BACKYARD AQUAPONICS
1. Aquaponics is the art of raising underwater plants and fish in order that the fish waste feed the plants. Aquaponics came from hydroponics and aquaculture. Hydroponics is raising plants underwater using highly toxic concoctions of various chemicals that have to be replaced repeatedly, as the mixture builds up and kills the plants if left for more than a day. Aquaculture is raising fish in a tank with heavy stocking, which causes the water to be filled with a lot of fish waste. Therefore, the water has to be replaced daily, every day. Aquaponics is raising fish in a tank and having the effluent-rich water pumped into a medium where the plants grow, which filters it, and afterwards having it pumped back into the fish tank. This cancels out both of the negative elements of both hydroponics and aquaculture, because the fish effluent has almost all the things necessary for optimum plant growth.
2. The basic components of the Aquaponics system are the medium, in which the plants grow, the fish, the plants, the tank in which the fish live, the sump, and the fish food.
3. The medium can be gravel, river stone, crushed basalt, or expanding clay. The use of the medium is to not only harbor the plants, but also acts as a filtering system for the water. The fish are harvested and eaten when they are big enough, and also the fish’s waste is used to give nutrients to the plants. The plants are also harvested. The tank in which the fish live can be positioned under the pots in which the plants are so as to facilitate the reentry of the water into the tank after it has been filtered. If not, a sump may be used. A sump is a container into which the filtered water falls. This water is then pumped back into the tank.
4. Aquaponics has ancient roots. It is believed the Aztec made moveable islands on canals where plants where grown. The Chinese also made them.
5. Aquaponics was probably started in the U.S. in North Carolina.
6. Affnan, some man, began making his own backyard aquaponics project in 2008 and is using tilapias, a type of fish, and yams, ferns, and other herbs. his website is http://affnan-aquaponics.blogspot.com/. Brian Naess used the continuous flow method of aquaponics. He grew broccoli. His website: http://snowcampaquaponics.blogspot.com/. A man called Mahfudz is using the flood and drain method and is raising Chinese broccoli. http://mahfudzaquaponic.blogspot.com/.
7. Tilapia is typically used in aquaponics. Tilapia is the common name for any fish in the Tilapia tribe. Tilapias are the most commonly used fish in aquaponics, except in Australia. Tilapias take pellet food, are reasonably tolerant to ammonia, are easy too breed, grow fast, can withstand poor water conditions, but they need warm water. The silver perch’s scientific name is Bidyanus Bidyanus, and they are also commonly used in aquaponics. They are hardier to cold water than the tilapia, but they are almost naturally extinct for some reason. Also, they prefer flowing water.
We will probably use the flood and drain method, as that seems to be the best one. The water is pumped into the grow bed and left there for an hour. Then it is drained for an hour. Apparently this gives the plants time to absorb the nutrients, and when it is drained, it gives the roots oxygen. We will experiment different techniques, also, and see which one is the best.
