The definition of aquaponics is the combination of the words AQUAcultue and hydroPONICS.
Means, it is the combination of the growing of fish and the growing of vegetables
and herbs.
Aquaponics
Systems Concept
It starts with adding fish to the fish tank or some of aquaponics gardeners
use fishless method to start the cycle.
The water from the fish will reach the grow bed. The plants take up some of
the water and with it the nitrogen in the water. If the nitrogen is allowed to
build up in the fish tank, it will reach toxic levels. However, this nitrogen
happens to be a perfect fertilizer for the vegetables! This saves you from
having to add artificial fertilizer, which is expensive and contains synthetic
chemicals that are potential harmful.
After the plants have taken up the nitrogen, the water returns to the fish
pond squeaky clean. Hence, you won’t need complicated filtering systems for the
fish water, as the plants will do this work for you!
You can read the fishless method and the cycle in this post.
The benefits of aquaponics systems are:
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Home growing food
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Sustainable food production
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Organic food, no additives
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Save lots of money (long term)
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Higher food quality
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Large amount of food in the least space
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Flexible system
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Can be scaled according to needs
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Easy to get equipments
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Can be a source of income
Once you understand the concepts of aquaponics systems, you’ll realize that
the set-up required is actually very basic, and it can be easily
constructed using materials from around your house or purchased cheaply at
any local hardware store. All you need are some core instructions and a few
diagrams to get you started.
