What is aquaponics and how does it work

You think that a fish and a vegetable have nothing to do with a lettuce does not need a trout to grow and that the trout does not need lettuce to grow. Well that was before.

Aquaponics, a revolutionary production system that allows fish and plants to be raised together. A very virtuous system where everyone helps the other to develop. And above all, a 100% ecological process where everything is transformed. And nothing is lost.

Today, one in three fish comes from aquaculture, ie from farming, while seeking the most effective means of reducing the pollution associated with this type of production.

If we look at the world of aquaculture, we almost see that the problem is aquaculture waste. In fact, environmental pollution and aquaponics gives us a possibility to make a production of fish and plants in a very ecological system.

So let's already explain the basics of aquaponics. A practice not so new as that, since we find traces among the Mayas two millennia before Jesus Christ. Useful precision: this system only works with freshwater fish.

So how does it work ? Aquaponics makes it possible to associate in a closed system the breeding of fish and the cultivation of plants.

In principle, fish excrement is used as fertilizer for plants which, in turn, will purify the water for the fish. For this, we actually need a third element: bacteria. They will make it possible to transform the ammonia which is toxic to fish. Ammonia from manure and decomposing matter.

The ammonia will be transformed into nitrates, assimilable by the plants and these exchanges will serve as nutrients for the growth of the plants.

By absorbing the nitrates with their roots, the plants in turn clean the water which, purified, can then go back to the fish pond and so on.

Any vegetable with leaves and fruits grows with aquaponics. But forget the potato or the carrot to understand how it works. You have to go to the heart of the system, in the room that houses the fish ponds.

It starts with fish food. Plant food. No animal meal.

First element of the system, at the bottom of the basin, an evacuation allows to recover the precious excrements which are directed towards a first filter, the Drum filter , which allows to make a first separation between the fine particles and the solid particles. It is the fine particles that will remain in the system.

The solid particles, on the other hand, are directed towards the settling filter which makes it possible to obtain a very solid sludge, which cannot be assimilated by the system. They would be resold, because it is a highly sought-after fertilizer. Fine particles continue their way through the system.

Bacteria come into play. They will grow on these little pieces of plastic called biofilms. They are invisible, but they do a good job. Thanks to them, the ammonia contained in fish droppings will be transformed into nitrates, in other words a very harmful substance for fish. an essential nutrient for plants is obtained.

A very natural operation since bacteria play this same role in nature. Once filtered, the precious liquid is directed to the plants to be grown. The water replaces the earth, the plant has its roots even in the water. It is the water from the fish that nourishes our plants. And the plants themselves with their roots clean the water which returns to the fish in a closed cycle.

Not only do we make huge water savings, but we are also assured thanks to the quality of the nutrients and the absence of seasons of a productivity four to five times greater than growing in the ground.

Another great advantage of aquaponics is that the system itself prohibits the use of antibiotics for fish and insecticides for plants. The production system gives a guarantee to the consumer that the products have not been treated.

Aquaponics is a guarantee of healthy, local and therefore fresh products. Although 100% natural, products from aquaponics cannot benefit from the organic label. European regulations require an organic product to have grown in the ground.

In France too, aquaponics could be the great solution, in a country where seven out of ten fish are imported. There is an urgent need to find new production methods. The technique used to reduce the amount of water is called recirculation.

As a reminder, the water in the pools is regenerated using bacteria. The problem with aquaculture is water pollution. Here again, aquaponics works miracles.

If we compare the water that comes out of a classic farm to that that comes out of an aquaponics system, the very dirty water will have to be cleaned and in the other, the very clean water can be reused.

Aquaponics imposes a small revolution in mentalities by bringing together the world of aquaculture and that of horticulture. Two different professions, two professional backgrounds that do not know each other. But that's the future.

We are moving towards slightly more complex, slightly more integrated systems, which take us out of monospecific systems. One species can help another to develop.

To those who still say but what good is aquaponics, to those who also think that aquaponics is very nice, but that it cannot produce large quantities or even that the economic model is fragile, Les Americans provide evidence to the contrary.

In the USA, the leading country in the sector, ever larger projects are multiplying. Close to Chicago airport, farmed here , a company entirely dedicated to aquaponics, is breaking all records with nearly 9,000 square meters of cultivation area. This aquaponics farm is the biggest in the world. Their fish ponds contain between 300 and 400 fish each, with a density of fish that is certainly high, but which corresponds to the standards of aquaculture.

Their farming area has several thousand tilapia and the farm produces 50 tonnes of vegetables per year to reach this size. We had to change scale by stacking the crops and artificially lighting. This is one of the most essential things, lighting. And everything works with artificial lighting.

These lights are of several types, from fluorescent lamps to LED lamps and artificial lighting has a huge advantage it allows to increase productivity. Night never falls in these systems. You can control the whole environment. We don't have flying birds. They have no parasites either, because the installation is completely closed.

Unlike Europe, American regulations recognize aquaponics as organic Farmed Here is proud to be the first certified organic aquaponics farm in the USA.

The products sold to some restaurants and especially in supermarkets are products with high added value aromatic herbs, salad leaves and prepared sauces. If the hyper-tech American model may seem disproportionate, it nevertheless makes it possible to produce 20 to 40 times more on one hectare on the floor than traditional agriculture. The numbers speak for themselves. Aquaponics has a future. We just have to find a new type of farmer, not frightened by the combination of carp and lettuce. And why not try the experiment yourself and make an aquaponics system?