In this article on aquaponics how to do it, I present you with 5 top tips based on my own experiences in aquaponics and a insights from several other aquaponics enthusiasts.
1) Growing The Correct Plants
Nearly all plants including tropical ones such as papaya and banana trees, can be nurtured and grown within an aquaponics environment.
Although you should stay away from plants that tend to prefer soil or acidic based surroundings. Plants that also need a pH level that's much higher or lower than the neutral 7.0 are also not suitable for aquaponics, such as blueberries and zinnias.
You can start plants off just like you would in traditional soil-based gardening – Seeding, cutting and transplanting plants. Keep your pH water level between 6.8-7.0 for an optimal nutrient intake for your plants to grow the most efficiently.
Read my other articles What Is Aquaponics and How To Build A Cheap Aquaponics System for a deeper insight into aquaponics.
2) Raising The Right Fish
When it comes to choosing what species of fish you want in your aquaponics system, you must be selective and know what you want from your fish. There are a few main factors that will affect your choice in fish:
- To eat or not to eat? – Specific species of fish are better for eating, and others are better for providing nutrients to plants.
- The temperature of your water – Certain breeds of fish are better for certain environments, which is dependable on the location of your aquaponics system in terms of home and geographic location.
- Do you have a budget? – If so, then a cheap fish to buy and maintain is the Goldfish (although it's not really good for eating) and the Tilapia.
Aquaponics fish are typically easier to raise than aquatic fish in a traditional aquarium. To make things even easier for yourself, it's ideal to keep only two or less species of fish with all being more or less than same size.
3) Using The Correct Grow Bed
It's crucial to make the right choice of a grow bed simply because your aquaponics system will be more effective and efficient. Your grow bed is the location where all your plants will be nurtured and grown, which will give you most of your food.
Myself and many aquaponic gardeners recommend a media-based grow bed rather than a DWC (deep-water culture) method or an NFT (nutrient film technique), because of the following reasons:
- Ideal for beginners to aquaponics because it's much more easy to understand and maintain.
- The way the system is built for a media-based grow bed allows for more flexibility.
- Cost of maintenance is lower and it's also less time consuming.
- Mineralization process in which the grow media will break down solids and cycle water.
- A better variety of plants are able to be grown because there's more open space.
The grow bed must strong enough to be able to handle the downward pressure of water, media and plant roots. Also, its material must be non-toxic which ensures a safe environment for plants, worms and bacteria to thrive.
4) Using The Correct Fish Tank
Choosing a grow bed and a fish tank are just as important as each other and generally for more or less the same reasons. You have to take into consideration:
- Size – It takes roughly 200 litres of water for raising a fish that's 30cm long. An ideal fish tank would be able to hold at least 1,000 litres of water, but the higher the volume is, the more room for mistakes can be made. This is because events happen slower, which is good for beginners.
- Material – Just like with the grow bed, your fish tank material must not affect the pH levels and it must be non-toxic for your fish to live healthily.
Ideally for a beginner, it's better to begin an aquaponics system with a 1:1 ratio of grow bed to fish tank volume because it's simple and more efficient. You can increase it to 2:1 once your system is more mature and you're better experienced.
5) Control The Water
You must maintain the water in your aquaponics system if you want your plants and fish to be healthy. The following elements have to be controlled:
- pH Level Of Water – In order for the fish, plants and bacteria to thrive, the optimum water pH level should be 6.8-7.0, which should be checked at least once a week.
- Temperature Of Water – Different species of fish are better suited to certain temperatures, therefore it's a good idea to choose a breed of fish that will thrive in the temperature that your water adjusts itself to naturally.
- Oxygen In Water – There's no such thing as too much oxygen, but too little is disastrous. Oxygen levels must at least 3ppm but over 6ppm is best.
- Purity Of Water – Remove chlorine from the water by using a chlorine filter before you put any fish in the water.
The water will run through your entire aquaponics system and as a result will affect all living things in the system, so it's crucial to frequently maintain it and if necessary, adjust the elements accordingly.