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What can AquaponicAustin do for You?

We can help you get your Aquaponic system going, from the very beginning all  the way to abundant food production. We can help you with any problems you might encounter with your new or fully cycl
ed Aquaponic system, or advise you on expanding your existing system.
     

ASSOCIATE OF THE TEXAS AQUAPONIC GROUP!

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What is Aquaponics?

Simply put, Aquaponics is the combination of hydroponics (growing plants in a soil-less, nutrient rich solution) and aquaculture (growing fish). It takes the best of both these worlds, and  produces a far superior vegetable yield in a fraction of the time. This without using any chemicals, AND using less energy than a light bulb. Attach one of our solar panels to your system and you are producing food "off-the-grid" in your own backyard. No matter what the price of oil or electricity becomes, you have the incredible satisfaction of sustainably growing your own fish for protein, and organic vegetables for health.  

Here's how Aquaponics works

Fish eat food and excrete ammonia. Certain naturally occurring bacteria then eat the ammonia and produce nitrites, then nitrates. Plants connected to the system then absorb the nitrates and experience explosive growth due to their nutrient-rich (nitrogen) water absorption. While doing this, the plants "cleanse" the water (a natural bio-filter). The clean water then goes directly back into the fish tank ready to be "re-fertilized". It is a closed loop system in which all you add is fish food. It's that simple. Ever looked at what natural fertilizer is made of?


The problem with conventional Hydroponics

In Hydroponics, nutrient-rich water is delivered t
o the vegetables and plants by some method of synthetic irrigati
on. The solution is usually delivered to the plants with some sort of pump that produces the mixture to the roots of the plants. Excess nutrient solution is usually drained back into a reservoir which is periodically emptied, the old nutrient solution discarded, and a fresh nutrient solution re-mixed. This is time consuming and very expensive. Additionally, water and nutrients are wasted.  Why does this need to happen? The plants deplete the nutrients in the solution as part of their normal growth. This is one of the main problems with Hydroponics. It is not sustainable in that you must keep adding nutrients to keep the cycle going.

The problem with conventional Aquaculture

In Aquaculture fish are raised in ponds, lakes, or tanks from when they are young "fingerlings" until they grow to a size that is suitable for consumption. After they are fed, their waste passes into the water which contains very high concentrations of ammonia and nitrites, which are toxic to the fish. To combat the build up of these toxic chemicals, the water in the tank is either passed through an expensive filter or just dumped out. Depending on the size of the tank and the fish, this can result in a substantial waste of time and water. Again, the problem with this practice is that continually adding fresh water to replaced the waste water requires large resource inputs and energy. It too is not sustainable.


The Solution



An Aquaponic System simply duplicates what nature does, in a controlled environment. With one of our turn-key systems, fish waste rich with nutrients, are gently pumped out of the fish tank and into a plant trough and then drained back into the fish tanks. The plants absorb the rich nutrients and filter the water for the fish. With an ebb and flow"system, the cycle of the water flowing through the system repeats itself several times each day keeping the roots moist and aerated. With a "deep raft" or constant flow" system, water is pumped and drained (cycled) continuously. That's how nature does it. This happens using very little energy. In fact, less than a single 45 watt light bulb. Hook that to a small solar panel and you are off-the-grid and totally self-reliant.

The net results are large quantities of food, high in plant nutrients and protein, grown in your backyard using little or no energy.
Truly Sustainable.