What Are The Four Thumb Rules You Need to Follow in Aquaponics System?

Today most of the people make use of different Aquaponic and hydroponic methods for growing crop and fresh nutrient vegetables and fruits. This can be considered as the best method of agriculture. Moreover, it has also gained popularity by replacing traditional farming.

In Australia Aquaponics is all about growing food and vegetables in an attractive, productive and in a healthy way. It is a system of farming fishes and plants together in a beneficial cycle. In short, this process is a combination of aquaculture and Hydroponics.

According to commercial and domestic research, you can successfully grow a hundred types of different vegetables and fruits by this process. This is a clean and green way of efficiently cultivating plants.

While starting the Aquaponics process at your home for growing food here are some tips or basic things that you need to know

Let’s consider below!

1. Buy the tank carefully:

Fishes are very crucial and fish tank plays an important role in Aquaponics and hydroponic gardening. You can choose any type of tank but flat bedded and round tank are very good and easy to clean. Moreover, if it is possible then you must choose fibre-glass and strong inert plastic tanks because they are very durable and gives you long-lasting benefits.

2. Maintain proper Water Circulation:

For growing healthy food, you should make use of water and air pump for the movement of oxygen to plants. Through this, aquacultures, bacteria, and plants grow healthy. Plus, always prefer the best quality pump or as per your tank measurements.

3. Use good Quality Water:

Water is considered as life-blood for Aquaponics gardening. It is the way through which all essential and healthy nutrients are transferred to the plants. So, it is very important to choose good quality water for this process.

4. Avoid overfeeding and remove all uneaten food:

For aquatic animals waste and uneaten food is considered very harmful because they can rot inside the system. Rooting food can cause harmful disease. Feed the fish’s every day and remove all uneaten and waste from the tank within a few hours.

Introduction to Hydroponics: The Future of Farming

The world population is increasing at an alarming rate so it becomes important to look for alternatives that are environmentally sustainable and friendly. So, it is clear that the need for food and product farming has increased and will continue to increase in the future. One of the best ways to achieve the future needs of foods and crops is “Hydroponics”. It is basically growing plants with the help of water (without soil). It is widely being used to cultivate a lot of plants in habitats that would help in sustaining them.

The idea of growing vegetable without soil is a type of agriculture in which plants are grown on beds or trays which are constantly fed with the nutrient solution for proper growth and culture. Product hydroponics is free from harmful pesticides, insecticides and harmful chemicals that can be extremely damaging for the body.

How does Hydroponics work?

Conventional farming methods involve the use of soil for cultivation to enrich the roots. However, in hydroponics, the use of artificial mediums and solutions that has ionic compounds helps in nurturing the plants. Many times plant growth is restrained because of environmental factors. A constant supply of water and nutrients makes hydroponic more efficient and productive.

Advantages of Hydroponics

• More Productivity: By using nutrient solutions, heaters, artificial lights and other types of equipment ultimately provide the solution that increases crop production. This leads to increased yield, faster growth, and all year round production.
• More environmental friendly: The best part of a hydroponic system is that the water can be recycled. Along with that, you save a lot of soil and land. No requirement of insecticides and pesticides makes it even better.
• Suited for areas which are not feasible for traditional farming: Hydroponics growing beds or trays can be easily stacked anywhere. Almost, every condition can be controlled artificially.
• An easy way for monoculture: Different types of crops can be grown at the same time. So the on-demand crops can be focused. You do not have to worry about crop rotation.

Disadvantages of Hydroponics

• Cost for set-up is high: Setting a hydroponic farm can be quite expensive. All the equipments need to be purchased before setting the hydroponic farm.
• Expensive running cost: Most of the control systems like pumps, heaters, water purifiers etc. need power supply which can be a little expensive.
• Monitoring: Although hydroponic farms need less labor but hydroponic products need to be monitored from time to time, unlike conventional farming.
• Expertise and skills: Hydroponics needs to be understood at first which means the farmer first needs to understand the idea behind hydroponics to get best results which is quite difficult to understand.

Product Hydroponics

Theoretically, hydroponics can be used to grow a variety of crops. But mostly the method is used to grow plants that can grow effectively under hydroponic conditions. Product hydroponics includes crops like lettuce, cucumbers, herbs, peppers, tomatoes, spinach etc. Disease resistant varieties are also popular with product hydroponic culture.

