Aquaponics is a overall term for a combination of Aquaculture (farming fish ) and Hydroponics (growing plants without soil). The Bishop Museum Aquaponics exhibit was created in 2015 as a n educational demonstration of its principles.
1. The fish in the aquaculture system produces nutrient rich waste water which then circulates the water to the hydroponic system.
2 The plants absorb the nutrients for growth and return the water to the aquaculture system.
For the exhibit purpose, we use a glass aquarium so the fish is visible to the public. The plant container is located atop the aquarium . A pump circulates the water up to the plant container and gravity returns the water to the aquarium.
The exhibit cost was kept to a minimum to allow replication at home.
Equipment
1. Tank – 15 gallon typical glass aquarium tank Approx. 24 W X 12 D X 12 D (inches) – $20.00
2. Planter – Plastic utility container with perforations 14 W x 10 D x 5 H (inches) – $5.00
3. Filter – Under-gravel – to keep fish babies from getting sucked in. – $5.00
7. Planter grow medium – Coarse cinder (black – Home Depot Garden) -$1.00
8. (Optional) Grow-light – LED plant grow-light (because the windows are
tinted). – $20.00
9 (Optional) Light support frame – Sched. 40 PVC pipe and corners. – $10.00
Livestock:
Mosquito fish – Guppies. Any size fish suitable to the tanks size. – $3.00
Snails – Any freshwater snails to inhibit algae growth on the glass. – $1.00
Plants:
Elodea – Water plant in tank to help maintain pH equilibrium with fish. Any water plant would do. – $2.00
Spearmint, Chives – Any plant that tolerates roots in water. Annual vegetables are fine, e,g, lettuce, tomato, leafy plants. Tubers (potato) and other big root plants (carrots)are less viable. – $2.00 per pot.
Much of the cost can be reduce by using resources at hand or from other free sources.
J. Yuen 2020
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The basic Aquaponics System
You need:
1. something to hold the fish
2. something to hold the plants
3. something inert and porous to hold the roots.
(cinder, vermiculite, even shredded plastic packing peanuts, etc.)
4. some way to circulate fish-water to the plants.
5. some way to return the water to the fish tank.
Everything else is optional. Most of it is to make it easier to maintain, but not necessary.
A water fountain submersible pump can actually be placed inside the tank. We used the pump outside only to make it pretty. Be careful with the pump inlet because it can suck up tiny fish fry (babies). That’s why we used an underground filter and siphon to keep the fry out. Some still get sucked it because they squeeze down through the gravel.
Aquatic plants beautify the tank and help keep the nutrient from causing the algae to bloom. Snails also feed on the algae to keep the glass clear.
You do need to feed the fish. Because of it, you need to replace 1/4 of the water occasionally when it appears yellowish as this is a self-contained recirculating system and not a running stream. Probably once a month or two is fine.
Hope this helps.
p.s. Uncle Grumpy refers to my friend Fred whose frequent comment is “Bah! Humbug!”. See https://grumpy.aditl.com
