Aquaponics is a bio-integrated food production technique combining aquaculture (fish farming) and hydroponics (growing plants without soil). Recent advances by researchers and growers alike have turned aquaponics into a working model of sustainable food production. By combining the two techniques, common problems experienced by both are alleviated, controlled, and utilized. Waste = Food! In aquaculture, the fish waste that builds up in a working system is extremely toxic to the cultured fish. The wastewater is an unwanted byproduct of fish culture, expensive to discard, and a detriment to the environment if not disposed of responsibly. Much media attention has been focused on the environmental detriments of

Aquaponics provides a means of naturally filtering the fish effluent via a media-based growing scenario (such as perlite, coir fiber, etc.), in turn, providing the necessary nutrients to the plants roots, thereby creating a filter and providing fresh water to the cultured fish through recirculation. These nutrients - generated from fish manure, algae, and decomposing fish feed - are contaminants that would otherwise build up to toxic levels in the fish tanks, but instead serve as liquid fertilizer to hydroponically grown plants. A media based system must be utilized to allow colonization of beneficial bacteria, which break down the ammonia present in the fish waste into a usable form. The hydroponic grow beds function as a biofilter, utilizing associated rhizosphere bacteria, so the water can then be recirculated back into the fish tanks. The bacteria living in the media and in association with the plant roots play a critical role in nutrient cycling; without these microorganisms the whole system would stop functioning. By utilizing the natural tendencies of each application the system becomes virtually self-sufficient.

Commercially, aquaponics is in its infancy but as the technology develops and is refined it has the potential to be a more efficient and space saving method of growing fish, vegetables, and herbs. By incorporating aquaponics, hydroponic growers can eliminate the cost and labor involved in pre-mixing a fertilizer solution. Commercial aquaculturists can drastically reduce the amount of filtration and capital needed in recirculating fish culture and our environment does not receive the burden of our human endeavors. Everybody wins!

For more info, http://www.aquaponics.com