photo © joel Malcolm & BYAP

Aquaponics 101

Growing plants and fish

in a closed, recirculating
system.
 A few things...
● I'm not an expert. I'm new at this too.
– What I want to do is introduce the concept, and
provide pointers to better sources of information
● There are as many ways to do aquaponics as
there are people who do it.
– This is what I did. Please experiment!
● Organic
– I mean vaguely “natural.” The FDA definition of
organic is very specific.
 The components:
● Fish
● Water
● Bacteria
● Gravel (growing substrate)
● Plants
● The hardware
 Fish!

Photo ©Joel Malcolm & BYAP

 Fish!
● A critter that lives in water that produces
ammonia or other source of nutrient.
– Common:
● Tilapia
● Perch
● catfish
– Cool!
● snails (be careful of the pump) Photo © BYAP
● Crawdads/crayfish/yabbies/redclaw
● Shrimp, mussels, eels, other.
– Ornamentals
● koi, tropical fish
 Fish considerations
● Ease of care
– What do they eat?
– What temperature water do they require?
– Are there special water requirements?
● pH, salinity, hardness
● Rate of growth / efficiency of food -> growth
conversion
● Are they tasty, my precious?
● Do you enjoy them?
● Most people start with goldfish – cheap, hard to
kill, eat anything.
● Once you get a feel for the system and how it
works, expand to a fish more suitable to your
conditions.
● Do you want to heat a tank all winter?
● Do you want to grow fish out to eating size in 9
months?
● Are they legal in your state? (tilapia are illegal in
some southern states).
● Native, local fish are often a good choice.
 Be prepared to become a
serial fish killer

Photo ©Joel Malcolm & BYAP

 Water (well, duh...)
● AP is very efficient – the water recirculates, so
the only loss is through evaporation or
transpiration (and leaks!)
● Heat (most fish like
warm water)
– Tank heaters, water
heaters, solar
heaters etc.
– There are cold water
fish – trout, arctic
char, etc.

Photo © Michael Ferrini & BYAP

 Water, cont...
● Clean (chemicals, goo, old food)
– Chlorine/chloramines/other chemicals
● This is familiar territory to aquarium keepers,
and there is a huge array of expensive things
you can buy at the fish store to fiddle with the
water.
● In most cases, letting the water sit for a day or

two will render it usable. Aerating it helps.

● But some things won't leave.
 Water, cont...
● Oxygenated (both fish and roots gotta breathe!)
– Fish O2 needs vary.

Photo ©Joel Malcolm & BYAP

 Water - some common issues
● Chlorine/chloramine
– In most municipal water. Chlorine will evaporate,
chloramine generally won't. Needs treatment.
● Do you have copper pipes? Copper is deadly to
crustaceans. Pipes will be discussed later.
● Do you have access to good rain water?
● Often well water has extreme pH/hardness
● Get to know your water!
 Bacteria
● The secret engine of aquaponics!
● The only chemistry I'll mention:
– Ammonia -> Nitrites -> Nitrates
– NH4 -> NO2 -> NO3
– Fish produce ammonia, plants use nitrates.
– Two types of bacteria make the chemical changes,
and both are necessary for this system to work.
– The bacteria live everywhere in the system.
 Bacteria, cont...
● Where does the bacteria come from?
– They're everywhere, and will show up in the system
eventually without any outside input.
– Can speed the process by adding gravel or water
from a mature system
– Squeeze the filter from a mature aquarium into the
AP system
– Add water from a healthy pond.
– Buy it.
 Bacteria, cont...
● The process of establishing the bacteria is
called cycling the system.
– Buy a test kit to test ammonia, nitrite and nitrate
– add a small source of ammonia
● a few sacrificial fish
● Pure ammonia (bottled, careful!)
● humanure
● other sources
– Cycling can take weeks.
– Be patient.
 Plants!

