The indoor aquaponics fish tank has become a viable option for people that have limited space and usually live in the inner city.
It is not a large step to go from maintaining a fish tank, to simply expanding it with a few grow beds for leafy greens or herbs. By doing so what one has in effect created is an Indoor aquaponics fish tank. Theoretically, such an endeavor is quite simple to implement, but it comes with several challenges. Some of these challenges include the space necessary and the weight of the grow beds, as well as that of the extra water.
Indoor aquaponics fish tank and grow bed configuration
Grow beds are what the plants grow in. These are fed with water from the fish tank which adds to the weight of the growth medium. The grow-medium is what the plants grow in, and this medium can be gravel which is inexpensive and very heavy or expanded clay pellets which are costly and much lighter.
The matter of space has been solved with a vertically configured system where the fish tank is at the bottom and the grow beds stacked on top. One very important factor to consider is that these grow beds need sunlight. Should this not be possible, then special lamps called grow lamps are necessary to provide the light for the plants to photosynthesize. These are of course an added cost. Furthermore, because fish need to have aerated water, and plants need to have the water circulating, additional capacity systems may be necessary to provide for the extra load.
Since we are discussing what is in effect a fish tank with an extra plant element that needs to have constant aeration for the fish and water flow for the plants, backup systems are necessary. This is because, on occasion, the electrical grid may fail. In some areas, it may be down for a few hours, in others a few days. The latter may present serious challenges.
What do these backup systems entail?
Basically, three elements, an aerator, a water pump, and a deep cycle car battery, with a trip switch to turn it on when the grid goes down. These items will when set up correctly, automatically take over the vital functions of the aquaponics system.
