Thursday, July 17, 2008

DIY Aquaponics

The first time I heard about aquaponics, I really got excited. As an already competent hydroponics fan and fisherman, aquaponics seemed like the logical next step for me. It was a little scary though; plants do not complain a lot and we are used to cutting them, but fish... well watching a fish die is not exactly fun. Anyway, I started reading and getting acquainted with the technique. Since then, I have made a lot of experiments, good and bad, and learned enough to rear not only fish, but also a lot of other water creatures.

Aquaponics is the marriage between hydroponics and aquaculture, where one system complements the other (just like marriage! If you got a good one of course...). In a very simple way, fish create waste that can kill them, so, in aquaculture, a filtration system is needed to prevent this. However, the fish waste, once processed by the filter, is composed of nitrates that start to build up in the fish water. Eventually, this water needs to be diluted or replaced so the fish are not affected. Hydroponics, on the other hand, is based on fertilized water to feed the plants. I think you see the big picture. Fish produce fertilized water, which is fed to the plants that return clean water to the fish environment. Its almost like a little ecosystem that sustains itself and needs no intervention from us. Pretty cool, isn't it? If you do things right, the only input to the system will be the fish food, and, depending on what fish you have, maybe not even this.

Aquaponics has been used to produce fish and vegetables for a while now, although it still is way below hydroponics and aquaculture, in terms of metric tons of produce. Well, that is to be expected; specially if the commercial producers have to change all their infrastructure to adapt to the new ways. Anyway, for us DIY guys, having a small system in our house is not that hard, providing that we do our homework on the different subjects we have to dominate to make it right.

Building an aquaponics system in our house requires a little work from our part, specially if you don't have too much spare space, something really scarce in urban houses. Anyway, with a little imagination, you can do great things, even if you are a newbie.

So, since a lot of my friends kept asking the same things and I am a little lazy to reply every mail with the same answer, this blog should help us both. If you are thinking about having an aquaponics little system, I have good news: it's easier than you might think. You just need to know the basics and take the time for everything to settle in. There are a lot of ready to use systems out there, but most of them require certain space and light. Besides, they are more expensive than DIY solutions you can make yourself and aquaponics is not exactly rocket science.

So, welcome to my aquaponics blog and I will start with some posts about aquaponics, what you need to know and what I been up to the last couple of years.

Best regards

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