In this article you will learn what aquaponics is and how you can produce sustainable fish and vegetables at home. Here is what you are about to learn: What is aquaponics and how it works The different aquaponics techniques What quantity of food can aquaponics produce Challenges and general maintenance Consumables and material needed The guide to success Aquaponics definition Most people see aquaponics as the combination of the 2 agricultural techniques below: –Aquaculture consists of growing aquatic creatures. –Hydroponics is the technique of growing plants without soil (using nutritive ..read more

Cold water fish such as trout can be easily grown in winter. However, they struggle when the temperature increase above 22C. In this article I will share few tricks, you will learn how to keep trout alive in summer. Oxygen and water temperature to keep trout alive in summer When the water temperature increase, the concentration of oxygen into the water decrease. Hence, the fish have less oxygen available. A good way to help the fish going through summer is to equip your fish tank with an air pump. A constant supply of air during the warm season will ensure a saturation of oxygen into the wate ..read more

An aquaponics raft in the fish pond?   Yes you can transform a fish pond into a nice aquaponics system with this simple technique!   All you need is a foam raft and semi aquatic plants.   Many aquaponics enthusiast would like to experiment DWC also known as Raft systems. However, this technique requires a special tank dedicated to the plants. The DWC tank is separate to the fish tank and therefore requires space.   But, there is a solution to grow plants on raft directly in the fish pond. This technique is doable both on an existing aquaponics system or on a simple fish pon ..read more

Watercress (scientific name: Nasturtium officinale) is a semi aquatic plant. It’s a productive plant, well adapted to aquaponics.   Shallow roots The watercress roots system is well developped on the media surface. In fact, roots devellop on the whole stemp as long as it’s in contact with nutrients. This specificity allows 2 things: Easy cuttings Since the roots can develop on the whole stamp, cuttings are extremely easy. The plant will actually propagate itself and colonize the whole growbed. Watergress can grow on anaerobic soils! Growbeds are sometimes clogged and most plants can’t ..read more

let’s explore the possibilities to produce our homemade fish food! We will see why it’s so important to find a sustainable alternative to classic aquaculture fish food pellet. Then we will go through experiments to grow vegetable and insect live fish food. A need for sustainable and affordable fish food Most aquaponics growers feed their fish with “aquaculture fish food“. it comes under the shape of dry pellets. It’s convenient to use and can be stored for months in a dry area. However, as we will see here below, this fish food has serious inconveniences…   Large predator fish such as ..read more

Aquaponics consist of growing fish and plants in an ecosystem. In this article we will focus on the aquaponics fish. Here is what you will learn: The role of fish in aquaponics Choosing the right fish species of fish for aquaponics The fish tank What quantity of fish Maintenance of your aquaponics fish tank Aquaponics fish care Aquaponics fish food Best time to add fish Where to buy fish How to harvest fish Can we customize the fish tank? Alternatives to fish for aquaponics   The role of fish in aquaponics   For some aquaponics enthusiasts, growing fish is the main point of aqua ..read more

The fish biomass correspond to the total weight of fish present in an aquaponics fish tank. But why do we calculate the fish biomass? Knowing your Fish tank total biomass is important. For the reason that this value will be necessary for the management of your Aquaponics setup. In this article we will see 2 points that require the fish biomass. Feeding following the feeding tables Some species of fish raised in aquaculture have been raised for generations. Hence, several studies have been done on those fish. Therefore, the fish food suppliers are able to offer “feeding tables”. They are sprea ..read more

An aquaponics system can be much more than plastic tanks. Here we will tackle aquaponics from a new holistic approach. That is to say, we will integrate new functions to the ecosystem. “Holistic aquaponics” is born from a need to go one step further with aquaponics. I want to offer a real aquaponics experience. The aquaponics system is completely integrated into the backyard. It becomes the main point of interest.   What are the functions of the holistic aquaponics?   A swimming pool The new aquaponics system offers a complete immersion and allows to have a bath with the fish. A cla ..read more

Starting an aquaponics system requires to grow a bacteria population. We call this action “cycling the system” because the bacteria will complete the nitrogen cycle. The most common way to cycle an aquaponics system is to add a handful of fish food into the fish tank. Then, it is just a question of time for the bacteria to grow naturally. The cycling process generally takes around 30 days. During the aquaponics cycling process, we observe a peak of ammonia and nitrite. Both of those are very toxic for the fish. Hence, it is safer to cycle the system without fish and to add them after 30 days o ..read more

You want to grow plants in aquaponics? Good idea! In aquaponics we integrate fish and plants culture. Here is a guide to help you succeed at aquaponics plants and vegetables production. The role of plants in aquaponics When we grow plants in a classic garden, the main role is generally to harvest a nice crop.   In aquaponics however, the role of plants goes beyond the vegetables production. Yes the aim is to grow an healthy crop. But it is also to consume the “plant nutrients” (nitrate) and to somehow “purify” the water for our fish. We grow plants in an ecosystem. The aim is to grow th ..read more