Aquaponics
fish + plants in one system: balance, crops, economics, starter setup
Aquaponics
Principle:
Fish produce waste → bacteria convert to nutrients → plants clean water → water returns to fish.
Crops:
Tilapia, carp, sturgeon + greens, lettuce, tomato, basil, strawberry — high-margin plants.
Systems:
Media bed (gravel/expanded clay), NFT pipes, DWC rafts — DWC is simplest to start.
Ratio:
Roughly 1 kg fish per 20–40 l water + 1 m² plant area per 15–25 kg feed per year.
Parameters:
pH 6.8–7.2, ammonia <1 mg/l, nitrates 50–150 mg/l, oxygen >5 mg/l — monitor daily.
Economics:
Sell both fish and greens; soilless plants grow 20–30% faster; payback from a year.
Mistakes:
Overstocking, underfiltration, starving plants (too few fish) — classic startup errors.
Start:
Home system 500–1000 l: tilapia + lettuce/basil — master the balance before commercial scale.