Getting started with aquaponics can be overwhelming, with so many books, blogs, videos, and approaches to building your system. It’s important to develop your own understanding of what aquaponics is and understand its basic principles so you’ll know how to start and maintain your aquaponics system.
Aquaponics is a combination of aquaculture (the growing of fish and other aquatic animals) and hydroponics (the growing of plants without soil) in one recirculating environment. In aquaponics, the fish produce waste converted by the nitrifying bacteria into nutrients for the plants. Plant roots absorb these nutrients to thrive. In return, the plant roots clean and filter the water for the fish to live. The nutrient film technique is one of the most successful aquaponics methods.
A vertical aquaponics system is one aquaponics method that grows plants without soil in columns above a fish tank. This method is popular with aquaponics gardeners because it is a water-efficient and space saving way of gardening and fish raising. Growing vertically also lets the aquaponics gardener grow and produce twice the amount of plants as with the media-based aquaponics system of the same area.
