The whole process is very simple and extremely efficient. A variety of freshwater fish (or diadromous fish) are hatched, raised, fattened and kept (to plate size) in an aquaculture system with a balanced diet of good quality fish feed (non-land animal-based feed), discarded plant matter, larvae and worms from the system. The fish excrete faeces containing natural ammonia which enriches the water with nitrites, which in turn are converted to nitrates by naturally occurring useful bacteria (the nitrogen cycle). The remaining solids from the faeces are harvested by mechanical means between the two processes or captured by gravel filtration in the hydroponic section.

The rich in nutrients water is then driven by a pump to the hydroponically grown plants. There, the nitrates fertilize the plants which in turn filter the water. On their own, the fish faeces constitute a powerful and complete natural fertiliser for other plants and trees outside the aquaponic system (fruit orchards etc.). The filtered clean water is now fed back to the fish tank (the aquaculture part of the system) and creates the perfect environment for the fish to live in. This constitutes a well balanced and closed-loop system.

The field of Aquaponics (Aquaculture and Hydroponics) is growing at a phenomenal pace due to its uncommonly bountiful productivity in comparison to other competitive agricultural systems such as in-soil planting and hydroponics.

The methodology requires no heavy machinery or large tracts of arable land and the mechanics are very simple but production is exceptionally profuse. Aquaponics also surpasses the production levels of stand-alone Hydroponics from the second year of production.

Turning Aquaponics into a successful business

All people who have started cultivating vegetables and other plants in an aquaponics system know that it is highly profitable in the shortest time possible.

The main reason is that plants do very well in an aquaponics environment. It is full of the right nutrients, rich in oxygen and almost pest-free. To put it simply, it is the ideal environment for a plant to grow in.

As for the farmer, the whole process of creating and maintaining an aquaponics system requires little effort, compared with the traditional methods of farming. It is estimated that the initial cost of the whole system’s infrastructure will be compensated in the first few months. Let us not forget that the entire produce (vegetables and fish) is of the highest quality.