DescriptionAre you looking for a complete guide on aquaponics? Then keep reading...
Aquaponic gardening is a system of food production that combines aquaculture and hydroponics. Aquaculture is the process of raising aquatic animals such as fish, prawns, crayfish, or snails in tanks. Hydroponics is the process of cultivating plants in a symbiotic environment, in water.
The availability of high-quality fish has been decreasing over the last several decades. Overfishing, habitat destruction, and ecological damage have decreased the overall number of fish available for American consumption. As a result, fish farms started springing up as a way to manage the decrease in fish population. These fish farms became experts in aquaculture, the rearing, and cultivating, of aqua-life, primarily fish.
Soon, fish farms became the fastest growing food industry in the world. Aquaculture farming is much like farming that is used for chicken and beef; large water systems and pools are full of water and fish. Fish farms are also used for bait, growing algae, and supplying fish and plants for pet stores and aquariums. It can also be used to increase a population of a fish that has become endangered or threatened by extinction.
This book covers the following topics
- What is aquaponics?
- How does aquaponics works?
- Main applications of aquaponics
- Benefits of aquaponics
- Before you start
- What to consider
- Different types of aquaponics systems
- How to make an aquaponics system at home
- Aquaponics how to make a plant?
- Which plants grow best?
- Which fishes in aquaponics?
- Common fish problems in aquaponics
- Maintenance and pest prevention
...And much more
The different forms of aquaculture include fish farms, mariculture, algaculture, and integrated multitrophic aquaculture; each one of these systems produces different products and provides different uses. Mariculture is the cultivation of animals or plants that require a saltwater environment. Examples of these types of products include many types of shellfish, finfish, like flounder, and sea plants, like seaweed. This type of system is either set up in the ocean, where the environment is already perfect for the organisms, with large nets or tanks put in the ocean water, or in tanks outside the ocean filled with salt water.
Fish farms are the most common form of aquaculture and the purpose of this system is to create fish for human consumption. About half the world's fish consumption comes from fish farms; this industry has tripled in the last twenty years. The most common fish produced in fish farms are salmon, catfish, trout, cod, and tilapia. There have been several recent legislative acts created for the purpose of regulating the booming industry.
Algaculture is the cultivation of algae, such as phytoplankton and seaweed. These types of products are created for fish food, feed for other animals, nutritional supplements, and for human consumption. This particular type of system is very difficult to oversee, primarily the small algae, which is susceptible to small changes in the environment. Algae require a very specific lighting, temperature, and nutrition.
Understanding the components of the aquaponic system will help you better understand how the system works. So now that you understand a little about aquaculture, allow me to give you a brief overview of hydroponics. Hydroponics is a system of growing plants without soil, in sand, gravel, and water. There are several different systems within each system, however the largest difference between these systems is the medium used to house the plants.
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