{"id":112067,"date":"2020-06-27T09:44:30","date_gmt":"2020-06-27T13:44:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/savethewater.org\/?p=112067"},"modified":"2022-03-17T18:47:44","modified_gmt":"2022-03-17T22:47:44","slug":"aquaponics-combining-fish-farming-and-hydroponics-for-clean-water-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/savethewater.org\/aquaponics-combining-fish-farming-and-hydroponics-for-clean-water-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Aquaponics: Combining Fish Farming and Hydroponics for Clean Water"},"content":{"rendered":"
By Harry Petaway, Staff Writer and Researcher for Save the Water\u2122 | March 16th, 2020<\/p>\n
What is \u201caquaponics\u201d? An aquaponics system weds aquaculture (fish farming) and hydroponics (raising plants without soil). And what could this do? As anxiety around the COVID-19 crisis grows, I find myself pondering the importance of having access to clean, fresh food and water. This article will explore how raising fish and plants together (aquaponics) is one way to conserve, clean, and protect our freshwater sources.<\/p>\n
Aquaponics uses a hydroponic-style system in which the plants are grown with minimal or no soil. However, aquaponics uses the waste from fish farming as the nutrient source in the system. As a result, the system still has two advantages:<\/p>\n
The plants serve as a natural filtration system to clean the water. At the same time, the plants receive a natural nutrient source free of commercial fertilizers.<\/p>\n
As for trying aquaponics at home, I have a fun do-it-yourself (DIY) project that provides food for my family and optimizes minimal resources. This project started because of various causes. First, I wanted to use fish (Tilapia) to clean our family\u2019s small farm pond without using harsh chemicals. In short, Tilapia eat pond weeds and algae. As a result, they reduce the need for chemical-based weed and algae control in ponds. Second, the 1973 Organic Gardening and Farming article, \u201cHow to Raise Catfish in a Barrel,” interested me. In that article, Phillip Mahan raised catfish in 55-gallon steel drums. My project builds on Mahan\u2019s original design but adds plants to clean the waste from the fish. The project meets two goals. First, it helps clean, protect, and conserve valuable water sources. Second, it addresses food quality and availability concerns at the same time! The project is a form of aquaponics.<\/p>\n
The world’s population continues to grow. As a consequence, many challenges that impact both the health of people and the environment grow, too. Many water advocates focus on calling attention to the types of man-made chemicals that pollute our freshwater sources without mentioning agricultural pollution.<\/p>\n