What is Aquaponics?
Aquaponics is a method of food production that combines aquaculture—the cultivation of aquatic animals, such as fish, shrimp, or prawns, in tanks—and hydroponics—the growing of plants in water. The fish and plants are cultivated together in a recirculating ecosystem that utilizes natural nitrogen-fixing bacteria to convert fish/aquatic animal wastes into plant nutrients. The waste products of the aquaculture system serve as nutrients for the hydroponic system. With such a combined recirculating system, there is no need to discard any water or filtrate or add any chemical fertilizers, making it both sustainable and environmentally friendly.
In a traditional aquaculture system, animal waste byproducts (in the form of ammonia) build up over time and become toxic to the animals being cultivated; as a result, 10 to 20% of the total volume of water must be discharged and replaced every day. However, in an aquaponic system, the water produced from the aquaculture portion of the system is fed into the hydroponic portion of the system, where plants are grown with their roots immersed in the effluent (waste) water. The ammonia in the effluent water is converted by bacteria into nitrates and nitrites, which are used by the plants as nutrients. Basically, Aquaponics is an integrated system that utilizes the best attributes of both aquaculture and hydroponics while eliminating some of the challenges associated with each of these systems. If you're interested in learning more about Aquaponics, please contact us.
WHY AQUAPONICS?Where innovation meets sustainable farming...Social Impact :
Community Building Resilience
Eliminates Hunger
Urban Farming Education Greater access to local foods
Economic Impact :
Reduction of production costs
Diminish transportation costs
Skills Development
Growing Entrepreneurs
Sustainability :
Energy efficiency
Water savings
Organic
Year long production
Economic sustainability
HISTORY OF AQUAPONICS