urbanfarmer
12-02-2011, 08:11 PM
“We forget that the water cycle and the life cycle are one.” --Jacques Cousteau
OUTLINE
1. Introduction to Aquaponics (What is aquaponics?)
1.1. Brief history of aquaculture and inherent problems
1.1.1. Overview of aquaculture
1.1.2. State problems
1.2. Brief history of hydroponics and inherent problems
1.2.1. Overview of hydroponics
1.2.2. State problems
1.3. Brief history of aquaponics and inherent solutions
1.3.1. Overview of aquaponics
1.3.2. State problems
2. Issues aquaponics addresses.
2.1. Water
2.1.1. Conservation
2.1.2. Runoff / Waste
2.2. Land
2.2.1. Subsidence / Depleting
2.2.2. Other issues
2.3. Sustainability
2.4. Synthetic Fertilizers
3. Current Applications of Aquaponics (tie in examples to concepts in class)
3.1. Backyard Gardeners
3.2. Commercial Grow Operations
3.2.1. Local Food
3.2.2. Economic Impacts
3.3. Building Integration
3.3.1. Benefits
3.3.2. Real World Examples
4. Conclusion?
What is Aquaponics?
Aquaponics is the marriage of two agricultural methods, hydroponics and aquaculture. The name is essentially a portmanteau of the two previous terms, but aquaponics is referred to in some literature as just aquaculture. Regardless, it is a cost effective and environmentally friendly agricultural technology that reduces the environmental impact of the two alone and inherently increases production efficiency.
Meet the Parents
Wikipedia defines aquaculture: “Aquaculture, also known as aquafarming, is the farming of aquatic organisms such as fish, crustaceans, mollusks and aquatic plants. Aquaculture involves cultivating freshwater and saltwater populations under controlled conditions, and can be contrasted with commercial fishing, which is the harvesting of wild fish. Mariculture refers to aquaculture practiced in marine environments.”
As overfishing takes its toll on available food and overconsumption of water on land diminishes available sources of fish such as the Chinook Salmon of California, aquaculture will become more prevalent as a production method for protein, mainly in the form of fish (Follies 113-125). Unfortunately, there are some inherent problems with traditional aquaculture methods. The water becomes filled with toxic nitrogenous compounds when fish release wastes as part of their regular life cycle. As a result, large amounts of water are used to flush out the fish tanks. This heavy use of water exacerbates the initial problems that make us more dependent on aquaculture to begin with. Furthermore, the discarded water has high concentrations of nitrate and phosphorous, among other things. The water causes damage to the environment and pollutes groundwater. More often than not, the water is discarded in such a way that it has a negative impact on the environment and would not conform to The Clean Water Act (L21).
Wikipedia defines hydroponics: “Hydroponics is a method of growing plants using mineral nutrient solutions, in water, without soil. Terrestrial plants may be grown with their roots in the mineral nutrient solution only or in an inert medium, such as perlite, gravel, mineral wool, or coconut husk.”
Hydroponics is often considered to have a high cost associated with its production; though, this has a lot to do with the equipment, electricity, and fertilizer used. Because hydroponics is often done in a greenhouse, there are large cooling and heating costs for the electricity. The equipment is often expensive and high maintenance, and it too tends to have a high electricity cost. Hydroponic fertilizers are not known to be cheap, and the growing solution is typically discarded with very high levels of leftover fertilizer. Bob Hochmuth of UF/IFAS recommends the waste solution to be used on fields of crop as fertigation, but the solution needs to be diluted because the concentration is still particularly high. The waste solution has a negative environmental impact if discarded into the environment where it will reach ground water quickly. The fertilizers are synthetic in nature and they, too, have a negative environmental impact associated with their synthesis.
Issues Aquaponics Addresses
Wikipedia defines aquaponics: “Aquaponics is a sustainable food production system that combines a traditional aquaculture (raising aquatic animals such as fish, crayfish or prawns in tanks) with hydroponics (cultivating plants in water) in a symbiotic environment. In the aquaculture, effluents accumulate in the water, increasing toxicity for the fish. This water is led to a hydroponic system where the by-products from the aquaculture are filtered out by the plants as vital nutrients, after which the cleansed water is recirculated back to the animals.”
