What is Aquaponic Farming?
Aquaponics is a food production system that combines aquaculture (raising aquatic animals such as fish, crayfish, snails, or prawns in tanks) with hydroponics (cultivating plants in water) whereby the nutrient-rich aquaculture water is fed to hydroponically grown plants. Plants are grown in hydroponics systems, using the nutrient-rich effluent water from the aquaculture tank to provide the plants with nutrients. This enables them to filter out the ammonia that is toxic to the aquatic animals, or its metabolites. After the water has passed through the hydroponic subsystem, it is cleaned and oxygenated and can return to the aquaculture vessels.
Aquaponics is not a modern invention; its roots can be traced back to ancient civilizations. One of the earliest known examples comes from the Aztecs, who developed chinampas, a system of floating gardens that combined fish farming and crop cultivation. In Southeast Asia, rice paddies were often stocked with fish, creating a natural aquaponic system. Modern aquaponics, however, began to take shape in the 1970s when researchers started experimenting with combining aquaculture and hydroponics to create more sustainable food production systems. Today, aquaponics is practiced worldwide, from small-scale home gardens to large commercial farms.
What is the purpose of Aquaponics?
The main aim of aquaponics is to create plant growth by using aquatic animal waste. Consequently, aquaponics uses the fish waste as a fertilizer for the plants while the plants clean the water for the fish. The plants benefit from the existence of the fish and the other way around. Another main benefit of the closed system is that it avoids creating waste, one of the main issues within food production currently. In aquaponics, the plants use the fish waste as a fertilizer, and therefore the system brings environmental and economic benefits. Conventional linear systems that dispose the fish waste into the environment, do not make use of the nutrient potential in it. Aquaponics can therefore bring food production into cities and places without access to natural soil or water bodies. Since the closed system can be separated from wild nature, it reduces the food’s likeliness to be subject to pollution or unexpected climate conditions occurring outside.
Pros and Cons of Aquaponics
As we might already know, aquaponics is a closed-loop farming technique that combines hydroponics and aquaculture (fish farming). The water is filtered by the plants and then returned to the fish tank after being fed with nutrients from the fish excrement. As a result, fish and plants have a symbiotic relationship that makes it possible to grow both fresh vegetables and fish in a small area in a way that is both highly effective and environmentally benign. Moreover, the closed loop technology conserves water and does not require chemical pesticides or fertilizers.
This self-sustaining environment too has its pros and cons.
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- The initial cost of setting up an aquaponics system can be considerable due to the equipment and supplies needed, but it is a sustainable farming approach that uses less water than traditional farming and does not require the use of synthetic fertilizers, pesticides, or herbicides. Due to the symbiotic link between the fish and plants, an aquaponic system can produce greater yields than conventional farming techniques.
- Faster development and harvest times are also made possible by aquaponics-controlled environments.
- Maintaining an aquaponics system necessitates technical expertise, including knowledge of the biology of fish and plants as well as of water chemistry and filtration methods.
What is Hydroponic Farming?
The word hydroponics has been taken from two root words, ‘hydros’ meaning water and ‘ponos’ meaning working water. Hydroponics or hydroponic farming is the technique of cultivating plants in a nutrient medium solution of water without the presence of soil. Yes, it may sound surprising but scientists have successfully developed a method of cultivating various local crops without soil. In this type of farming, the roots of the plant may or may not be supported by inner media. Perlite, gravel, rockwood, coconut coir, vermiculite, sand, and pumice are some of the examples that are used as substrates in hydroponic farming.
What is the purpose of Hydroponics?
Hydroponics is put forward as a solution to combat climate change, to reduce the environmental damage and species extinction caused by overexploitation and intensive farming.
It also allows for a more rational use of water, an ever-scarcer resource. Hydroponic crops are also more profitable and easier to control, which turns them into a weapon to fight against hunger and to enhance food safety, especially in developing countries. This makes hydroponics a good farming technique in areas with water shortages due to droughts. Contrarily in conventional farming, a large amount of water is used, much of which is lost due to evaporation and poor irrigation. In the end, only a tiny percentage of water reaches the plants.
Hydroponic farming uses very little water as compared to conventional agriculture. Much of that is because the water solution is reused and recirculated through the pipes in a hydroponic setting. The excess water is then taken back to the nutrient solution reservoir.
Pros & Cons of Hydroponic Farming
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- The hydroponic farming system relies heavily on electricity to continuously work its various components. If there is a power outage, the entire system is at risk of failing, which can negatively impact the plants. Although new-generation farms like Bowery Farming are using solar-powered hydroponic systems and indoor vertical hydroponic gardens where solar energy is used as the main power supply there are still challenges about initial operational costs to maintain the electrical source continuity.
- While the use of renewable sources of energy is definitely on the rise, the dependency on fossil energy still remains as a disadvantage.
- Different components in a hydroponic system work together to allow for the smooth supply of nutrients to the plants. To avoid failure of any of these components, growers need to be highly vigilant.
- Constant monitoring is required to check whether the pumps are working correctly or if the temperature and light are adequate.
- Hydroponic farming is an effective method of growing plants indoors and has its own benefits in various ways. It helps growers produce nutrient-rich plants much faster without the use of pesticides.
At last, although hydroponic farming comes with certain disadvantages, its benefits outweigh the drawbacks. With proper knowledge and use of renewable sources of energy; individuals, firms, and communities can use hydroponics to grow disease-free plants all year round.
