Aquaponics information. If you are looking into starting a backyard aquaponics garden, you should know some of the facts about creating a self fertilizing organic system.

1. WHAT IS AQUAPONICS
ANYHOW?
An introduction to the
benefits of Aquaponics
Marissa Thomas
http://GoldenAquaponics.com

2. What is Aquaponics Anyhow?
What is Aquaponics?
With a backyard aquaponics system, you can grow fresh organic greens and vegetables
without the messiness of soil. This also makes it wonderful for people in apartments as well.
Introduction
Inside this report, you will learn:
Article # 1: What is Aquaponics? Aquaponics is a method of cultivating freshwater fish,
organic vegetables, and even organic fruits in just one closed system. Unlike traditional
aquaculture, aquaponics does not require continual drainage and water replacement because
a biological filter helps maintain the clarity of the water. More grow beds means you have more
filtration happening on a daily basis. The amount of fish you have in the tank must be matched
with the right amount of vegetation. An imbalance in any of these two main components may
cause either water pollution or nutrient deficiency in the water.
Article # 2: How to Get Started with an Aquaponics System. Before you drive down to your
local hardware store or Home Depot for supplies, we have to first discuss what exactly is
involved in aquaponics. The beauty of an aquaponic system is that you have an all-natural
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3. biological filter operating 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Your fish never suffer from the
difficulties of living in a closed system because you always have plants to help carry away the
waste and detoxify the water. Over a period of time, the system will achieve a natural state of
biological balance and all you have to do is to monitor water levels and ensure that there is no
overcrowding in the fish tank.
Article # 3: Fish for Use in Aquaponics. There are a variety of freshwater fish that you can
stock in your aquaponic holding tanks. Before choosing which fish to raise, we suggest that you
research which fish are best suited to the weather, temperature, and general conditions of your
location first. Carnivorous by nature, crappies should be fed insects and small fish if they are
kept in a closed system like a fish tank. Avoid stocking crappies with larger fish such as walleyes
as these larger fish will actually prey upon crappies. You wouldn’t want to deal with larger fish
nibbling on your crappies.
What is Aquaponics?
Aquaponics is a method of cultivating freshwater fish, organic vegetables, and even organic
fruits in just one closed system. Unlike traditional aquaculture, aquaponics does not require
continual drainage and water replacement because a biological filter helps maintain the clarity
of the water.
Aquaponics is a recirculating system because once the elevated grow beds have been flooded
(using methods such as the nutrient film technique), water is slowly drained back into the
holding tanks, which renews the process once again.
Aquaponics does not require herbicides, pesticides, or other chemical-laden processes
associated with traditional agriculture or small-scale vegetable gardening. In the United States,
this approach to self-sufficiency is gaining ground and in many states, enthusiasts are
continually refining their own aquaponics systems to meet their target harvests.
Advantages of aquaponics
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4. Aquaponics has many obvious advantages:
1. Nutrient accumulation in the water present in aquaponics systems is similar to the levels
needed in traditional hydroponic systems.
2. Ammonia, a natural byproduct in water inhabited by fish, is rendered neutral by nitrifying
bacteria. After the ammonia has been transformed by bacteria, the resulting nitrites are
absorbed by the roots of the plants. Nitrates offer no benefits to the fish, but these ammonia
byproducts are excellent in boosting the growth of fruits and vegetables.
3. Different types of crops can be planted in the elevated grow beds. This helps improve the
profitability of the whole operation.
4. You will save water with an aquaponics system because there is continual recycling and
re-filtration within the system itself. The need for water replacement is reduced significantly.
Aquaponics blueprint
Here’s a summary of what happens within an aquaponics system:
1. Before placing any fish in the holding tank, the whole system must first be cycled. This can be
done by placing fish feed in the water. Let natural nitrifying bacteria grow in the water before
adding the fish. Adding fish immediately to a fresh system with chlorinated water can reduce
the chances of success.
2. Small-scale aquaponics systems do not produce large amounts of suspended solids. Large
systems may require a separate mechanical filtration system to reduce the amount of
suspended solid waste reaching the roots of the elevated grow beds.
3. Fish are fed daily and the resulting solid waste and ammonia are circulated toward the grow
beds. Ammonia is converted to nitrates.
4. The plants undergo nutrient uptake and reduce the waste present in the water. Water is
re-circulated back to the holding tanks. The water from the grow beds are significantly cleaner
than before. The movement of the water also helps aerate the water, which improves the
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5. conditions in the fish’s holding tank.
To reduce the need for a separate mechanical filtration unit, people who have large-scale
aquaponics operations usually employ floating grow beds.
More grow beds means you have more filtration happening on a daily basis. The amount of fish
you have in the tank must be matched with the right amount of vegetation. An imbalance in
any of these two main components may cause either water pollution or nutrient deficiency in
the water.
How to Get Started with an Aquaponics System
Before you drive down to your local hardware store or Home Depot for supplies, we have to
first discuss what exactly is involved in aquaponics.
Aquaponics combines the best traits of traditional aquaculture and the more modern approach
to growing plants – hydroponics. Many enthusiasts and professional practitioners attest to the
fact that aquaponics eliminates the disadvantages of the two older systems because everything
becomes cleaner and easier to maintain.
A balanced system
In order for any biological system to thrive, there must be balance. An aquaponics system is no
exception.
Balance within this kind of biological system is achieved through the interaction of three key
players: the fish, the plants, and the bacteria. That’s right – without the bacteria, an aquaponics
system will simply not work. (Or it will take ten times more work to sustain it!)
Here’s what happens when you have an aquaponics system in place:
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6. In one part of the system, freshwater fish (such as tilapia) swim around in about one thousand
to two thousand liters of water. When you feed the fish, they produce waste material. Unused
fish feed also becomes part of the waste in the water. Your fish will also produce a chemical
known as ammonia.
After a while (as you can imagine), the water in one part of the system becomes quite dirty
because the fish continually produce waste matter and ammonia.
That’s where bacteria come to the rescue. You see, over time naturally occurring microbes
begin to grow in the water. Bacteria such as nitrobacter are capable of breaking down the
ammonia that is being continually produced by the fish.
Once the bacteria have done their part in decomposing the ammonia (which can cause toxicity
in the water), nitrates are produced. Nitrates are byproducts that usually occur in aquariums
and other aquatic systems. In high amounts, nitrates can also cause problems because these
byproducts can encourage the growth of unwanted vegetation in the water.
And that’s where the plants come in to balance the system once again. Plants have no trouble
at all handling nitrates. Nitrates are natural nutrients for plants.
So in one part of an aquaponics system, you have the fish which produce ammonia (and
consequently, nitrates). In another part of the system, you have the plants that literally absorb
the nitrates and other waste products in the water. All the undesirable waste that comes from
the fish section of the system is utilized by the plants so that the plants grow. Water from the
fish section is circulated so that the plants are able to filter and clean the water several times
per day.
The beauty of an aquaponic system is that you have an all-natural biological filter operating 24
hours a day, 7 days a week. Your fish never suffer from the difficulties of living in a closed
system because you always have plants to help carry away the waste and detoxify the water.
Over a period of time, the system will achieve a natural state of biological balance and all you
have to do is to monitor water levels and ensure that there is no overcrowding in the fish tank.
6

