Aquaponics is simple and effective and provides the answer for a clean and organic supply of fresh fish and vegetables. For most people, raising fish with conventional aquaculture and farming a large food plot are out of the question. Without a fairly large area, it is difficult to produce enough vegetables using standard gardening techniques.
Organic food is difficult to produce without a large area when using conventional methods of farming. With aquaponics, a solution is available since it doesn’t take much space to setup your own system. What in the world is aquaponics?
Aquaponics is, simply put, a combination of fish farming (aquaculture) and hydroponics (farming with a water-based medium). Aquaponics synthesizes the best things from both methods. This equates to the most advantages for the aquaponics farmer. The following is a brief description of how an aquaponics system works.
A basic system contains fish holding tanks and growing beds. Freshwater fish such as tilapia are placed in the fish holding tank. The fish holding tank water is oxygenated with a basic circulation system so the fish can thrive.
The fish are fed with fish food pellets or some type of natural fish food. The fish consume the food and produce a waste stream. The waste stream from the fish mixes in with the water. Solids and unused fish food collect in the fish holding tank.
Part of the water contained in the fish holding tank is used to flood the growing beds. The growing beds will contain your fruits and vegetables. The nutrients contained in the water are used by the plants as their own food source. The plants extract the nutrients and filter the water pumped from the fish holding tank.
After the water from the fish holding tanks is filtered through the growing beds, it is returned to the fish holding tank. The fish live in a clean healthy water supply and the cycle is repeated again and again. Your plants will grow like gangbusters in the nutrient rich water in the aquaponics system.
An aquaponics system can also be expanded by adding more fish holding tanks and making larger growing beds. For the backyard hobbyist who wishes to grow their own fresh fish and organic vegetables, the “at home” aquaponics system is the answer.
Learn more about DIY aquaponics. Stop by George Daniels’s site where you can find out all about backyard aquaponics and what it can do for you.