Aquaonics is a form of sustainable agriculture that combines intensive aquaculture and hydroponics.  

In hydroponics, plants are grown in water supplemented with a nutrient solution, without soil.  one of the problems with hydroponics is the cost and labor involved in mixing the proper nutrient solution.  

In aquaculture, fish are raised in large tanks.  The water quickly becomes nutrient rich due to the fish digesting their food and excreting waste.  This toxic waste restricts a system's production capacity.  So fish farmers invest a lot of money, time and technology in removing and disposing of fish waste.  

Aquaponics is the ideal answer to a fish farmer's problem of disposing of nutrient rich water and a hydropoonic grower's need for nutrient rich water.  In aquaponics, the fish waste pro9vides a food source for the growing plants and the plants provide a natural filter for the fish.  This creates a mini ecosystem where both plants and fish can thrive.

How it Works:
The heart of the system is the fish tank.  We use two 800-gallon polyurethane hatchery tanks.     

Each tank is stocked with Tilapia.  Tilapia are delicious, with white flesh and few bones.  They are warm-water fish native to Africa and the Middle East. Tilapia aquaculture has become common all over the world in the last few decades, but was first practiced in Egypt and Israel in ancient times.  

Each tank is connected to a series of six growing beds also constructed of polyurethane. Each bed contains pea gravel as a growing media.  Periodically, pumps flush these beds with water from the fish tank.  Fish water - effluent - is pumped from a tank through 1-inch PVC pipe straight to growing beds to trickle through their length.  The purified water drains into a catch tank and is then pumped back to the fish tank.  

Plants get all the nutrients they need from this irrigation water.  Thus, animal wastes become plant food.

the fish and plants are the two visible components of the aquaponic system.  there is a third component to this system that while unseen is critical to its operation: bacteria.  Plants alone o not purify the water for fish.  Plant roots can't absorb animal waste.  Hidden in the gravel, billions of bacteria consume and convert the fish waste so it can be absorbed by the root hairs of the plants.

Pesticide and Chemical Free:
We believe strongly that food should be grown as naturally as possible. Aquaponics is dependent upon a synergistic balance of fish, plants and bacteria.  Any pesticides sprayed onto the plants would harm or kill the fish.  Any antibiotics poured into the fish tanks to treat disease would harm or kill the plants and bacteria.  We use only beneficial insects and traps to control pests that find their way into the greenhouse.

Last modified: August 04, 2002