Aquaponics is a food production system in which fish are raised in tanks of water where plants are also grown, so that the waste from the fish provides food for the plants and the plants keep the water clean.
Aquaponics is building a sustainable system to breed fish and plants in the same system. Aquaponics is a food production system that couples aquaculture (raising aquatic animals such as fish, crayfish, snails or prawns in tanks) with hydroponics (cultivating plants in water) whereby the nutrient-rich aquaculture water is fed to hydroponically grown plants.
As existing hydroponic and aquaculture farming techniques form the basis of all aquaponic systems, the size, complexity, and types of foods grown in an aquaponic system can vary as much as any system found in either distinct farming discipline.
Types of Aquaponics methods :
Several types of aquaponics system designs are being used by home growers right now. Each of these aquaponics system designs may be the best aquaponics system design for you to implement in a given situation. So to help you in the process of deciding what system might be the best for you, we made this article about the different aquaponics systems.
They are
1. NFT System(Nutrient Film Technique)
2. Raft System
3. Vertical Aquaponic System
Nutrient Film Technique
The Nutrient Film Technique (NFT) is a hydroponic growing technique adapted to aquaponics because of its simple yet effective design that works well in some environments. This method uses horizontal pipes (PVC) with shallow streams of nutrient-rich water flowing through them. The NFT is famous for commercial aquaponics and also helpful in urban places where space and food production are problems.
In the NFT method, the plants are grown on long, narrow channels. A thin film of water continuously flows down on each channel to provide plant roots with water, nutrients, and oxygen. Like the raft system, the water flows from the fish tank through filtration components, through the NFT channels where plants are grown, and then back into the fish tank. A separate biofilter is required in NFT because there is not enough surface area for the beneficial bacteria to live.
Advantages of NFT:
1. Compared to other systems, the NFT uses fewer materials and less space.
2. NFT systems are easy to set up.
3. You don’t need a large land space to set up an NFT system.
4. NFT allows for continuous water purification.
5. NFT systems do not need grow media to grow plants.
6. Plant roots in NFT systems remain above the waterline at all times, allowing them to expel waste gas and absorb oxygen, which results in better plant growth.
Disadvantages of NFT:
1. The water temperature is harder to control in NFT because of the thin filmof water that flows in the pipes.
2. The narrow channels or the pipes are susceptible to clogging.
3. The grow pipes may be clogged with roots. The roots may be deprived of water when the pump fails.
4. Suitable only for small rooting plants.
TYPES OF FISHES USED IN AQUAPONIC EDIBLE ORNAMENTAL FISHES
1. Trout 1. Koi
2. Catfish 2. Gold fish
3. Large mouth Bass
4. Salmon
5. Tilapia
Type of Plants
Your choice of plants will influence the system you end up setting up because you have to match the plants to the system. In general, the media beds are the most versatile system’s design and work well for fruiting crops like tomatoes, peppers,
and cucumbers. Leafy greens such as lettuce and kale also work well with raft system design. A hybrid system design will give you more options for plants to grow.
Amount of water used if we construct a aquaponics unit in 1cent of land??
For, better results are expected from some combinations of fish and plants plus tourism. However, the average aquaponics use of between 170 to 500 liters. of water to produce $100 worth of fresh fish and vegetables is exciting enough for the moment.
Fishes needed in 1cent of land??
an aquaponics farm, all you need is a 2-cent land (~less than 900 sq ft) out of which one cent is dedicated to the fish pond and the remaining for the crops. You can grow up to two tonnes of fish in such a tank. Tilapia is the best choice, especially for a beginner. Never get into this farming without taking proper classes about it as it is completely different from normal farming.
It is depend upon types of fishes especially For trout, it is recommended to have a stocking density of 7-10 gallons of water for every 1 lb of fully mature fish.
Environment :
Your environmental condition, such as the daily temperature fluctuations and water source, will directly affect the productivity of the different life forms and, ultimately, your system’s design. Understanding where your water comes from and its quality is also essential. You need to provide DE-chlorinated water tested for its hardness pH, and we delivered other water quality parameters to ensure good water to the system.
DISEASES IN AQUAPONIC :
Fish disease in aquaponics is always the result of abiotic and biotic factors. Abiotic are non-living chemical factors that affect toxicity or water quality. Biotic factors are living pathogens or organisms that can directly or indirectly affect their environment. Like other animals, fish also carry bacteria, viruses, fungus, and parasites. Though not all these bacteria are harmful, some of these microorganisms can potentially cause fish diseases.
The following factors can cause fish diseases in your aquaponics system.
∙ Adding new fish to the system
∙ Environment or poor water quality
∙ Fish stress
∙ A poor or unbalanced diet
∙ The equipment used in the system is not suitable for the fish ∙ Not getting along with other fish species in the fish tank ∙
SCOPE
The majority of commercially viable fish require cooler water than your plant roots would find comfortable. The fish that are suitable-like tilapia-are severely overproduced and don’t bring much in profit. That means you have to work a lot harder to distinguish your product from your competitors. All in all, a very frustrating endeavor. I always concentrate on the plant side of things and consider any money I make from the fish as just so much gravy.