What is aquaponics and what are the advantages?
Aquaponics is the combination of two food-raising methods that both use fresh water. It’s a combination of aquaculture, which is the raising of fish in tanks, and hydroponics, which is growing plants in solution without soil.
The main energy input into an aquaponics system is fish food, which is excreted as ammonia by the fish. Naturally occurring bacteria converts ammonia to nitrite and then into plant nutrient. Plants take up the level of converted nitrate and effectively clean the water for the fish at a steady rate. It is this co-existence and environmental balance of fish, bacteria and plants that is critical to every aquaponics system.
What are the benefits of aquaponics?
Aquaponics lends itself perfectly to small-scale systems; this has led to a growing number of people buying or building an aquaponics garden to feed their families. The satisfaction of growing your own food coupled with the 100% knowledge that what you’re eating is healthy has certainly led to aquaponics popularity.
A balanced aquaponics system has several advantages over each method when employed by itself, including:
- A low water requirement. Aquaponics uses 90% less water than soil. This method not only requires low water usage but low power usage as water is continuously recycled through plants and the fish tank.
- Environmentally friendly. A fully contained zero-waste system with no solution waste dumping or run-off common to both AC and HP.
- No chemical usage. Zero use of inorganic herbicide and pesticide sprays, which are harmful to your fish.
- Grow two crops from one system. Reap the benefits of crops and fish from the same system.
- Easy to grow. The primary inputs to the system are fish food and water.
To achieve growing healthy fish and plants, the grower needs to understand aspects of the system, including the type of fish food used and dealing with pests. However, while these factors are key, the lifeblood of every aquaponics system is the consistency of water quality.
To maintain the correct environment for your fish, bacteria and plants to stay healthy and thrive, the grower needs to be constantly aware of certain parameter levels. Three critical indicators of aquaponics water quality are pH (acid or alkaline level), temperature and electrical conductivity or EC (level of nutrient).
Ensure your plants AND fish get the food they need at the right temperature.
Are Bluelab products suitable for aquaponics?
Bluelab’s role in helping the grower is to provide equipment to measure and monitor water quality (temperature, pH and EC) in aquaponics. By checking these three parameters regularly, system knowledge and understanding of the inputs and reactions will be gained. This will result in water quality that is balanced and consistent.
Introducing some top aquaponics Bluelab products
Bluelab Guardian Monitor
The simplest and most effective reservoir monitor you could own. The Bluelab Guardian Monitor provides 24-hour continuous reading for pH, conductivity and temperature within a nutrient solution. Optimising these critical parameters through a plant's growing phase helps to ensure a successful crop.
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"We rely on the Guardian Monitor to help fine-tune our system for optimal production.”
- Gina Cavaliero, Green Acre Farms, Florida, USA
Bluelab Combo Meter
The Bluelab Combo Meter is a portable pH, conductivity and temperature meter all in one. If you are experiencing problems with yellow leaves or slow stunted growth, the Bluelab Combo Meter will soon tell you if each parameter is within the plant’s requirements.
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"They're fast to use and accurate. I know my garden couldn’t run smoothly without the information these meters give me." - Leon Jurgens, Tauranga, New Zealand
Bluelab pH Probe
The Bluelab pH Probe is a replacement pH probe (electrode) suitable for use with Bluelab products that test the pH value of a solution.
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