Conserving Water
Fish kept for large scale food purposes in today’s society are often provided with cramped or limited space. There are various issues that occur in regards to these living conditions, one of them is the ridding the water of ammonia that is excreted by fish. Ammonia is a highly toxic gas, that can potentially cause harm to fish. Due to this water used within most large scale fish facilities, must be changed frequently, as failure to do so would have damaging, or fatal effects on fish, and thus the rate of production. Although this constant replacement of water is highly inefficient and results in over consumption. when the nitrogen cycle reaches completion Ammonia is converted by bacteria into nitrate, which decreases water quality and thus causes harm to fish. Fortunately, nitrate is very beneficial for plant growth, thus by applying plants to water within large scale fish facilities as we do in aquaponics, we are able to lower the levels of nitrate within water, meaning there is no need for constant replacement and water is conserved appropriately. When considering that we use 90% less water through aquaponics than we do currently through large scale production of both fish and crop, it is clear aquaponics is far more sustainable and water efficient choice, for both western and third world countries.
Faster Growth Rate and Nutritional Value
Currently our society relies mainly on conventional farming practices. Conventional farming practices focuses on meeting the mass demand of our overfed western countries, and in order to do so depends heavily on chemical fertilizers, herbicides, pesticides, fungicides and monoculture. Due to these factors conventional farming reduces soil fertility and eventually exhausts soil of nutrients needed to grow specific crop types, thus limiting the nutritional value and growth rate of produce. Unlike conventional methods aquaponics relies on sustainable methods, such as the nitrogen cycle (nitrate produced by fish is consumed by plants) and provides plants with constant access to water, which results in higher nutrient content and faster growth rate. By becoming more reliant on sustainable methods such as aquaponics we would be producing a wide variety of foods in a shorter period of time and to a higher standard than what we achieve currently.
Reliable Source of Food Production
Aquaponics is a very good source of reliable food, as it almost always has a guaranteed success rate in the fruit production. This is because the temperature and water is always controlled, so the plants are never exposed to extreme frost, heat, rain, or other bad weather. This makes aquaponics a very viable possibility for countries that suffer with bad weather, so this would be a great option for very hot countries such as Africa, as their crops would no longer die in the heat. Another good thing with an aquaponics system is it can grow almost anywhere, providing there is electricity and water. This can be solved with some solar panels, or perhaps a wind turbine. The water issue can be solved by installing a rainwater tank at the same time as the aquaponic system.
Space Efficiency
An advantage of an aquaponics system for growing crops would be that it is very space efficient, so wide, open spaces are no longer needed for growing vegetables. This enables farmers to work in smaller spaces, which makes management a lot easier. This also means large scale farming can be done in a lot smaller area, so much more fruit and vegetables can be produced in the same place. Obviously aquaponics needs different skills, because it is completely different to planting crops in the field. Instead of feeding the plants in the field manually, the fish produce nitrate, which feeds the plants. In a normal situation, the fish water would have to be changed regularly so that there is no nitrogen build up, but the plants take care of that, so it’s a win win situation. Aquaponics also produces two goods: fish & fruit and vegetables. This is important, as fish is a very high protein food, which is difficult to access in a lot of remote areas. It grows six times more per square meter than traditional farming.
Less Manual Labor
Aquaponics has very low manual labor, in most cases. This is because in developing countries they could use a manual version of aquaponics, like proposed on the history page. Low manual labor is one of the most efficient things about it. After it is set up the system basically runs by itself. It only requires about 30 mins a day to keep it going. Feeding the fish is main thing done daily to keep the fish well nourished. The temperature of the tank is very important and must be checked daily. The plants need to be checked for bugs and other things. The ph levels need to be checked weekly and the ammonia levels need to be checked as well. And all of this will only take about 30 mins which is very low manual labor.
Pollution Reduction
Another benefit of aquaponics over traditional farming is that it is a far more environmentally friendly way of producing vegetables. This is because there is minimal tractor and machinery use, as no soil is used in aquaponics. this means that there is no need to prepare the field in any way, like ploughing, fertilising, cultivating, etc.
Aquaponics In Urban Areas
Within today’s society major issues have arisen due to the continuous movement of individuals from rural to urban areas. The motive for moving is driven mainly by, job availability, schooling, and general convenience. Due to this motive a vast majority of population can be found within urban areas, which consequently limits our agricultural production. The ideal way to overcome this issue is through the use of Aquaponics. Aquaponics are highly suitable for urban areas as they require no large bulky machinery or soil and can be large or small scale productions depending on the space available.
