9/9/2015 Aquaponics

It's our first time hearing this term 'aquaponics' and it seems to be interesting.

Aquaponics is the combination of aquaculture (raising fish) and hydroponics (the soil-less growing of plants) that grows fish and plants together in one integrated system. 

Water from an aquaculture system is fed to a hydroponic system where the by-products are broken down into nitrates and nitrites, which are used by the plants as nutrients. The water is then recirculated back to the aquaculture system.

There are three types of aquaponics:
1) raft based aquaponics
2) media based aquaponics
3) hybrid aquaponics

Raft based aquaponics:
This method uses a foam raft that is floating in a channel filled with fish effluent water that has been filtered to remove solid wastes. Plants are placed in the holes in the raft and the roots are dangled freely in the water. This method is most appropriate for growing salad greens and other fast growing, relatively low-nutrient plants.

Media based aquaponics:
In this method, plants are grown in inert planting media (gravel, expanded clay pellets, coir). The media provides both the biological (ammonia based waste) and mechanical (solid waste) filtration, so it requires far less maintenance than raft-based systems. Large, fruiting plants are also grown much more successfully in media based system compared to the raft based system.

Hybrid aquaponics:
This method combines the two aforementioned methods. The media beds become the pre-filter for the solid waste before the water enters the raft systems. This hybrid system style is the focus of the Aquaponic Source’s Aquabundance systems because it provides planting flexibility, high productivity and low maintenance.