On the other hand, aquaponics takes the best of aquaculture and hydroponics without all the negative implications therein. For instance, aquaponic systems are typically closed recirculating systems meaning that there are essentially no inputs or outputs. Feed is the only input besides a little water and fish and plants are typically the only outputs. The toxic chemical compounds to the fish are removed by the hydroponic portion of the system as readily bioavailable nutrients for the plants fundamentally filtering the water. This is important because the systems independently have input requirements, but the waste or output of one system becomes the input of another system. In the business world this is called “getting something for nothing” and is generally accepted as myth; however, we find this to be true with aquaponics thereby giving us a very good number for production efficiency. There are more reasons than that though.
Aquaponic systems have a lower requirement for water. Aquaculture and hydroponic systems require as high as a 40% water change of the total system volume whereas aquaponics only requires about 1% daily addition of the total water volume that is lost from evapotranspiration. More importantly, the waste water in aquaponic systems is no longer wasted. The environmental impact is approximately 0, the water cost is nearly negligible, and the fertilizer cost is close to nothing because some minor supplementation is irregularly required to maintain adequate levels of production.
Some commercial operators of aquaponic systems have been known to drink the water directly from the tanks claiming it has tested and passed as potable water and the idea is plausible upon reviewing US-EPA, Canada, and World Health Organization water-quality standards for drinking water (L19). A note on the fecal coliform needing to be 0 ppm to meet all the water-quality standards, a commercial operator in Hawai’i has recently lab tested his water and found it to contain no detectable levels of fecal coliform.
Another obvious, but often under recognized, benefit of aquaponics is its efficient use of space and land. Aquaponic systems produce 500% to 1000% more per unit square of space than does traditional agriculture and at least 200% more than hydroponics or aquaculture alone. Unlike farming in the soil, depleting the water of nutrients is the goal as nutrients are added back in from the fish waste. Moreover, farmland is not lost to subsidence or erosion (L22-25). Lastly, plant matter and fish solid waste from the system can be used to increase the organic matter in agricultural fields for little or no cost thereby promoting the soil organic content, which normally would not be economical to do.
Lastly, aquaponics is inherently sustainable. Several systems can be set up in such a manner than eliminates the need for commercial feed for the fish. This has proven imperative in 3rd world countries where access to commercial feed is limited or the cost of the feed is a limiting factor for food production.
Other Benefits
Fish have some of the highest food conversion ratios known to man. One of the most common fish used in aquaponics is Tilapia, which has possibly the highest food conversion ratio of all cultivated animals for human consumption in the United States. When compared to beef, Tilapia are almost 900% more efficient in food conversion (Plan B 226-227).
It should also be noted that in aquaponic and hydroponic systems there is no need for herbicides and a far lesser need for pesticides than traditional field crops, which matches very well with best management practices (L20).
On zoning, most agricultural zoning permits aquaponics as a food production system. This distinction would allow for the typical benefits afforded to farmers without the added headache of fighting zoning or city councils for the right to do so (L35).
In the future there may be room for an aquaponic system in every home. Whether as a full replacement or to supplement a home septic system, an aquaponic system could eliminate the environmental impact of domestic waste water disposal while yielding an excellent byproduct (L36-37). Food crops do not need to be exclusively grown, if at all. Luffas for sponges or soap plants among many other useful non-edible crops can be grown. The safety of growing edible plants in such a manner has not been researched, but this writer plans to look into it at some point!
Conclusion
The benefits of aquaponics cannot be overstated. Although some academic researchers have made progress into aquaponics, there is far from an adequate amount of research and knowledge available. It would benefit mankind for universities and otherwise capable organizations to spearhead research into the area of aquaponics. Aquaponics is a cost effective and environmentally friendly agricultural technology that has a negligible environmental impact whilst touting surprisingly efficient production.
?
REFERENCES
Foliar-Applied Micronutrients in Aquaponics: A Guide to Use and Sourcing
L1 – L40 lessons in class (Dr. E.A. Hanlon, Jr.)
