Aquaponics - how to get a setup running and producing. This is probably the most pertinent question raised when we think of growing fish and vegetables side by side. Aquaponics is indeed the art of growing vegetables as well as fish with the use of very few resources - mainly water that is already available in your fish tank. In short, it is the practice of utilizing the waste coming from your fish tanks to provide nutrients for your vegetables.
It is a fairly simple as well as a completely organic way of growing your favorite vegetables without having to worry about soil cultivation or fertilization, not to mention the use of harmful synthetic fertilizers. In an aquaponics system you only need to feed the fish and you could even make up your own fish food.
Aquaponics - How to make use of your existing fish tank?
Before delving into the details of Aquaponics, let us see how the water from your fish tank comes in handy for growing vegetables. We all know that fish produce a lot of waste, which creates ammonia, which is harmful to the fish if allowed to build up, (a major reason why we need to replace the water at regular intervals in a normal setup unless there is an effective filter system in place) In an aquaponics system the plants do the filtering. However the plants cannot make use of ammonia. What happens is that bacteria will grow naturally in the tank water and they change the ammonia into nitrates. The nitrates work as a natural fertilizer for all types of vegetables thus providing a unique opportunity to grow fresh vegetables with the help of the natural waste produced by the fish.
Research has revealed that the process of growing plants with the help of water from fish tanks helps the vegetables grow at a 50% faster rate than normal. Thus you get the opportunity to see your favorite vegetables grow within a very short period of time. This is not all - now the same water can be recycled back to the fish tank filtered and so keep a clean environment for the fish to live in. .
Aquaponics - How to get started with:
The fundamental practice of starting off with Aquaponics is pretty simple. You need fish tanks and tanks for plants to grow in. There are ready made kits available in the market, though you can easily design and make your own system. Whatever you do, the basic answer to the question of how to get started with aquaponics is that you need to know
1. What you hope to achieve,
2. The available space,
3. The type of system you want to build.
Aquaponics once established do not take much of your time to look after. Whatever system you opt for, the fish tanks are always at a lower level than the grow beds as then the water from the beds can naturally flow back into the fish tanks. Remember that the water is recycled and because of that aquaponics uses only about 2% of the volume of water that would be used in your home garden.
You will need a pump to put a fixed amount of water into the beds so that the plants always get an adequate amount of water with their required nutrients and to send it filtered back to the tank. In some systems the roots of the plants remain submerged in the water, while in another the water is pumped to the plants and allowed to drain.
Aquaponics is beneficial in three ways
You get fresh vegetables,You get fresh fish andIt will save you quite a bit of money.Aquaponics are highly suitable for areas where the water supply is very limited as it uses very little water. it would be highly suitable in third world countries to help to provide much needed food. For us learning how to setup an aquaponics system is also very useful as it will provide us with cheap fresh vegetables and cheap fresh fish. Especially when because of weather conditions the price of vegetables goes skyhigh. If we have a functioning aquaponics system that will not affect our budget. You can go to my website http://www.aquaponicsblog.org/ there you will find a lot more useful information and you can also sign up for a free mini course.
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