What is Aquaponics?
Aquaponics is the production of vegetables and fish which live in a symbiotic relationship. The
simplest explanation I can give is that the fish provide the fertilizer for the plants to grow, and the
plants, beneficial bacteria, and composting worms clean the water for the fish.

Can I do Aquaponics?
Yes, Aquaponics can basically take care of itself once cycled and matured. It is a self cleaning,
self regulating system with minimal maintenance needed.

Do I need much space?
One of the beauty's of aquaponics is that it's totally scalable. The processes that work in a backyard
sized system also work with a fish tank and a pot. So you can have an aquaponics system in any
space, and of any size. Your only limited by your imagination, there is no wrong way to make a system.
You just have to maintain the balance between fish, bio-filter and plants.

Is it natural/organic or synthetic/chemical?
Aquaponics is all about natural, organic processes. What you're doing is nurturing a biological
cycle. It's the same kind of thing that occurs in streams and waterways, or in the fish tank at home.
Using chemicals of any form tend to upset this balance, so it's not a good idea.

Does it use much water?
Amazingly, Aquaponics is a water miser. Any water not used by the plants returns to the tank
containing the fish. It actually uses about 90% less water than a conventional dirt garden
where the water can run off or seep past the root zone. The plants are never stressed by to
little water or to much water, so they grow at up to 50% faster....

Is it something new?
It's a technique centuries old, the Chinese used Koi Carp in their rice patties. These fish kept bugs in
check, and provided fertilizer for the plants. However it's been “lost” to western culture for quite
some time, and has only really started to catch on in the past few of years. Modern science has a
firm grip on the biological processes involved, and we design our systems with these facts in mind.

What is Aquaponics exactly?
It's basically a combination of Hydroponics and Aquaculture

HYDROPONICS:
Hydroponics systems rely on the application of man-made nutrients for plant growth. Water in
the hydroponics systems need to be changed often as salts and chemicals build up and become toxic to plants.

AQUACULTURE:
Aquaculture systems focus on maximizing growth of fish in a tank or pond. Fish are stocked
heavily and this means that the water becomes polluted with fish effluent with gives
off high concentrations  of ammonia. 10% - 20% of the water must be changed
daily unless a large water filter system is used.

AQUAPONICS:
Aquaponics combines both systems and in doing so cancels out the negative aspects of each other. Instead of adding
harmful chemicals to grow plants, Aquaponics uses highly nutritious fish effluent that contains all the required nutrients
for optimum plant growth. instead of discharging water, Aquaponics uses the plants, media, and beneficial bacteria in
the system to clean and purify the water, and it's then returned to the fish tank ready for the next cycle

What do I do to get started?
Read through our website, search the web for different types of systems,
check out www.youtube.com and search on Aquaponics. The number one
website for information, users systems and technical info is http://www.backyardaquaponics.com/forum/

Ask questions, come to one of my free tours, or set up a personal one on one tour
and see Aquaponics working right now.

BE WARY OF SITES THAT PROMISE "TO GOOD TO BE TRUE" RESULTS FROM AQUAPONICS..
Aquaponics is a balancing act between the number of fish and grow bed area.... to many fish and not enough
grow bed area and the whole system suffers...Do your research and you will find that a lot of systems on the
market that promise 80lbs of fish from a 2 small bed system, will result in a very bad experience.

See more information HERE!

Start designing your system, or we can design one for you  or purchase our 2 bed base starter system
which is expandable up to 16 growbeds with the addition of an Aquaponics indexing valve. By using this
system, the guess work is taken out of the equation as everything is sized correctly and ready to start growing
your own chemical and pesticide free vegetables and clean edible fish.

We sells components, install systems, and offers service and support, email, phone and on-site support packages

Aquaponics is an investment in your health and it's also Eco-Friendly Gardening

The Aquaponics Garden - 910-232-7704