Plan B 4.0 (Lester R. Brown)
UPDATE ON TILAPIA AND VEGETABLE PRODUCTION IN THEUVI AQUAPONIC SYSTEM (http://ag.arizona.edu)
Water Follies (Robert Glennon)
OUTLINE
1. Introduction to Aquaponics (What is aquaponics?)
1.1. Brief history of aquaculture and inherent problems
1.1.1. Overview of aquaculture
1.1.2. State problems
1.2. Brief history of hydroponics and inherent problems
1.2.1. Overview of hydroponics
1.2.2. State problems
1.3. Brief history of aquaponics and inherent solutions
1.3.1. Overview of aquaponics
1.3.2. State problems
2. Issues aquaponics addresses.
2.1. Water
2.1.1. Conservation
2.1.2. Runoff / Waste
2.2. Land
2.2.1. Subsidence / Depleting
2.2.2. Other issues
2.3. Sustainability
2.4. Synthetic Fertilizers
3. Current Applications of Aquaponics (tie in examples to concepts in class)
3.1. Backyard Gardeners
3.2. Commercial Grow Operations
3.2.1. Local Food
3.2.2. Economic Impacts
3.3. Building Integration
3.3.1. Benefits
3.3.2. Real World Examples
4. Conclusion?
What is Aquaponics?
Aquaponics is the marriage of two agricultural methods, hydroponics and aquaculture. The name is essentially a portmanteau of the two previous terms, but aquaponics is referred to in some literature as just aquaculture. Regardless, it is a cost effective and environmentally friendly agricultural technology that reduces the environmental impact of the two alone and inherently increases production efficiency.
Meet the Parents
Wikipedia defines aquaculture: “Aquaculture, also known as aquafarming, is the farming of aquatic organisms such as fish, crustaceans, mollusks and aquatic plants. Aquaculture involves cultivating freshwater and saltwater populations under controlled conditions, and can be contrasted with commercial fishing, which is the harvesting of wild fish. Mariculture refers to aquaculture practiced in marine environments.”
As overfishing takes its toll on available food and overconsumption of water on land diminishes available sources of fish such as the Chinook Salmon of California, aquaculture will become more prevalent as a production method for protein, mainly in the form of fish (Follies 113-125). Unfortunately, there are some inherent problems with traditional aquaculture methods. The water becomes filled with toxic nitrogenous compounds when fish release wastes as part of their regular life cycle. As a result, large amounts of water are used to flush out the fish tanks. This heavy use of water exacerbates the initial problems that make us more dependent on aquaculture to begin with. Furthermore, the discarded water has high concentrations of nitrate and phosphorous, among other things. The water causes damage to the environment and pollutes groundwater. More often than not, the water is discarded in such a way that it has a negative impact on the environment and would not conform to The Clean Water Act (L21).
Wikipedia defines hydroponics: “Hydroponics is a method of growing plants using mineral nutrient solutions, in water, without soil. Terrestrial plants may be grown with their roots in the mineral nutrient solution only or in an inert medium, such as perlite, gravel, mineral wool, or coconut husk.”
Hydroponics is often considered to have a high cost associated with its production; though, this has a lot to do with the equipment, electricity, and fertilizer used. Because hydroponics is often done in a greenhouse, there are large cooling and heating costs for the electricity. The equipment is often expensive and high maintenance, and it too tends to have a high electricity cost. Hydroponic fertilizers are not known to be cheap, and the growing solution is typically discarded with very high levels of leftover fertilizer. Bob Hochmuth of UF/IFAS recommends the waste solution to be used on fields of crop as fertigation, but the solution needs to be diluted because the concentration is still particularly high. The waste solution has a negative environmental impact if discarded into the environment where it will reach ground water quickly. The fertilizers are synthetic in nature and they, too, have a negative environmental impact associated with their synthesis.
Issues Aquaponics Addresses
Wikipedia defines aquaponics: “Aquaponics is a sustainable food production system that combines a traditional aquaculture (raising aquatic animals such as fish, crayfish or prawns in tanks) with hydroponics (cultivating plants in water) in a symbiotic environment. In the aquaculture, effluents accumulate in the water, increasing toxicity for the fish. This water is led to a hydroponic system where the by-products from the aquaculture are filtered out by the plants as vital nutrients, after which the cleansed water is recirculated back to the animals.”
