more productive and economically feasible in certain situations, especially where land and water are limited.
You can learn how to create your own aquaponics system in our world-renowned courses , or get advice to help in the successful completion of an aquaponics project, here .
If you’ve already accomplished the basics of aquaponics and would like to get set up easily with your own back garden system, we have the perfect kit for you! Find out about our Bespoke A quaponic Garden System here .
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Internship Program
You can apply in the internship program by downloading the application form, filling and sending to info@bioaquafarm.co.uk