Here Are Some of the Advantages of Hydroponic Gardening

Almost every sector is taking the fullest advantage of developments being made in the technology. There are new gardening techniques being used which require fewer fertilizers and have more productivity. It is a kind of organic gardening in which plants are grown in a solution of nutrients, not in soil. There is a huge number of people buying hydroponics products to grow fruits and vegetables in areas where land is not fertile. It is a technique for growing healthy food with the minimum use of fertilizers and pesticides. Moreover, there is hardly any labor required. And, those who are using hydroponics products for growing food have not to worry about weeds. The nutritive value is under your control. This allows you to get better results in a brief span of time. Hydroponic gardens are simple and also very easy to maintain. You can have it in both outdoors and indoors.

Here are some of the advantages of Hydroponic gardening:

• Hydroponic gardening allows you to grow plants anywhere if you manage to meet all the requirements.
• Traditional gardening requires a huge amount of water. In hydroponics gardening, you need only 1/20th of water used in traditional gardening.
• No fertilizers, pesticides or any other chemical is required which makes it environment-friendly. There is no soil-borne disease that can damage your food. You are growing food in a controlled and disease-free environment.
• Crops in hydroponic gardening grow two times faster than the traditional gardening. So, you can produce more.
• The space required in hydroponic gardening is 20% less than the space required in traditional gardening for producing the same amount of food.
• Water in traditional gardening is hardly reused. On the other hand, water is reused multiple times in a hydroponic gardening. This not only leads to water conservation but also makes food production less expensive.
• Less labor is required to grow food in hydroponic gardens.
• No soil setup and testing are involved in hydroponic gardening.
• Plants grown in hydroponic gardening are healthier than plants grown in traditional gardening. Hydroponically grown plants have more nutritional value. For example, vitamin content in these plants is 50% more.
• Harvesting is very easy in this type of gardening.
• Don’t worry about the changing seasons. You can grow crops throughout the year.
• Hydroponic gardening can be a relaxing hobby as it can relieve stress. Even your kids will love working with you.

So, it is clear that hydroponics is more productive and eco-friendly as compared to traditional gardening. If you want to produce food while enjoying quality time with your family, you can buy hydroponic products online.

The Ultimate Guide to Hydroponics, Aquaponics – What are they and which on is better?

Over the years, technology has evolved and revolutionized in almost every field. Our perspective towards life as well as the world has drastically changed with the rise in technology. This tech-savvy world has almost brought our resources and tools at fingertips. But that is not it, technology is not just refrained from work or games it is much more than that. It is drastically impacting our lifestyle and well-being. Hydroponics and Aquaponics is the latest example of use of technology in an eco-friendly, natural, organic and sustainable way.

As the world continuously tries to evolve in various sectors like health, so are the gardening techniques. Hydroponics and Aquaponics are few examples of gardening methods that are drastically being adopted by people. Probably, because these techniques can yield much more than the conventional method of soil gardening. Now Let us have a close look at what these techniques are and what they can offer to us.

 What is Hydroponics?

Hydroponics is an organic gardening method in which plants are grown in liquid, sand, coconut fiber, clay, gravel or any material that supports plant growth other than soil. Water carries the nutrients to the roots which are increased along with liquid plant food. All in all this method uses water and chemical nutrients to cultivate the plant.

Benefits of Hydroponics:

• No use of soil which ultimately results in saving space and other issues like weed growth, pests, and other soil-borne diseases.
• Faster growth, higher yields, and better quality crops.
• Water conservation because hydroponics uses 90% lesser water than traditional methods of gardening.
• Nutrient levels can be controlled which results in less requirement of nutrients.
• Can be grown all around the year.

What is Aquaponics?

Aquaponics combines the technique of aquaculture with hydroponics. Aquaponic is a balanced ecosystem in which fish and plants are in a symbiotic relationship that mutually benefits the plants as well as the fish. Just like, hydroponics growth media and pumps are used in this process, but Aquaponics uses organic fish waste as a nutrient for the plants.  Plants naturally help in cleaning out the water in aqua tanks, so it requires less cleaning and maintenance. Aquaponics is widely used across Australia as an organic method to cultivate so many plants and crops.