On the other hand, aquaponics takes the best of aquaculture and hydroponics without all the negative implications therein. For instance, aquaponic systems are typically closed recirculating systems meaning that there are essentially no inputs or outputs. Feed is the only input besides a little water and fish and plants are typically the only outputs. The toxic chemical compounds to the fish are removed by the hydroponic portion of the system as readily bioavailable nutrients for the plants fundamentally filtering the water. This is important because the systems independently have input requirements, but the waste or output of one system becomes the input of another system. In the business world this is called “getting something for nothing” and is generally accepted as myth; however, we find this to be true with aquaponics thereby giving us a very good number for production efficiency. There are more reasons than that though.
Aquaponic systems have a lower requirement for water. Aquaculture and hydroponic systems require as high as a 40% water change of the total system volume whereas aquaponics only requires about 1% daily addition of the total water volume that is lost from evapotranspiration. More importantly, the waste water in aquaponic systems is no longer wasted. The environmental impact is approximately 0, the water cost is nearly negligible, and the fertilizer cost is close to nothing because some minor supplementation is irregularly required to maintain adequate levels of production.
Some commercial operators of aquaponic systems have been known to drink the water directly from the tanks claiming it has tested and passed as potable water and the idea is plausible upon reviewing US-EPA, Canada, and World Health Organization water-quality standards for drinking water (L19). A note on the fecal coliform needing to be 0 ppm to meet all the water-quality standards, a commercial operator in Hawai’i has recently lab tested his water and found it to contain no detectable levels of fecal coliform.
Another obvious, but often under recognized, benefit of aquaponics is its efficient use of space and land. Aquaponic systems produce 500% to 1000% more per unit square of space than does traditional agriculture and at least 200% more than hydroponics or aquaculture alone. Unlike farming in the soil, depleting the water of nutrients is the goal as nutrients are added back in from the fish waste. Moreover, farmland is not lost to subsidence or erosion (L22-25). Lastly, plant matter and fish solid waste from the system can be used to increase the organic matter in agricultural fields for little or no cost thereby promoting the soil organic content, which normally would not be economical to do.
Lastly, aquaponics is inherently sustainable. Several systems can be set up in such a manner than eliminates the need for commercial feed for the fish. This has proven imperative in 3rd world countries where access to commercial feed is limited or the cost of the feed is a limiting factor for food production.
Other Benefits
Fish have some of the highest food conversion ratios known to man. One of the most common fish used in aquaponics is Tilapia, which has possibly the highest food conversion ratio of all cultivated animals for human consumption in the United States. When compared to beef, Tilapia are almost 900% more efficient in food conversion (Plan B 226-227).
It should also be noted that in aquaponic and hydroponic systems there is no need for herbicides and a far lesser need for pesticides than traditional field crops, which matches very well with best management practices (L20).
On zoning, most agricultural zoning permits aquaponics as a food production system. This distinction would allow for the typical benefits afforded to farmers without the added headache of fighting zoning or city councils for the right to do so (L35).
In the future there may be room for an aquaponic system in every home. Whether as a full replacement or to supplement a home septic system, an aquaponic system could eliminate the environmental impact of domestic waste water disposal while yielding an excellent byproduct (L36-37). Food crops do not need to be exclusively grown, if at all. Luffas for sponges or soap plants among many other useful non-edible crops can be grown. The safety of growing edible plants in such a manner has not been researched, but this writer plans to look into it at some point!
Conclusion
The benefits of aquaponics cannot be overstated. Although some academic researchers have made progress into aquaponics, there is far from an adequate amount of research and knowledge available. It would benefit mankind for universities and otherwise capable organizations to spearhead research into the area of aquaponics. Aquaponics is a cost effective and environmentally friendly agricultural technology that has a negligible environmental impact whilst touting surprisingly efficient production.
?
REFERENCES
Foliar-Applied Micronutrients in Aquaponics: A Guide to Use and Sourcing
L1 – L40 lessons in class (Dr. E.A. Hanlon, Jr.)
Plan B 4.0 (Lester R. Brown)
UPDATE ON TILAPIA AND VEGETABLE PRODUCTION IN THEUVI AQUAPONIC SYSTEM (http://ag.arizona.edu)
Water Follies (Robert Glennon)