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Aquaponics Start-Up Guide And Tips

By Alexandra Smith


Aquaponics may be something that most people have not heard of yet. But once a person gets to know the meaning of Aquaponics, they will be able to know that Aquaponics is simply the process of cultivating plants and fishes and providing them with an environment wherein they will benefit from each other. Hydroponics and Aquaculture are concepts that Aquaponics has adapted. Aquaculture is the process of cultivating underwater plants and animals while Hydroponics is the process of growing plants using s different medium other than soil.

Aquaponics offers a lot of benefits and advantages to the people utilizing this method of cultivating plants and fishes. One of the benefit that one can enjoy in using the Aquaponics is the ability to conserve water in the process of growing fishes. This is because utilizing the Aquaponics system of growing up the fishes, unlike when growing up a fish in a normal fish tank, does not require you to change water frequently since water is cleaned and recycled by the plants and with the help of a water filtering system included in the Aquaponics system. Aside from that, it also provides and opportunity to make use of the fish wastes as natural fertilizers. This gives you the assurance that the plants that you are growing is free from harmful chemicals.

What are the things to prepare to start your own Aquaponics system at home?

Aquarium or fish tank to hold the fish

container that is waterproof

grow beds needed for growing the plants

Filter

pump

Steps:

1. First thing to do is to prepare the materials needed to put up your Aquaponics system.

2. Prepare the fish tank or aquarium and fill it with water. You can leave the water on the fish tank for a couple of weeks allowing it to mature and ready for the fishes.

3. Prepare your grow beds to be placed near the fish tank. It can be placed above or at the side of the fish tank, whatever you prefer. Another good thing in making use of the Aquaponics system is that you can have as many grow beds as you like but you just need to make sure that the water on the fish tank as well as the fish wastes are enough to sustain and supply them with water and fertilizers.

4. The pipes and filters should be then attached to the fish tank and grow beds.

5. Place in the fish on the fish tank and your own Aquaponics system is ready.

Now after discussing the procedure, we also need to know the 3 significant factors that greatly affects the Aquaponics system. Here are those factors:

1. The first factor to consider when setting up your Aquaponics system is the vegetation or plant. The plants are responsible not only for providing oxygen to the water and to the fish but as well as cleaning the water from fish wastes and other toxins that may hinder the proper growth of the fishes. Thus it is very significant to ensure that the number of plants and fishes that you grow in your system is equal and balanced. The amount of feeds you give to the fishes everyday, the amount of feeds not consumed by the fishes, weight, size and age of fishes, type of plant to be raised, and the number of fishes you are raising are some factors to be considered to make sure that you have a balanced and well-proportioned plants and fishes in your Aquaponics system. It should be kept in mind that this factors are essential and play a major role in ensuring that your plants and fishes will grow healthy.

2. Fish is the next factor to consider in making your Aquaponics system. They are the ones responsible in providing the fish waste which will be utilized by the plants as natural fertilizers. The species of the fish, number of fish you want to grow and the size of the fishes are the important things to decide when starting up your Aquaponics system. The fishes and plants you grow in the system should be well-balanced.

3. Bacteria- both plants and fishes are dependent to bacteria on its ability to decompose increased amounts of ammonia into nitrates. It is important since plants can only absorb nitrates that are already broken down. So with the absence of bacteria, plants will not be able to absorb ammonia and nitrates and these substances are harmful for the fishes.

It is very clear that the most important thing to remember in starting your own Aquaponics system is the balance that it should have regarding its 3 major components. Making sure that there is balance will also give you assurance of the success of your Aquaponics system.




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