Aquaponics:General Process

Aquaponic system is involving relationship between plants and animals (fish) that mimics the natural process as much as possible.Aquaponics does not involving any chemical material in process growing plants. Below is a diagram to help explain how the process works in general:

1) Fish grow in the water, then, you feed them what their species needs to eat, and depending on the fish you pick, you can even feed the fish with aquatic plants / algae that grows in your pond at the same time. As the fish eat and growing, they produce waste and use up the oxygen in the water.

2) Then, bacteria culture that exists in the balance of the water system breaks down the fish waste in the basic nutrients and minerals, turning the water into a nutrient rich environment for plants.

3) The nutrient water in pulled into a submersible pump, which would ideally be plugged into a small solar cell and battery for constant power.

  

4) The nutrient water pump forces the water up to a level higher than the plant grow-beds.

5) The nutrient water is then gravity fed down into irrigation line that runs along the surface of the grow-beds.

6) The nutrient water then flows down through the grow-beds which has plants planted in a growing medium . The grow medium gives the plant stock and roots structural support, but is light weight and airy enough to allow the nutrient water to pass through easily while still holding some moisture, and provides the air supply plant roots require. As the nutrient water passes through the grow-bed, the plants pick up the nutrients they need, which effectively filters the nutrients out of the water.

7) Finally, the water is gravity drained back into the fish water from a height that allows the water to churn when it hits the pond surface, ventilation the pond and providing the fish with oxygenated water.

Click here to view guide of step by step set up of aquaponics system