Compiled by Sors Pretorius
A
The basic principle of aquaponics is to put waste to use.
quaponics, is a method
of cultivating both crops
and fish in a controlled
environment. The fish
are kept in tanks, and the plants are
grown hydroponically - meaning
without soil. They sit in ‘floating’
beds, but their roots hang down
into a tub of water. The fish wasteladen water from the fish tanks acts
as a natural fertilizer and is fun-
neled to the tubs where the plants
dangle their roots. The plants absorb the nutrients from the water,
cleanse it of toxins for the fish,
while cleansed water is fed back
into the fish tanks.
Aquaponics Basics
Cultivating plants and fish through
aquaponics is both easy on the environment and easy on finances.
Aquaponic systems don't use any
chemicals, and they require about
10 percent of the water used in regular farming. The systems are
closed - that is, once they've been
filled with water, only a small
amount is introduced into the system thereafter to replace evaporated water.
Let's take a look at the step-bystep process:
Fish living in aquaponic tanks
The basic set-up of a typical aquaponics system
Picture: www.thefamilybubble.com