If you're looking for information about setting up your own aquaponic system, chances are, you'll find the sight of aquatic life and plants thriving in the same environment to be very exciting and rewarding, especially in your own back yard.
If you are a big fish eater, then nothing comes close to the feeling of joy and exhilaration of harvesting fresh fish from your backyard - knowing that this protein source is clean, free of toxic chemicals and disease-causing microorganisms.
As you may already know, an aquaponic system depends on three main factors to be successful, fish, plants and bacteria.
Without fish, your organic produces will not have the key nutrients that they need to survive.
Without plants, your fish will not have the fresh and filtered water that they need to thrive as the water will be filled with ammonia, nitrates and other harmful produces emitted from the fish.
How to select the right fish for your aquaponic system? If you have no prior experience in raising fish, don't buy large fish like tilapia just yet.
Instead, buy smaller "feeder fish" to experiment with your aquaponic system.
Once you become more comfortable with your setup, tilapia would be a good choice for an aquaponic system.
If you live in relatively warm places, consult with your agriculture bureau to see whether or not you can raise tilapia in your backyard.
If tilapia is not a good choice, you can also choose other freshwater fish such as crappie and koi fish.
These are also some of the more common edible freshwater fish that aquaponic system lovers like to raise.
How many fish should I raise in my aquaponic system? As for how many fish can you raise in your aquaponic system, it really depends on how much space and the type of filtration system that you have.
For a small-scale system, the general rule of thumb is to add half a pound of fish for every gallon for water.
The number of fish that you have in your aquaponic system also has a bearing on how much vegetation your system can support.
The three key factors that you should be aware of are: · The volume of fish you have in the tank · The malnutrition, weight and size of the fish · How much food is being added to the system daily If you are utilizing a simple setup where there are elevated growing beds, the general rule of thumb is that you will need at lease sixty grams of fish food per day for every square meter of growing vegetation.
If you are growing more demanding vegetables, you'll probably need at least one hundred grams of fish food per day as your plants are completely dependent on the nutrients that the fish produces.
If the fish produce insufficient nutrients, then it will become a lot harder for the vegetables to grow as the water will have very minimal level of nutrients.
On the other hand, if there are too much nutrients, then you will be running the risk of poisoning the fish as the plants cannot filter the water fast enough.
You will have to find the balance that will allow your aquaponic system to support and sustain both the fish and the produces.