Aquaponics: Everything You Need to Know to Start an Expert DIY Aquaponic System from Home (Hydroponics, Organic Gardening, Self sufficiency)

117 Pages·2016·1.31 MB·English

by  William Walsworth

Aquaponics

Everything You Need to Know to Start an
Expert DIY Aquaponic System from Home

By William Walsworth
Copyright © 2016 by BPI Publishing All rights reserved

This document attempts to provide exact and reliable information regarding the topics and issues covered. If
advice is necessary, legal or professional, a practiced individual should be ordered.

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This books makes no guarantees of success or implied promises. Any type of strategy detailed in these
pages can work or has worked for others, but results will vary based on individual efforts and
circumstances.

st
1 Edition, July 2016
“The love of gardening,
Is a seed once sown
That never dies.”

- Gertrude Jeckyll
Table of Contents

Introduction
Chapter 1: Aquaponics: Why it will get you hooked
1.1 The many angles of aquaponics
1.2 Plants love fish
1.3 How does aquaponics differ?
1.4 Why choose aquaponics?
Chapter 2: How aquaponics works: The symbiosis between fish, plant & bacteria
2.1 The nitrogen cycle
2.2 Bacteria are your friends
Chapter 3: Designing your aquaponic unit
3.1 Basic aquaponic design
3.2 Ideal growing conditions to consider
Sunlight
Temperature
Protection from the elements
Space
Location
3.3 The best systems for aquaponic gardening from home
Flood and Drain Technique
Nutrient Film Technique (NFT)
Media Bed Technique
3.4 System parts and materials
Growing trays
Types of growing media
Cups and nets
Pumps and fittings
Air-pumps
3.5 System design considerations
Sediment filters
Bio filters
Sumps
3.6 Sizing your system
System ratios
Calculating outputs
Calculating inputs
Fish populations
Stocking density
Bio filter size
Water volume
Variations and design considerations
Chapter 4: Essential elements – Things to know before you start
4.1 Water
4.2 Health and safety
4.3 Starting an aquaponic system
Chapter 5: Bacteria - Essential tiny creatures
5.1 Bacteria-friendly environments
5.2 Sourcing bacteria
5.3 System Cycling
5.3 Monitoring bacteria
Chapter 6: Casting a light on finding the correct fish
6.1 Selecting fish
6.2 Sourcing fish
6.3 Fish-friendly environments
6.4 Fish care
6.5 Monitoring fish
Chapter 7: Finding plants that love those fish
7.1 Selecting plants
7.2 Sourcing plants
7.3 Plant-friendly environments
7.4 Plant care
Chapter 8: System monitoring & maintenance
8.1 Water monitoring
8.2 System adjustments
8.3 Regular maintenance
Chapter 9: Reeling in the success – Optimizing your aquaponic system
9.1 Plant choices
9.2 Propagating your own plants
9.3 Staggered plantings and plant diversity
9.4 Fish polycultures
9.5 Supplementing fish feed
9.6 Precautionary additions
9.7 Planning for system changes
Chapter 10: Troubleshooting: Fixing your fishy business
10.1 Plant health: Help, my plants are sick!
10.2 Cleaning: Help, my growing environment is dirty!
10.3 Fish: Help, my fish are unhappy!
10.4 System measurements: Help, my system is unbalanced!
Chapter 11: Parting Words
Introduction

At the local community garden, I have a friend with a garden called “Fish and
Chips and Salad”. It is only a small garden, about 18 square feet (2m2), and it
looks quite strange. In addition to the signage, half of the garden is taken up by a
large tank.

It may be a little gimmicky, but the name of that garden reveals an inspiring
goal: to raise all of the ingredients needed for the titular meal. In that tiny
garden, my friend really is growing fish, and potatoes, and salad. And what
makes the garden even more special is that the entire meal will be grown with no
waste, and no external input. How? Through aquaponics.

The term “aquaponics” originated in Cold-War era America, where A-bomb
fears led to the combination of aquaculture (raising fish for consumption) and
hydroponics (soil-less plant production). Scientists realized that these growing
systems, which combine plants, fish and bacteria in a symbiotic system, could
successfully produce food in small spaces, or even underground, should the need
arise.

However, the 1950s “preppers” were not the first to use aquaponics. In fact, it is
an age-old growing system. The Ancient Khmer, who built Cambodia’s Angkor
Wat, introduced fish to their rice paddies in order to control insects and provide
fertilizer, a practice still used throughout South East Asia today. A similar
method of agriculture, where plants grow on floating structures and rely on the
nutrients provided by aquatic life, has also been practiced by other ancient
cultures including Mexico’s Aztecs, Bolivia’s Uru peoples and the Egyptians of
the Nile Delta.

While a system which balances bacteria, plants and fish may sound complicated,
aquaponics is surprisingly simple. It allows you to produce a whole meal in a
compact, environmentally-sustainable unit, and to create a self-sustaining
ecosystem on a home scale.

This book is intended as a starting point for creating a backyard aquaponic
system. It outlines how aquaponics works and the nature of the symbiosis
between the elements. It also includes a brief overview of the different types of
aquaponics systems, and trouble-shoots some common problems faced by home
growers.

It is a long-term goal, but imagine how amazing that first meal of fish, and chips,
and salad will be when grown in your own aquaponics system. Bon appétit!
Chapter 1:
Aquaponics: Why it will get you hooked

At its most basic, aquaponics is nothing more than a plant grown in symbiosis (a
mutually-beneficial relationship) with fish or other aquatic creatures. If you have
a weeds or plants in your aquarium, you are practicing aquaponics.