Aquaponics or hydroponics, what is the difference

[imafan26]

I am just learning about water culture

Can someone explain the differences between hydroponics/aeroponics and aquaponics
All I have learned so far is that aquaponics would be organic, hydroponics uses chemicals so it is not.
Is there a taste difference between lettuce grown in each type of system?
Aquaponics cannot provide all the nutrients that lettuce or some other crops need. Using organic fertilizers keeps it organic. But can anything actually thrive in an aquaponic system without the added fertilizers?
I know lettuce grows faster in water based systems than in soil but there is a big difference in wt between hydroponic and aeroponics. The lettuce looks bigger in aeroponics but is a lot lighter.

How do you control disease and pests in hydroponics. Algae and slugs
How do you you control slugs and snails in an aquaponic system and are certain crops harder on the fish?
What kinds of vegetables and fruits are suitable for growing in a water based system.

I know that in aquaponics, beneficial organisms, worms and bacteria are used in the biofilters to convert the ammonia produced by the fish into nitrites and then nitrates. But plants need phosphorus and potassium too as well some micronutrients. If you are using floating rafts or rock wool, where does it come from?

[rainbowgardener]

It sounds like you probably know as much about it as I do. I've never done either. But aquaponics is really a kind of hydroponics. The word is a mash-up of aquaculture, farming food fish in tanks, and hydroponics, growing plants in water, without soil. So aquaponics is really a kind of hydroponics, but with the fish linked to the plants, so that they provide nutrients for each other. In the Far East they have done this forever, growing fish in the rice paddies. In the Western world, modern aquaponics, with pumps etc only started in the 1970's and only got popularized in the 1990's.

I know because I heard Will Allen speak, that it is part of the vision of the Growing Power movement to use aquaponics. They are trying to provide local organic food in urban neighborhoods, while getting the kids involved in growing things and positive pursuits. They do composting on a massive scale and use greenhouses for longer growing seasons and work to make everything efficient, especially space efficient, and affordable. They are working on vertically integrated systems, where water drains by gravity from the fish tanks to a filtration bed and then is pumped to the plants. However, as of the time I heard him speak, a few years ago, they were having a lot of trouble in practice, getting the nutrient balances right and keeping everything alive. Maybe better by now, because their website has an aquaponics page. https://www.growingpower.org/aquaponics.htm

Algae growth is a problem in hydroponics systems, but it is mainly controlled by excluding light. Algae are plants and need light to grow. So closed systems where the water flows through opaque tubing and tanks keep algae from growing. In aquaponics, they use a combination of excluding light as much as possible, filtration, and fish that eat algae to control the algae growth.

You are right that all the plant nutrients do not come only from fish poop. They also come from the fish food, some of which gets circulated through the system. And some are added. This can be done with compost teas, with the calcium and potassium that are added in hydro systems to keep the pH buffered, or just directly added, as with chelated iron.

Also "A good way to provide all the micro nutrients the plants require is to make sure you are running your system with the incorporation of some media beds. Media beds provide a wonderful environment for the development of what I like to term, a “Nutrient Bank”. Over time we find that there is a build up of fine solids in the media beds, we find that worms take up residence, or we add them. The worms do what worms do to all organic material. They move about in the media bed and process the solids collected there. The solids are reduced in volume by up to 80% by this process and locked up nutrients are released." https://practicalaquaponics.com/blog/how ... quaponics/

I think lots of things could be grown aquaponically, with practice and fine tuning the system. But starting the system is expensive in terms of equipment, especially for people who don't live in Hawaii and would have to do the aquaponics inside a heated greenhouse. So usually only high value stuff like tomatoes and herbs is grown to recoup the cost.

Hopefully someone who has actually done hydro and/or aquaponics will come by with some practical knowledge/ experience.

[rainbowgardener]

Thought you might be interested in this:

https://www.humblebynature.com/about-us/ ... w.facebook

It is an aquaponics system built inside a passive solar greenhouse. What is unique about it is that it is also hooked up to a black soldier fly compost system. Kitchen scraps go into a "biopod" with larvae of BSF's. They are digested down to castings which feed the plants. "The BSF larvae feed until they reach the stage when they are ready to pupate. At this stage the larvae climb away from the waste up a ramp and fall into a cunningly placed pot - they have become fish food!" How to turn your kitchen scraps in to food for both the plants and the fish!

[applestar]

That looks like an interesting website. I'm going to go read that later

Here's a YouTube link/site I found while researching geodesic domes. I found the videos intriguing and inspiring. Since the first videos I started watching, they have become somewhat more commercialized but they provide a lot of info -- here it is.
[youtudotbe]https://youtu.be/loW1SMHVEe8[/youtudotbe]
https://youtu.be/loW1SMHVEe8

[Do It Yourself]

Take a look at hydroponic vegetables and some simple systems. Hydroponic can be organic or not, depend on what you want...

[Rairdog]

I'm just starting my 2nd year of AP. It takes a few months for system to mature and start producing but I am pleased with the results. I am fortunate enough to live in IN where it is legal to collect fish from the wild and put in aquariums which save a lot of money. I had most all of the scraps needed to build a GH and growbed frames. I also had a 100 gal stock tank and pump from raising bait so it was an easy conversion. I have less than 500 in the whole system and if it failed the GH could still be used for starts and extended season. It was nice to walk out on the deck and have fresh herbs, peppers and toms.

