Why Aquaponics??

If you are familiar with fish farming or sustainable agriculture, the term “aquaponics” might not be new to you.  But, for most people, aquaponics is not a part of everyday conversation…yet.
If this is the first time you are hearing about aquaponics, chances are it will not be the last.  There are some that say this alternative agricultural method is the future of food production.   With consumers becoming more and more aware of the importance of sustainability and our food supply being faced with the real threat of climate change, it’s time to start thinking about new ways to grow food.
If you are an aquaponics newbie, this post will get you up to speed quickly.  And, if you are already familiar with it, you might just learn something new.  So, let’s get down to it!

What is Aquaponics?

In very simple terms, aquaponics is growing fish and plants together.  It’s the combination of

aquaculture (also known as fish farming) with hydroponics (plants grown without soil).
More technically speaking, aquaponics allow for the growing of fish and plants symbiotically in recirculating, closed loop production system.  Meaning, the only input into the system is fish food and there are no waste by-products.
You might be asking yourself “what about the fish waste?”  It’s all a part of the process!  The water from the fish tank (which also contains the fish waste) is cycled through filters. The first filter removes the solid waste from the water and then the dissolved waste goes through what’s called a biofilter.
What happens in the biofilter might sound a little complicated, but it’s really mimicking what happens in nature.  There are natural bacteria that live and colonize in the filter.  It’s these bacteria that break down ammonia (a toxic byproduct of fish waste) into nitrites.  Additional bacteria then convert nitrites into nitrates, which is a valuable nutrient to plants.  This process is called “nitrification”.
Once the water has gone through this filtering process, it is full of vital plant nutrients.  The nutrient rich water is then pumped through plant grow beds. The plants absorb the nutrients they need through their roots and then the water returns back to the fish tank, clean and purified.  The cycle is continuous, allowing both plants and fish to help each other to grow.

Why Aquaponics?

There are many reasons why aquaponics is starting to be thought of as the future of food.  Here are 5 of them:

1. It is better for the environment. Agriculture accounts for 70% of all water consumption throughout the world, compared to 20% for industry and 10% for domestic use.  Alternatively, aquaponics uses just 5% of the water volume and 10% of the land area and required by conventional vegetable crops.
2. It’s better for you. Aquaponics produces fish and plants in an environment that closely mimics nature.  It’s clean and chemical free.  Under current US law, there is no way to classify fish as organic, but in the “raised right” environment of aquaponics, it’s really as close as you can get to it.
3. It can produce year-round. Structured indoors, in greenhouses or other temperature controlled environments, an aquaponics system can produce fish and plant consumables year-round.  It can also yield 10 times more and deliver 30% faster time to harvest as soil based agriculture .
4. It can contribute to the US seafood demand. The US imports 91% of all of our seafood and is ranked 3rd in seafood consumption behind China and Japan.  As consumers become more aware of unhealthy fish farming practices in China and other countries, knowing the source of seafood is more important than ever and the US has some of the strictest food safety guidelines in the world.
5. It can produce food anywhere.  Literally anywhere. Because no soil is needed, aquaponics systems can even grow plants and fish in deserts or in urban environments.  Systems can be set up indoors or outdoors, in garages or on rooftops.

Simply stated, aquaponics is the growing of fish and plants together in a mutually beneficial environment where the fish waste fertilizes plants and the plants purify the water for the fish.  From an environmental, sustainability and cost perspective, aquaponics surpasses traditional, soil-based agriculture, while also allowing for the production of both plants and animal protein in one system.
We are just at the beginning stage of aquaponics becoming a viable, high volume food production method.  It’s going to change the future of how we grow our food.