I happened to witness Aquaponics during my frequent visits to Organic farms in Abu Dhabi. Organic farming as we all know is a healthy and sustainable method for growing plants and crops. My dad and his friends were keen on organic farming and in the process I learnt about Aquaponics. I already knew about Hydroponics as it is setup in our school.
With the help of my dad we have tried out this technique at home to grow herbs and some vegetables. We have a fish tank and slightly angled pipes with plants for water flow without energy consumption.
Aquaponics consists of two main parts,
· The aquaculture part for raising aquatic animals such as fish/snails etc.
· The hydroponics part for growing plants.
The concept and working: Aquatic effluents, resulting from uneaten feed or raising animals like fish, accumulate in water due to the closed-system recirculation of most aquaculture systems. The effluent-rich water becomes toxic to the aquatic animal in high concentrations but this contains nutrients essential for plant growth. Recycling these effluents from the tank to the plants is the main process involved in Aquaponics
Aquaponics offers a diverse and stable polyculture system that allows us to grow vegetables and raise fish at the same time. The flexibility of the aquaponics system allows it to grow a large variety of crops including ordinary vegetables, herbs, flowers and aquatic plants to cater to a broad spectrum of consumers and variety of fish at the same time
Advantage:
· Soil is not required. Water is directly used up by the plant
· It is commercially useful to farmers as it has 2 sources of profit- Plants and Fish which are seasonal.
Aquaponics is a very efficient method of sustainable farming. It is an example of harnessing aqua-biotic components and recycling the same for growing plants. The Nitrogen cycle takes place in this system where the Nitrite (from fish waste containing Ammonia) is converted into Nitrates which are easily absorbed by the plants. These Nitrates are otherwise harmful for the fish in high levels, when tank is not cleaned. Now the need for cleaning the tank is also less frequent.
It has become my hobby to feed the fish and maintain the plants apart from the enjoying the plants grow and the pleasure of watching the fishes swim in their aquatic habitat.
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