Aquaponics

It has been suggested that Integrated Aqua-Vegeculture System be merged into this article. (Discuss) Proposed since May 2024.

A small, portable aquaponics system. The term aquaponics is A portmanteau of the terms aquaculture and hydroponic agriculture.

Aquaponic greenhouse in Apaga

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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.^[1][2]

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.^[3]

Fish, plants and microbes are three main components of aquaponics, and microbes play the bridge role of converting fish waste to plant nutrients. The three major types of modern aquaponic designs are deep-water or "raft", nutrient film technology "NFT", and media-based bed or reciprocating systems.^[4]

The media-based grow bed is a hydroponic trough filled with inert substrate serving as root support and microbial substrate. The water is commonly supplied in an ebb and flow pattern, ensuring sequential nutrition and aeration. The DWC system consists of large troughs with perforated floating rafts, where net plant pots are inserted. In the DWC system, these plant pots are generally filled with media, such as rockwool, coco or pumice that support the roots, which are then continually submerged in the water tank. The Nutrient Film Technique (NFT) consists of narrow channels of perforated squared pipes where the roots are partially immersed in a thin layer of streaming water.^[5]