Fish kept for large scale food purposes in today’s society are often provided with cramped or limited space. There are various issues that occur in regards to these living conditions, one of them is the ridding the water of ammonia that is excreted by fish. Ammonia is a highly toxic gas, that can potentially cause harm to fish. Due to this water used within most large scale fish facilities, must be changed frequently, as failure to do so would have damaging, or fatal effects on fish, and thus the rate of production. Although this constant replacement of water is highly inefficient and results in over consumption. when the nitrogen cycle reaches completion Ammonia is converted by bacteria into nitrate, which decreases water quality and thus causes harm to fish. Fortunately, nitrate is very beneficial for plant growth, thus by applying plants to water within large scale fish facilities as we do in aquaponics, we are able to lower the levels of nitrate within water, meaning there is no need for constant replacement and water is conserved appropriately. When considering that we use 90% less water through aquaponics than we do currently through large scale production of both fish and crop, it is clear aquaponics is far more sustainable and water efficient choice, for both western and third world countries.
Faster Growth Rate and Nutritional Value
Currently our society relies mainly on conventional farming practices. Conventional farming practices focuses on meeting the mass demand of our overfed western countries, and in order to do so depends heavily on chemical fertilizers, herbicides, pesticides, fungicides and monoculture. Due to these factors conventional farming reduces soil fertility and eventually exhausts soil of nutrients needed to grow specific crop types, thus limiting the nutritional value and growth rate of produce. Unlike conventional methods aquaponics relies on sustainable methods, such as the nitrogen cycle (nitrate produced by fish is consumed by plants) and provides plants with constant access to water, which results in higher nutrient content and faster growth rate. By becoming more reliant on sustainable methods such as aquaponics we would be producing a wide variety of foods in a shorter period of time and to a higher standard than what we achieve currently.
Reliable Source of Food Production
Aquaponics is a very good source of reliable food, as it almost always has a guaranteed success rate in the fruit production. This is because the temperature and water is always controlled, so the plants are never exposed to extreme frost, heat, rain, or other bad weather. This makes aquaponics a very viable possibility for countries that suffer with bad weather, so this would be a great option for very hot countries such as Africa, as their crops would no longer die in the heat. Another good thing with an aquaponics system is it can grow almost anywhere, providing there is electricity and water. This can be solved with some solar panels, or perhaps a wind turbine. The water issue can be solved by installing a rainwater tank at the same time as the aquaponic system.
Space Efficiency
An advantage of an aquaponics system for growing crops would be that it is very space efficient, so wide, open spaces are no longer needed for growing vegetables. This enables farmers to work in smaller spaces, which makes management a lot easier. This also means large scale farming can be done in a lot smaller area, so much more fruit and vegetables can be produced in the same place. Obviously aquaponics needs different skills, because it is completely different to planting crops in the field. Instead of feeding the plants in the field manually, the fish produce nitrate, which feeds the plants. In a normal situation, the fish water would have to be changed regularly so that there is no nitrogen build up, but the plants take care of that, so it’s a win win situation. Aquaponics also produces two goods: fish & fruit and vegetables. This is important, as fish is a very high protein food, which is difficult to access in a lot of remote areas. It grows six times more per square meter than traditional farming.
Less Manual Labor
Aquaponics has very low manual labor, in most cases. This is because in developing countries they could use a manual version of aquaponics, like proposed on the history page. Low manual labor is one of the most efficient things about it. After it is set up the system basically runs by itself. It only requires about 30 mins a day to keep it going. Feeding the fish is main thing done daily to keep the fish well nourished. The temperature of the tank is very important and must be checked daily. The plants need to be checked for bugs and other things. The ph levels need to be checked weekly and the ammonia levels need to be checked as well. And all of this will only take about 30 mins which is very low manual labor.
Pollution Reduction
Another benefit of aquaponics over traditional farming is that it is a far more environmentally friendly way of producing vegetables. This is because there is minimal tractor and machinery use, as no soil is used in aquaponics. this means that there is no need to prepare the field in any way, like ploughing, fertilising, cultivating, etc.
Aquaponics In Urban Areas
Within today’s society major issues have arisen due to the continuous movement of individuals from rural to urban areas. The motive for moving is driven mainly by, job availability, schooling, and general convenience. Due to this motive a vast majority of population can be found within urban areas, which consequently limits our agricultural production. The ideal way to overcome this issue is through the use of Aquaponics. Aquaponics are highly suitable for urban areas as they require no large bulky machinery or soil and can be large or small scale productions depending on the space available.
