Aquaponics is the combination of Aquaculture and Hydroponics. Hydroponics requires expensive nutrients to feed the plants as well as periodic flushing of the systems which can lead to waste disposal issues.
Re-circulating aquaculture needs to have excess nutrients removed from the system which can ordinarily means that a percentage of the water is removed on a daily basis. That nutrient rich water then needs to be disposed of and replaced with clean fresh water.
Aquaponics allows you to produce fish and plants in the one system with a large reduction in water use.
Both hydroponics and aquaponics grow plants in water. The difference is the source of nutrients. Hydroponics uses chemical nutrients, while aquaponics uses nutrients from fish waste.
Nutrients are one of the most exciting and yet still mysterious aspects of aquaponics. For fish, this is mainly related to food, which the grower provides. For plants, the nutrients primarily come from the food provided to the fish. However, some amendments such as iron, calcium, and potassium may be needed as these nutrients not usually found in fish food.
Light / Sun Humans see light, but we don’t need light to survive. Plants, on the other hand, need light to live. People who aren’t gardeners sometimes presume that if there is enough light to see, there is enough light for plants to thrive. Make sure to understand the amount light that your plants needs to thrive.