Photo ©Joel Malcolm & BYAP

 Plants!
● This is an intensive planting system, like SPIN
gardening or squarefoot gardening.
● The plants are getting the maximum nutrients
they need.
● More important is providing space for
developmental size, air flow, etc.
 Plants, cont...
● As in all gardening, plant according to your
conditions.
● Most things have been successfully grown, but
what your system will produce will depend on
how you're set up.
● Some people can't get spinach to grow, but
others have spinach that looks like it came from
“Little shop of Horrors.”
 Plants, cont...
● Some can't get cucumbers, some have even
grown potatoes, which is hard in such a moist
environment.
● I'm currently growing mostly low-light plants:
lettuce mixes, water cress, miner's lettuce,
asian greens, parsley.
● Can adjust the various factors to match the
crops you want to grow – for instance the
environment can be made wetter or dryer.
 Balance!
● The trick with AP is this: it's a closed system.
● Things build up.
● Anything you add will affect everything else.
– herbicides will kill your bacteria and maybe your
fish.
– fish medications will kill your bacteria
– Some fertilizers will kill your fish. Some are fine.
● Extreme care must be taken, and most systems
are mostly organic.
Gravel

Photo ©Joel Malcolm & BYAP

 Gravel (growing substrate)
● Provides growing medium for plants
● Provides surface area for the bacterial to live
● Acts as a physical filter for the system
● possible source of micro-nutrients.
 Gravel considerations
● Size – usually pea-sized or so.
– Nice balance between surface area and usability
● Shape – whatever, but...
– rounded gravel is easier on the hands and roots.
● Material - “River” gravel is popular
– which is a mix of whatever local rocks there are.
– Limestone will drive up your pH
– granite has possible toxic chemicals.
● Within reason, use what is available and
affordable.
 Gravel alternatives
● Limited to your imagination
– Don't you hate when presentations say that?
● Expanded clay pellets (hydroton)
– light, easy to handle, expensive
● Coir, perlite, vermiculite, etc.
– The main consideration here is the pump and
keeping it unclogged.
– Can effect the water quality, can get too soggy
– People are trying it, though. It may prove
successful!
 No growing substrate
● More like hydroponics
● Floating rafts
● water plants
● a gazillion other options.
● (nutrient film technique, deep water culture)
 Hardware
● Things to consider
– Materials
– Ease of acquirement
● Metal – use brass or stainless steel. Avoid
copper.
● PVC is cheap and easy to use, and mostly
considered safe. It's also toxic to make, and
there is mounting evidence that it's evil.
● PEX? Other new plastics.
● What local materials can be used? Bamboo?
Tanks

Photo © Travis Hugley and Barrelponics

 Tanks
● 55 gal drums
● IBCs (pallet tanks)
● swimming pools / ponds
● pond liner
● 5 gal buckets
● Be careful of galvanized tanks
● Anything that can hold water, and is safe to eat
from.
 Barrelponics

Photo © Travis Hugley and Barrelponics

 Barrelponics
● Created by Travis Hugley
● Designed to be easy to build, using easy to get
components, and is a solid learning system.
● Free, clear step-by-step directions
● It's very reliable.
● Uses a dump tank, which allows it to utilize very
low-volume pumps,
● Flood and Drain
– Oxygenate the water – fish and roots
 Commercially available systems
● Backyard aquaponics and Joel Malcom
● US suppliers – aquaculture sources

Photos © Joel Malcolm & BYAP

 aquaponics.com
● Koi and lettuce
sharing a tank. The
lettuce is grown on a
float on the surface of
the water
● A 500 gallon tank
feeding NFT channels
in which fancy lettuce
and herbs are grown

Photos © aquaponics.com
Photo © rblaster85 & BYAP
Photo © synaptoman & BYAP
Photo © Joel Malcolm & BYAP
 Resources
● http://www.backyardaquaponics.com/forum
– the backyard aquaponics booklet
● http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/barrelponics/
● http://www.aquaponicshq.com/
● Lots of great videos on Youtube
● swanberg@gmail.com