Benefits of Aquaponics:

• No additional nutrients need to be used as it uses organic waste produced by the fish as a fertilizer.
• The organic fish waste can easily be disposed using the drain and can also be used in composting.
• The natural system easily balances out and does not require much maintenance. Only periodic checking of pH, nitrate and ammonia levels is required.
• Can be grown all around the year.

 Which one is better?

Both systems work well as they are organic and have advantages over the conventional methods of soil gardening. However, Aquaponic seems to be more beneficial in production as well as is suitable in various environmental conditions. In Aquaponic system plants grow rapidly and the yields are better. The overall system also produces fish that benefits as an additional income, and it works on feeding the fish which is cheaper than feeding the plants. It also saves water due to recycling nature as compared to hydroponics.

From a commercial point of view, Aquaponic culture has a stronger exposition than its counterpart hydroponic. But for a gardener, it is more subjective whatever is suitable you can choose, as both are organic methods of gardening.

Top 3 Mistakes to Avoid as an Aquaponics Grower

Undoubtedly, aquaponic gardens can provide you a great deal of delicious fish and fresh vegetables. The plants and animals in an aquaponic system have a symbiotic relationship. In this aquaculture and hydroponics combine to grow plants and fish together in one integrated system. The waste produced by farmed fish supplies the nutrients for plants grown and the plants provide a natural filter for the water.

Nobody is perfect and everyone makes mistakes. If you are trying aquaponics for the very first time, the chances of getting stuck with aquaponics are too much. If you do a lot of mistakes repeatedly in your aquaponic system, you can lose fish and plants that you’ve cherished for weeks. So, it is important to maintain the health of both plants and fish. Have a look at the top 3 problems with aquaponics Australia and how to avoid them.

Top 3 common problems with Aquaponics Australia

Poor quality water

Starting with poor quality water is one of the biggest mistakes of first-time growers in their aquaponics system. The proper amount of acid, neutral and alkaline should be there in the water. In addition, Most of the people use fluoride and chlorine for the water cleaning process. Especially, Chlorine can be poisonous to fish. It is recommended that do not use tap water for your aquaponics system. If the tap is the only medium to provide fresh water, then you need to off-gas the water before letting the fish come in contact with. The proper pH for a productive aquaponics system will typically be in the range of 6.0-6.4. So you need to consider the quality of water for the growth of your aquaponics Australia system.

Too much fish in the tank

The second problem among those beginners is that they add too much fish in the tank. The quantity of fish you have in the aquaponics system and the size of the fish tank will affect the efficiency of your system. Having too much fish in the tank can provide many bad effects. Excess numbers can cause small fish to die; larger fish may feed on the smaller fish or over fertilization of plants. Plenty of fish waste can kill the plant as well. A general rule for a media based home aquaponics Australia system is to add one fish in every 20 liters of water.

Poor climate control

Temperature is one of the important factors that can make or break your aquaponics system. Make sure to keep a temperature in a range your fish can tolerate. Low sunlight can prevent plant to grow but excess sunlight can boil your fish tank. So, it is important to monitor your system frequently to ensure it stays within the range. You need to shade the plants in summer, especially if you are living in a very hot climate. Opposite to it, too little sunlight can cause many problems for your plants. You need proper sunlight in the winter for your aquaponics Australia system; otherwise, there are chances of plants withering away. Make sure there is proper lighting into your system design, and strongly monitor the climate of the tank so your fish and plants can grow perfectly.

 

Difference Between Hydroponics And Aquaponics

Hydroponics and aquaponics methods are widely used in regions where there is no soil available for vegetation. In some regions, the fertility of the land is not enough for growing crops. These terms are often confusing for those who are not or a little acquainted with soilless methods of growing plants. Hydroponics and aquaponics do have some similarities as both are soilless methods growing crops. However, these terms are not synonyms. In Aquaponics, a hydroponic s integrated with aquaculture in a controlled environment. On the other hand in hydroponics, a solution of nutrients is used for growing plants.      

