What is Aquaponics?

Aquaponics is a combination of aquaculture (raising fish in tanks/ponds) and hydroponics (growing plants in water).  In an aquaponics environment, water from the fish tank circulates through a grow bed where the plants are grown without soil. Nitrifying bacteria convert fish waste into plant-available nutrients. The plants use these nutrients as their food supply. The fish benefit from this process also, as the water is filtered by the plants in the grow beds, giving the fish clean water to live in.
 
This integrated system of Aquaponics has benefits not achievable when Aquaculture and Hydroponics are done separately. Aquaculture has the problem of buildup of wastes in the water, requiring filtering systems to clean the water as well as periodic releasing of waste water into the environment. Hydroponics uses chemical nutrients that eventually build up in the water and create toxic water. This water can no longer be used in the irrigation of the plants and is disposed of into the environment.

Aquaponics takes both of these problems and turns them into solutions, as the waste in the water is used to feed the plants, therefore not requiring any chemical nutrients to be added to the system, and no pollution of the environment by either fish wastes or chemical pollutants.

Aquaponics uses less water to produce the same amount of food as conventional agriculture, organic agriculture and hydroponics.
As access to water is a critical factor for farming in any country, the use of Aquaponics with its low water requirement means that food can be produced in places that it would not normally be grown. Fish from the Aquaculture component of the Aquaponic system can be also harvested, providing fish in areas that do not have natural access to fish in their waterways.

Benefits of using Aquaponics

Reduced water use – with water being a scarce resource in many areas around the world, it makes sense to use methods that reduce the amount of water used to produce the same amount of food. As the water from the fish tank is recirculated, the amount of water lost in the system is minimal. In conventional farming, the irrigation water is pumped out onto the land, only to be lost through evaporation, percolation or runoff.

Reduced chemical use – the need for chemicals is reduced dramatically in an aquaponics system, as the nutrient is made available to the plants by the fish waste. The use of chemicals in an aquaponics system can be harmful to the fish, and can disrupt the natural interactions of the fish and their environment.
 
Reduces erosion by eliminating the need to plow the soil – the problem of erosion in many countries is immense, with many acres of precious topsoil being lost to water and wind erosion every year, and waterways experiencing silt build-up.

Controlled environment reduces the need for pesticides – when an aquaponics system is set up in a greenhouse, the likelihood of infiltration by pests is reduced dramatically.

Aquaponics combined with a climate-controlled environment such as a greenhouse, can produce food year round. Another limiting factor for farmers worldwide is access to fertile soils capable of producing quality food. Aquaponics does not need any soils, therefore being able to be utilized anywhere in the world.

How can CWSI's technoloy help?

CWSI's AquaClens for Agriculture system utilizes their patent pending Add-o-mizer technology to assist in promoting both clean water and suitable oxygenation of the water in the aquaculture tank or pond. In addition, by combining ozone and ultraviolet light with the Add-o-mizer, this technology can be used to clean the water in tanks or ponds (without the use of chemicals), once the fish have reached maturity and have been harvested.  Moreover, the concern related to biological contamination from the waste products of the aquaculture and uneaten food can be addressed and remedied with use of the  AquaClens system.

The Add-o-mizer is an oxygenator that produces a water to sustain the aquaculture in a way that efficiently utilizes the food they are eating, thereby attaining marketable weight of the aquaculture in a shorter time, using less feed.  The process of diffusing oxygen  into water presents a challenge to prevent the oxygen bubbles from escaping from the water into the atmosphere.  The Add-o-mizer technology has addressed and remedied this, thereby increasing the aquaculture metabolism while reducing the biological contaminants in the water.