AquaponicsGrowing Fish and Plants T

Aquaponics
Growing Fish and Plants Together



Presented by: JD Sawyer




Aquaponics Defined
The integration of:
 Aquaculture – Growing fish in a re-circulating system
 Ponos – The Greek word for growing
plants with or without media
 Most people relate growing plants to hydroponics since both use nutrient rich water and both use soil-less media.




How Aquaponics Works
1. Fish are raised in a tank
2. Water from the fish tank is pumped to the plants
3. Bacteria convert ammonia and nitrite to nitrate
4. Plants absorb the nutrient rich water
5. Filtered water is returned to the fish tank, clean

Fish are Happy!
Plants are Happy!
We get more to eat!







Why is it Considered Sustainable?
 Waste from fish is used to feed the plants
 Fish and plants create a polyculture producing two products
 Water is re-used in the re-circulating system
 Local food production, enhances the local economy and reduces food transportation
 Continuous organic fertilizer

ATTRA – National Sustainable Agriculture Information Service




Why Aquaponics?
 Uses a fraction of the water, about 10% of soil growing
 No need to purchase, store and apply fertilizer
 No soil-borne diseases, no tilling, no weeds
 Grow two food products together, protein and produce
 High fish stocking density, high crop yield
 No waste – hydroponics waste solution, aquaculture waste fish solids – aquaponics all waste is used
 No pesticides or herbicides, only fish fertilizer
 Food security, grow your own food, indoors, year-round
 Works in draught or places with poor soil quality




Water use comparison
 Open-water net pens—“Infinite” number of gallons per pound of
production

 Non-recirculating raceways and tanks—5,000 to 10,000 gallons per pound of production

 Non-recirculating ponds—500 to 1,000 gallons per pound of production

 Recirculating systems—5 to 10 gallons per pound of production

 Integrated aquaponics—Wastewater directed to greenhouses; no discharge




Aquaponics Components
 Fish Tank
 Place to Grow Plants
 Water Pump(s)
 Air Pump
 Irrigation Tubing
 Water Heater (Optional)
 Filtration (Optional)
 Grow light
(Optional)
 Fish and Plants




Small Fish Tank
 Aquarium
 Stock Tank
 Half Barrel
 Rubber- made Tub




Medium Sized Fish Tanks
 IBC – totes (make sure you know what was in them before)
 Bath tubs
 Plastic, Steel or Fiberglass Stock Tanks
 Build your own




Big Fish Tanks
 Open Ponds
 Large Stock Tanks
 Swimming Pools
 Fiberglass Tanks




Safe Materials
Make sure all your system components are
fish and human safe
Polypropylene - labeled PP
High Density Polyethylene - labeled HDPE
High Impact ABS (Hydroponic Grow Trays)
Stainless Steel barrels
EPDM or PVC (poly vinyl chloride) pond liner (make sure its UV resistant and avoid fire retardant material)
Fiberglass tanks and grow beds
Rigid white PVC pipe and fittings, black flexible PVC tubing, some ABS
DO NOT use Copper – Its toxic to the fish




Aquaponic System Designs
 Media-Based Growbed
 Growing Power System
 Raft System
 NFT (Nutrient Film Technique)
 Towers
 VertiGro




Media-Based Growbed
 Gravel
 Hydroton
 Lava Rock
 Packing Foam
 Sponges
 Perilite
 Vermiculite




Media Growbeds
Pros
 Work great for most hobby aquaponics
 Easy to find components, easy to build
 You can grow lots of different plants in one system
 Make as big or small as you want

Cons
 Can build-up anaerobic zones
 May need to be cleaned out occasionally (or use worms)




Aquarium Systems





Barrel-Ponics Examples
























Invented by Travis Hughey of
Faith and Sustainable Technologies (FAST) Uses readily available, cheap 55 gallon barrels




IBC Containers
 Intermediate Bulk Container
 275 Gallons full
 175 with top cut
 12” grow bed
 Inexpensive
 Plumbed for 2” PVC




Other Growbed Examples
Joel Malcolm - Backyard Aquaponics Picture 1 – New seedlings planted Picture 2 – 13 days after planting Picture 3 – 25 days after planting




Growing Power Model
• Non-profit based in Milwaukee, WI
• Founded and run by Will Allen
• Won the MacArther Genius Grant
• Uses multiple tiers over long trough fish tanks
• Water acts as Thermal Mass


Pros
 Good for community sized systems
 Easy to find parts,
get volunteers to build
 You can grow lots of different plants
 Use of vermicompost adds lots of additional nutrients

Cons
 Can build-up anaerobic zones that need cleaned
 Water dark due to plants
potted in vermicompost
 Could benefit from solids filtration, can’t see fish




Raft Method
 Method researched and developed at University of Virgin Islands
 Research and commercialized by Nelson and Pade, Montello, WI




Small-Scale Raft Systems
Chicago High School for Agriculture Science (CHAS)

Personal-sized raft systems




Raft Method
Pros
 Great for commercial setups
 Very high yield of both fish and plant crops
 Small system – 100 lbs of fish, 925 heads of lettuce
 Big system – 7,500 lbs of fish, 194,400 heads of lettuce
 Typically installed inside a greenhouse (although in tropical locations they are outside)

Cons
 Requires more extensive filtration methods
 Usually grows a specific crop like lettuce or basil




Sweetwater Organics, WI




Nutrient Film Technique
Pros
 Materials readily available
 More precise growing conditions
 No concerns for pH changes related to media
Cons
 Requires more
filtration
 Doesn’t allow as many crop options




Farm Philly – Greensgrow Project
• Roof-top garden using metal gutters attached to a wall.
• Solar powered pump.
• Currently using hydroponic solution.
• Converting to aquaponics soon.