The biggest issue for me has been lettuce. The water needs to have proper PH to eliminate nutrient lockout just as dirt. I have well water with high PH. Most all water supply is. The system will bring it down naturally and it has to be buffered back up. The fish provide the N and fish food provide trace elements. You have to use a quality food designed for aquaculture like purina aquamax which adds in the trace elements. I use maxicrop(seaweed extract) with iron for a supplement which helps in a new system. It will never replace my dirt garden because I live in an area with plentiful water and good soil. Most of the AP'ers are in arid climates with poor soil conditions.

What I really like about it is water control and the ease of working in gravel. This eliminates cracked tomatoes, issues with dry spells and fungus/blights(knock on wood). You can also take any plant that stems can be rooted in water and just stick them in a bed. Got a tomato that you like? Just pinch the sucker, place it in the bed and you have a clone that needs no further attention. Same with herbs and other new chutes. It is also very easy to relocate plants with minimal shock within beds or transfer dirt plants to beds.

For a great forum check out backyard aquaponics. I am new here so I don't want to post links and am not affiliated....just a member. There is a link there called the IBC of aquaponics that is great for an affordable starting system.

[applestar]

I've had this link on my browser's reading list for a while now. I think I might try making one of these once the weather warms up....

https://www.backyardaquaponics.com/syste ... -system-1/

[Rairdog]

A small system with some goldfish will give you a good start. Just keep in mind the smaller systems don't give you a lot of production. I watch many people come and go on that forum thinking it's going to work miracles and grow lots of stuff. It's more about raising fish and balancing nature to me.

Make sure to check out

https://ibcofaquaponics.com/

You can source blue barrels for 15 to 20 bucks. The IBC containers will cost 75 to 100. CL is a good source. The plumbing parts and pump are the same so you get a bigger system.

If you want to see it's potential check out Ryan's thread. He has all the nutes streamlined to the plants needs. You don't even have to read...just look at the pics.

https://www.backyardaquaponics.com/forum ... 18&t=12589

Then there is my thread..and big learning curve. It evolved from growing fish to excess nitrates to plants. Skip to the last few pages.

https://www.backyardaquaponics.com/forum ... 18&t=17142

[rainbowgardener]

Wow, amazing rairdog! I read the first couple pages and then flipped through browsing a little and then read the last few pages. I LOVE what you have done and especially the beautiful wooden surround for your hydroponic grow beds. Your deck is beautiful and you made all your hydro stuff so pretty, it doesn't interfere at all with sitting on your deck and enjoying the view, etc, not the industrial feel that hydro stuff often has. Same for the beautifully decorated bee hive.

I would love it if you would make a little summary thread for us with a few of the pictures and what you have learned doing this, how to make it all work.

I saw where all the fish died from too sudden pH drop and then you started getting some more. Did the fish make it through the winter? How are they doing?

What a lovely way to live, with the land and the garden, and fish and bees and homegrown veggies and herbs!

[A Happy Seedling]

Wait, where do the algae even COME FROM???? I get house mold as a water problem rather than algae.

[applestar]

I finally got the chance to sit down and start reading your thread at BYAP.... I'm at January last year and you're about to start explaining ice fishing, but I had to stop and get some coffee.

I expect I'll have questions for you later. Your thread is pushing me to really start experimenting. Those comments over there that their experience has been that it's better 2nd year and you need to run and let your system mature has me itching to get going. -- so much like planting fruit trees isn't it? ...Gotta get them in the ground and growing/maturing if you want to reap good results.

[imafan26]

The algae is most likely in the water and some of it may come on the fish when they come from another tank. You will get green algae if it is exposed to light, brown algae in the dark.

[Rairdog]

This fish produce ammonia which is converted to Nitrites and then Nitrates. The Nitrates are the nitrogen source and what feeds the algae. A good feed is needed for growing healthy plants. Aquamax is one of the best but there are organic feeds available. Since the fish are making your nitrogen source the feed has the trace minerals along with small amounts of P & K. This is why you don't get good results from normal fish food. I supplement with Maxicrop w/iron for trace minerals and a source of iron. The guys growing heavy fruiting veggies will foilure spray with potassium bicarbonate and various other sources of P & K since they are pushing their system to the max. Any kind of greens produce very well and much better than dirt IMO. When I try curcubits, legumes, big tomatoes and other big veggies I always run into issues. There is a good source of nitrogen to get plants big, but they fizzle out when the P & K are needed to make them fruit. This is where beginners get frustrated and give up.

You have to take into consideration that the media is sterile and void of nutrients. It take a couple months to cycle the system just like any fish tank. There are no mycos as in dirt to break stuff down into a usable form for plant uptake. One of the best ways to help this along is composting worms in the media. They eat the dead roots and break them down. I bury banana peels in the beds for the worms to break down and provide K. Keep in mind that the cold winters will kill off the worms so they have to be replenished. The media is porous and helps hold these nutrients but it is a gradual buildup that has to be compatible with the fish. This is why MATURE beds produce better in a couple years. It's a slow process just like building up your soil with compost.