Find out how you could be growing sustainable, organic fish and veg right in your own backyard.
In this article, we’ll explain the basics of aquaponics, why it’s good for you and the planet, and how you can get started with your own aquaponic garden.
In recent decades, as the average person’s food supply chain has grown ever more industrial and opaque, there has been a reactionary movement, one that rejects this dystopian view of food production in favour of small home gardens and insisting on knowing exactly where their food comes from. This might include hobby gardeners, homesteaders, or just anyone who prefers the local farmers’ market to the local grocery superstore. Many people who grow their own vegetables do so to avoid the artificial and potentially toxic pesticides, weed-killers, and fertilizers that might have been used in the growing process.
All of this sounds scary, but the point isn’t to frighten you into never touching a lettuce leaf or fish filet again. The point is instead to highlight how remarkable it is that there is a solution to both of these problems that is easy, cheap, and accessible – even in your own backyard – and this simple solution can be summed up in one word: aquaponics!
That one word actually comes from two words, aquaculture, meaning raising fish for meat, and hydroponics, meaning growing plants using only water and no soil. When you combine the two, you get aquaponics, which is the practice of growing plants in your fish tank, and is a surprisingly simple, sustainable way to produce safe, organic fish and veggies, right in your own backyard.
Why Aquaponic Gardening?
Aquaponic gardening is highly efficient, which means it’s both cost-effective and sustainable. Regular hydroponics is actually much more efficient than traditional soil-based gardening, as the plants can be grown much more closely together, and, counterintuitively, the system uses 90% less water than a traditional garden. This is because almost all of the water in a hydroponics system goes directly to the plants, instead of being lost to evaporation, animals, and weeds.
With aquaponics, the system gets even more efficient, because all the nutrients the plants need are supplied by the waste products the fish produce. Fish waste is rich in ammonia, which becomes toxic when it builds up in a regular aquarium. In an aquaponics tank, bacteria and composting worms break the waste down into nitrites and nitrates – also toxic in a regular fish tank, but just the thing that hydroponic plants need to grow. The plants remove the nitrites and nitrates and use them to fuel their growth, oxygenating the water in the process and making it clean enough for the fish to thrive.
How to Set Up an Aquaponics Tank
Everything Fishkeeping says that setting up an aquaponics tank is easier than it sounds, because once the system is set up, it basically takes care of itself. You’ll need to monitor the system, of course, but the usual work of gardening, like weeding, fertilizing, and watering, is all taken care of. Similarly, the water maintenance needed for a traditional aquarium is done by the plants – no weekly water changes needed. All you have to do is feed the fish, and then let the fish feed you.
At the core of any aquaponics setup is the tank, along with a filter and an aerator pump. You may need a heater, depending on what temperature water your fish like, and lights if you can’t set up in a greenhouse. Other than that, the only “supplies” you’ll need are your fish, your plants, and a population of composting worms to help make the magic happen.
Common Questions and Problems
- What kinds of plants can I grow in my aquaponics tank? Almost any kind of plant can thrive in an aquaponics setup, which is part of what makes them so popular and versatile. Anything from iceberg lettuce to heritage tomatoes to small berry bushes can grow a bumper crop in a fish tank. Plants that generally don’t do well in an aquaponics tank include those that require acidic soil to flourish, like blueberries. Aquaponics tanks usually need a neutral pH for the health of the fish, and it’s hard to get the pH of water low enough for these plants anyway.
- What kind of fish should I keep? While edible fish are the kind most commonly kept in an aquaponics tank, any freshwater fish that can thrive in a regular fish tank can do well with aquaponics. The one thing to watch out for is fish that can be overly aggressive with plants, as these obviously won’t be great tank mates for your vegetable garden.
- How big should my tank be?
Any size you want! Aquaponics is totally scalable, so while the minimum recommended tank size is usually 10 gallons (45L) , you can make your setup as big or as small as you like. Larger setups will be slightly more expensive to maintain, mostly because of the additional energy to run the filter, aerator pump, and any heaters, but because the system is self-sustaining, the usual exponential rule that applies when scaling up a fish tank doesn’t work here. A 50-gallon (227L) aquaponics setup isn’t much harder to run than a 5-gallon one (22L). - How will I know if something is going wrong?
If your plants or fish start looking ill, acting out of sorts, or dying, it’s time to check the parameters on your water and start troubleshooting your aquaponics setup.
Aquaponics is one of those rare things that sounds too good to be true, but isn’t. If you’re interested in sustainable, homegrown food, or just curious to try building a mad science experiment in your backyard or garage, you may be ready to start on the grand adventure of aquaponic gardening.