A Brief Introduction to Six Hydroponics Methods

Most of the readers of this post might not be familiar with hydroponics. The term hydroponics was coined in 1937 by Gericke after he grew tomato vines in his backyard in a solution of nutrient without using soil. It is a subset of soilless culture which is a technique of growing plants without using soil. It is the use of nutrient solution which differentiates hydroponics from other soilless culture techniques.

Till now, following six hydroponics methods have been developed:

1. Water culture: It is the simplest and least expensive method of hydroponics. A platform made up of Styrofoam holds plants. The nutrient solution is kept directly below the platform. This system consists of an air pump and an airstone. When air is supplied to the airstone; the airstone in addition to supplying oxygen to the roots also creates bubbles of nutrient solution.
2. Wink system: This method of hydroponics makes use of capillary action to supply nutrient to the root. This system comprises of wicks, a reservoir and growing medium. Perlite, ProMixs, coconut fibre and vermiculite are the most popular growing mediums used in the wick system. Nutrient solution to the growing medium is supplied through wicks using capillary action.
3. Flood and Drain method: This system consists of a timer controlled pump submerged in the reservoir, and a grow tray. The pump is used to flood the grow tray with nutrient solution and then drain it by drawing the nutrient solution back into the reservoir. In this system, it is required to use growing mediums which can retain more water. Coconut fibre, Rockwool, Vermiculite are the most suitable for this method.
4. Drip system: Like Flood and drain method, drip system also consists of a grow tray and a timer controlled pump submerged in reservoir. The pump is turned on by the timer and nutrient solution is supplied to grow tray using drip lines. Recovery and non-recovery are the two types of drip system. In recovery drip system, the excess solution is reused. In the non-recovery drip system, the excess nutrient solution runs-off.
5. Nutrient Film Technique:F.T. system consists of a pump (without any timer) submerged in the reservoir. This pump continually pumps the nutrient solution into the growing tray. This system uses air as growing medium. The solution flows over roots of plants without any interruption and then is drained back into the reservoir.
6. Aeroponic: This system is quite similar to N.F.T. as it also uses air as growing medium. The root of a plant hangs in the air and is misted with nutrient solution. Roots being exposed to air are likely to get dried quickly. Therefore, misting is done for a few seconds after a few minutes using a timer controlled pump submerged in the reservoir.

Hydroponic Xpress and Aquaponics is the largest hydroponic shop, aquaponic warehouse and display centre in Perth where you can buy all hydroponic essentials at very affordable prices. Visit the website of Hydroponic Xpress to learn more about hydroponics.

Basic Information for Hydroponic Growers

What hydroponics gives would you like to begin? Permit us to take a look at a number of the essentials of hydroponics to help you achieve your effort. This could be a mixed bag of indoor cultivating that uses supplements as opposed to soil. This supplement gives everything the plants need to become steadily. There are numerous fundamental types of hydroponics gives you may need in the event that you’d wish to begin developing plants hydroponically.

Obviously, not everyone wants the same hydroponics supplies – what you get goes to change figuring on the framework sort you’d wish to utilize. Most frameworks need a supply or vast bowl, partner degree setup and pump to move the answer around and keep it legitimately ventilated, and a method for holding the plants on top of the answer, similar to a container or web. The roots ought to have the capacity to achieve the arrangement while not suffocating the plant.

Lighting is furthermore a massive concern. When acquiring these sorts of items, make a point to picture out your lighting decisions. In the event that you will be developing substantial quantities of plants, or plants that normally need loads of sunshine, you will should get genuinely vigorous lights. Remember – the objective is to emulate the sun’s daylight. A few producers pick lights basically inside of the blue and unpracticed ranges to support speedier development, especially in seedlings. In any case, these don’t appear to be the sole lights inside of the hydroponics supplies area.

Go for the best possible hydroponics supplies to actuate the least complex results out of your developing endeavors. You won’t be sad.

Aquaponics for Small Home Gardens and Balconies

The Garden Gurus install a small aquaponics systems and show you how to have your own fish and vegetables freshly available all year round.

 

Aquaponics system winner Rossmoyne Primary School

Hydroponic Xpress and Aquaponics WA in conjunction with the Garden Gurus presents Rossmoyne Primary with their new aquaponics system.