Category Archives: Sustainability

Getting Started in Aquaponics

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Getting started with aquaponics isn’t as difficult as it seems all you need is a little knowledge, patience and proper planning. Here are a few things to consider when planning your aquaponics system in your backyard .

Your Needs: One of the first steps before getting started with aquaponics is to decide how many people you intend to feed. An aquaponics system with one grow bed and IBC Aquaponics500lt fish tank could easily feed a family of 4 if done properly. It is also important to consider your location should your needs increase in the future or should you decide to expand your system.

The ratio of plants and fish in an aquaponics system is a reflection on the available filtration capacity or growbed size. In theory you should start with a 1:1 ratio- water in the growbeds should be equal to the amount of water available in your growbeds when your starting off, however after about 6 months you can increase the number of growbeds as your bacteria are well established.small baby pool aquaponics system

 Fish: Before deciding the type of fish for your system you should first consider what you intend to do with them. If you do not wish to harvest your fish to eat and or you are vegetarian you can use non edible ornamental  fish such as Koi or Goldfish. Depending on where you live will determine your fish species choices. In Australia you can use trout, catfish, silver or jade perch, yabbies, barramundi, murray cod  to name a few. All are excellent fish choices for your aquaponics system. It is important to note that too many fish in your aquaponics system will result in too much waste being produced so that the plants would not be able to consume it all. It may also lead to rapid fish death if you starve them of oxygen.

Plants: When it comes to plants, herbs and leafy vegetables are good first  choices. Your aquaponics system can provide you with an endless supply of fresh lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers and many other fruits and vegetables. It is important that your plant to fish ratio be maintained for your system to produce the expected yield and thrive.

Planning Ahead:  At some point you may wish to expand your system. Before attempting this I strongly suggest that you first get familiar with what aquaponics is and how it all works before you embark on a larger sized system. With this being said you should take this into consideration before selecting your location as it will be much easier to maintain a single system vs. multiple ones. And always start small and increase it as your knowledge increases in time.

Sustainable Aquaponics using pre used or recycled materials

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The reason most people start in Aquaponics is to save money and be more selfsufficent. If you’re going to try your hand at growing vegetables or herbs using aquaponics to be more self sufficient then you should really go the extra step towards sustainability  and use recycled materials where ever you can in your aquaponics system design.

I know that there are an increasing amount of commercial aquaponic systems on the market and if you have the money to buy them I’m sure they will suit your needs.

But from a sustainability point of view, think about how much energy and green house emissions have gone into making that plastic fish tank or plastic grow bed. Also think about where the material was made and where you’re purchasing it from. Chances are that your new sustainable aquaponics kit has travelled 1000’s km to get to you and its full of embedded energy.small IBC aquaponics design

Now I’m not critical of commercial aquaponics kits, they are a great educational tool and also they are great to get you started growing fish and vegetables  really quickly. If however you can assemble your own plumbing and pipes and use a saw and you wish to be more sustainable in your gardening approach then I suggest that you use recycled materials. In this way you’re taking a once used and discarded product and using it for a second, third or fourth purpose.

To create an adequate size Aquaponics garden consider using IBC tote bulk containers for grow beds and fish tanks. They are available around the world and are easy to cut, move around your backyard and have a small physical footprint.

There are many methods and styles when using these IBC tanks. You could try some of the following:

  1. Chopping the top off and inverting the top. The large section becomes the fish tank and water is pumped to the growbed above. This is a great technique for those with limited space.
  2. Chop the top and base off. This will provide two growbeds. Use a second tank as a fish tank or use a fish pond and pump to the new growbeds. There is no limit to the number of grow beds you could use in this approach.

You could use many other materials like large tubs, old washing machines, old fridges, kids swimming pools, etc etc.

Look around, keep your eyes open and if it can hold water then you can most likely use it in your aquaponics project.