Aquaponics: the Future of Ecological Farming

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Aquaponics: The Future of Ecological Farming Benjamin Oif What Is It? • The Combination of Aquaculture (raising fish) and Hydroponics (growing plants without soil) Aquaculture Hydroponics Problems • Aquaculture – Fish are crammed into small spaces. – Waste is produced quickly which can cause the fish to become sick – Frequent water changes and filtering must be performed ($$$$) • Hydroponics – Chemicals are used to grow the plants – Non-Organic Solution! • Aquaponics – Using fish waste as fertilizer for plants and using plants as a filter for the fish tank • Organic • Economical - no filter and no chemical fertilizers • Ecological - Reusing the waste produced by the fish and the water Proposal • Design and build two Aquaponics systems that can be used to perform various experiments – Experiment would test Ebb and Flow vs. Constantly Filled systems • 3 Phases – 1. Construction – 2. Setup – 3. Experiment The Design: Vertical Aquaponics Ebb and Flow Plant Bed Sometimes Submerged Always Submerged Constantly Filled (Constant) Plant Bed Always Submerged Construction • Building the Acrylic Plant Tanks… Construction Construction • Building the tables… Construction Construction The Setup • Longest phase of the project – From October to March • Many things went wrong – 1. Piping leaked – 2. Plants did not germinate properly – 3. ACRYLIC TANKS CRACKED • In several places Cascio brothers helping after the tank leaked The Setup Rockwool Hydroton Experiment • 8 Tilapia in each tank • Green Beans, Lettuce, Cucumbers, Basil, Celery, Parsley and Tomatoes • Hypothesis: – Lettuce would produce more vegetation in the constant system and the rest would produce more vegetation in the ebb and flow system. • Measure total biomass, bean fruit, tomato fruit, nitrogen levels, water input and fish weight Plant Growth Ebb and Flow 3/18/2013 Ebb and Flow Constant 15 Days Later Constant 3/18/2013 Plant Growth 4/16/2013 14 Days Later Constant Ebb and Flow Plant Growth Height of light 5/10/2013 fixture in previous 24 Days Later picture Water Data Ebb and Flow = 4.1 liters per day Constant Flow= 4.5 liters per day Biomass Y-Axis measured in grams Total Biomass *13% more biomass in Constant Flow System Average Fish Weight Ebb and Flow: y= 21.20 + 5.92x Constant Flow: y= 20.15 + Conclusion • The Constant Flow system produced 13% more vegetation than Ebb and Flow • Aquaponics was successful – The final nitrate levels were practically zero which means the plants absorbed ALL nitrates – None of the 16 fish died – Delicious vegetables were produced Future Plans • The Aquaponics System will be used in future years by Science Anderson Scholars and those interest in the subject. Thank You Strnad Family Parents Mrs. Axelrod Dr. Laux Dr. Jack Horwitz Mr. Lyons US Students.

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Master’s Thesis - master Innovation Science Aquaponics Development in the Netherlands The Role of the Emerging Aquaponics Technology and the Transition towards Sustainable Agriculture Mascha Wiegand 6307345 Tulpenweg 17 63579 Freigericht Germany [email protected] +49 1607561911 Supervisor: Prof. Dr. Ellen H.M. Moors Copernicus Institute of Sustainable Development [email protected] +31 30 253 7812 Second Reader: Dr. Koen Beumer Summary A sustainability transition in the agri-food regime is urgently required to interrupt the strong reciprocal effect between current food production standards and climate change (Willett et al., 2019). One sustainable innovation in the agri-food sector is aquaponics. Aquaponics is the combination of hydroponics and recirculating aquaculture in one controlled environment (Somerville, Cohen, Pantanella, Stankus & Lovatelli, 2014). At first sight, the water and nutrient-saving character of aquaponics, amongst other features (Somerville et al., 2014), sound promising for a transition towards sustainable agriculture. Therefore, the following research question emerged: How can the emerging aquaponics technology contribute to the sustainability transition in the Dutch agri- food sector based on Dutch aquaponics developments in the period 2008-2018? To answer this overarching research question, three sub-questions were developed. An integrated framework combining the multilevel perspective (MLP) and the technological innovation system (TIS) was used to understand the dynamics between overall structural trends, the current Dutch agri-food sector and the emerging aquaponics innovation. The innovation was also set into a broader European context. The research was of exploratory nature and used a qualitative content analysis to process 23 interviews, scientific articles, practitioner websites, publication, patent and Google Trend statistics, etc.
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