A special and not yet very widespread form of hydroponics is aquaponics. Aquaponics is the symbiotic coexistence of plants and aquatic animals, especially fish, in a common system. In an aquarium, the excretions of fish accumulate in the water. This is an ideal nutrient for plants, which aquaponics takes advantage of. Meanwhile, aquaponics is also becoming increasingly popular for growing cannabis. Some interested growers have already built great systems themselves.
How does aquaponics work?
The water from the aquarium or fish tank, which is enriched with nutrients (fish excretions), is made available to the plants as a nutrient-rich and valuable nutrient solution. The plants absorb the nutrients in the water and at the same time prepare the water again for the fish. It is filtered and freed from the high nutrient content. After the plants have been flooded and soaked with the aquarium water, the water cleaned by the plants is pumped back into the fish tank. The cycle starts all over again. Auquaponics systems are therefore recirculating: i.e. no water is drained or exchanged from the system circuit and no further fertiliser is added. The system is based on the symbiotic relationship of plants and fish. Water is only added to compensate for water loss through evaporation and uptake by the plants.
Aquaponic systems come in all sizes: from small room units to commercial systems. The aquaponic methodology has been used by Asian rice farmers for centuries. They flood their fields, breed fish there and thus create ideal growing conditions and nutrients for the rice.
Advantages of aquaponics
- resource-saving: the system is recirculating, so water is used again and again and therefore only a little of it is needed.
- Biological, organic fertilisation of the plants: nutrients already dissolved in the water through fish excretions, with microorganisms.
- Increasing the yield
- good conditions for fish (-> water purified by plants), in commercial facilities breeding of edible fish
In practice, cichlids are often used. It may be because cichlids generally eat a lot and therefore produce a lot of nutrients :D.
-->continue with: Hydroponics, aeroponics, aquaponics - 6th part: Ebb tide