7. Fish for Use in Aquaponics
There are a variety of freshwater fish that you can stock in your aquaponic holding tanks. Before
choosing which fish to raise, we suggest that you research which fish are best suited to the
weather, temperature, and general conditions of your location first.
Fish do not develop or grow identically. Some fish grow faster than others, and some are better
suited for living in a closed-tank environment.
Some freshwater fish do not reproduce in holding tanks at all. If you selected those fish, you’d
have to buy additional fingerlings after a harvest in order to begin the cycle anew.
Today’s discussion will cover the fish most commonly stocked in aquaponic systems:
Tilapia
Tilapia are categorized as an invasive species, but that doesn’t mean they should be avoided. It
just means that you have to be extra careful not to accidentally release tilapia into the wild to
prevent this fish from competing with native fish species. (Tilapia can negatively impact the
growth ad reproduction of native species.)
Tilapia is a mild-flavored freshwater fish that can survive in holding tanks if some heating is
given to maintain a consistent water temperature. Tilapia is a group of cichlids that can be
found all over the world.
Tilapia feed primarily off aquatic vegetation and can easily reproduce in closed systems. Tilapia
that have escaped into the wild can reproduce hybrid tilapia if they are able to mate with other
tilapia species.
White bass
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8. A Midwestern species, the white bass is an excellent edible fish species that you should also
consider stocking. Unlike the tilapia, the white bass is carnivorous and it can feed easily on
small crabs and smaller fish.
In the wild, a single white bass can lay as many 900,000 eggs during the active spawning
season. No care is given to the eggs after the spawning. The adult white bass leave the
spawning sites after the eggs have been fertilized. The white bass can grow up to fifteen
inches, but the average size for this species is nine inches.
The meat of the white bass is often cooked through smoking and is a crowd favorite in the
Midwest, due to the fact that white bass is not hard to catch at all, especially during the
spawning season.
Crappies
Our third favorite is the crappie because of its delicately flavored meat and because of the fact
that like the tilapia, it can adapt well to closed systems.
Unfortunately, crappies (unlike other fish) need at least two years before they are able to mate
and reproduce. Once the female crappie lays her eggs, the male partner protects the spawning
site from intruders. It only takes ten days before the fertilized eggs are hatched naturally.
Carnivorous by nature, crappies should be fed insects and small fish if they are kept in a closed
system like a fish tank. Avoid stocking crappies with larger fish such as walleyes as these larger
fish will actually prey upon crappies. You wouldn’t want to deal with larger fish nibbling on your
crappies.
Wrapping up...
In this report, we've shown you:
1. ARTICLE # 1: WHAT IS AQUAPONICS?
2. ARTICLE # 2: HOW TO GET STARTED WITH AN AQUAPONICS SYSTEM
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9. 3. ARTICLE # 3: FISH FOR USE IN AQUAPONICS
However, this is just the beginning. If you'd like to know more about how to build an
aquaponics system and grow your own fresh vegetables and nutrition, please check out
Aquaponics Easy and Fast: The Golden Book of Aquaponics for only $5 by visiting this link!
With the cost of food these days, a little effort will save you a great deal of money over time and
will provide you with wonderful fresh organic food. Click the picture below to get your copy!
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