Aquaponics Introduction

Aquaponics

Aquaponics is a method of growing vegetables and fish together in a mutually beneficial system. This approach has some unique and valuable features.

No Soil.
Plants can be grown in a number of different kinds of inert porous materials, getting their nutrition from the water alone.

Closed Water Loop.
Water is constantly recirculated from the fish tanks to the growing beds and back again. Plants use less than one-tenth of the water compared to conventional gardens.

Fish.
The fish provide fertilizer for the plants and the plants clean the water relative to the fish.
Fish breathe out ammonia into the water. That, along with their solid waste, is converted by beneficial bacteria into forms that the plants take up as fertilizer. This process keeps the water in a state that is clean for the fish and with really available nitrates for the plants in a balanced cycle.

 

Monitoring Water Quality

We are starting to do monitoring of one of our tanks using a Raspberry Pi.

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The Martinez Airlift Pump: Lifting Water with Air

We need to move water. That is a basic need of all Aquaponics. In this article, we will look at how we can use an air pump to be cheap, reliable, and effective.

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