Towers
Built by Nate Storey – Doing aquaponics
research and earning a PhD at University
of Wyoming




Vertigro System
















• Strawberry orchard in Fl.

• Adapted for either hydroponic or aquaponic use






































www.backyardaquaponics.com




Fish inputs and outputs
 Inputs: Feed Oxygen and Water
 Outputs: Urine (water), Ammonia, Carbon Dioxide, Feces, Uneaten Feed

 Water Recirculation Cycle
 Fish tank >> Solids Removal >> Biofiltration >> Aeration/Oxygenation




Keeping Fish Healthy
 pH – Most fish like pH between 6-8
 Ammonia and nitrites are very toxic to fish
 Nitrates are fairly safe for fish (and great for plants)
 Fish need oxygen (they can die in 30 min. without it)
Battery based aerators are available for power outages
 Drastic temp changes can cause health issues and
death
 Sensitive to light (avoid direct light)




Importance of Temperature

 Do not exceed temp changes of more than 3F per day if possible

 Fish can not regulate their body temperature like humans do

 They are dependent on the water temperature for their
body temperature


Temperature and growth rate
 CMAX= Max. feeding rate
 SDA = Digestion (specific dyna
action)
 F = Feces, urine production (egestion)
 U = Ammonia production
(excretion)
 ΔB = Change in fish weight
 Opt. coolwater temp. = 23 C (
 R = Respiration
 Max. = 28 C (82 F; starvation)
 Coldwater fishes = 14-16 C (57
F)
 Warmwater fishes = 28-30 C ( 86 F)




The Fish
 Aquarium Fish
 Tilapia
 Yellow Perch
 Trout
 Catfish
 Bass
 Bluegill
 Carp
 Koi
 Goldfish
 Freshwater Prawns




Aquarium Fish
 Goldfish
 Koi
 Tetra
 Pacu
 Danios
 Cichlid
 Guppies
 Oscar




Tilapia


• Commonly used in aquaponics
• Warm water fish (74-78*)
• Tolerates pH shifts, temp changes, high ammonia, and low dissolved oxygen
• Omnivorous – pellet fish food, duckweed, veggies from the system
• Grows to plate size in about
6-9 months (ideal conditions)




Yellow Perch
 Good for re-circulating systems
 Likes cooler water (68-74*)
 Tolerates lower dissolved oxygen, adjusts to pH changes
 Eats common pellet fish foods and veggies
 Grows to plate size in about 9
months




Trout
 More challenging to maintain
 Likes colder water (64-68*)
 Can be carnivorous and will eat smaller fish
 Requires high dissolved oxygen levels
 Sensitive to pH changes and water quality
 Eats pellet fish food
 Reaches plate size in 12-16 months




Bass, Bluegill, Catfish
 Often raised in ponds, can be raised in re-circulating system
 Like temperature around 80*
 Eat pellet foods, bottom feeders
 More sensitive to temp, pH and water quality
 Bass harvest 15-18 months
 Bluegill harvest 12-16 months
 Catfish harvest 5-10 months




Koi, Goldfish, Carp
 Great pond fish
 Popular if you don’t like to eat fish
 Koi are fancy (expensive) carp
 Tempature 65-75*
 Omnivorous – flake or pellet foods, bugs, plant roots
 Sold for “pets” or to show based on color, shape and scale patterns.




Fish Health Management
 Always exercise good hygiene and biosecurity— prevention, avoidance, selective access, and common sense.
 Quarantine fish from other facilities before stocking them in your system. Monitor their health for several days—treat if necessary.
 The best defense is your fish’s own immune system. Provide a low-stress environment and your fish will maintain their health.




Fish Maintenance
 Feed fish 2 - 3 times a day, but don’t overfeed
 Fish eat 1.5 – 2% their body weight per day
 Only feed fish what they can eat in 5-10 minutes
 Fish won’t eat if they are too cold, too hot or stressed
 Check water quality, add water or do partial water changes if necessary
 Observe fish behavior and appearance
 Some fish become “social” and will “greet you”
 Think like a fish, “What would make you happy?”




Fish Feeds
 Commercial fish feeds contain exact protein, carbohydrate and other vitamin requirements for specific fish
 Plant based proteins can include soy meal, corn meal,
wheat meal etc…
 Most commercial