Aquaponics Cleaning and Planting
294 views · Published 3 February 2016 · 8:38 · Indexed 27 September 2026
Channel: GoForGreenLiving · 2016 · Education
I have spent the last few days cleaning out my aquaponics and replanting. A combination of fish and plant production using aquaculture and hydroponics systems, aquaponics is moving from the realm of experimental to commercial. Learn more about this production system and if it might be right for your backyard garden or farming operation. Tilapia were originally found in Africa and have been farmed for more than 2,500 years. Tilapia is a perfect fish for aquaponics because of its rapid growth, large size, and because it tastes great. This hardy fish can adapt to most any condition with the exception of water temperature. Tilapia prefer warm water – at least 75 degrees Fahrenheit. It takes about 9 months for our Tilapia to grow to a harvestable size, roughly 1.5 pounds. What does tilapia eat? At Growing Power, we feed our fish duckweed, ground-up salad greens from the greenhouse, worms, and Tilapia love to eat algae from the side of the tank. Why do we use compost in our system? We fill our growing pots with a mixture of coir and compost. The coir is made from discarded coconut husks and helps wick water to the plant’s root system. The compost provides extra nutrients to grow an abundance of crops within the system. Traditional hydroponic growing, or growing without soil, relies on fish waste alone to fertilize the crops. The problem is, you can only grow crops with lower nutritional needs such as basil. For example, in most traditional hydroponic systems, Boron is found in very low quantities. Boron is essential for flower development in crops – tomatoes, peppers, and cucumbers – which means that production for these kinds of crops is very low in hydroponic systems. At Growing Power, we solved this problem by adding nutrient rich compost to the pots in our system.
