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A New Look at NFT Aquaponics Issue # 56 Aquaponics Journal www.aquaponicsjournal.com 1st qtr, 2010 AA NewNew LookLook atat NFTNFT AquaponicsAquaponics By Wilson Lennard, PhD Introduction: The Systems: In the second half of 2008 I spoke at the Australasian The trial greenhouse has been set up at another highly Aquaculture 2008 conference in Brisbane, Australia. successful New Zealand based business; Tasman Bay There was a full session on aquaponics with about 8 Herbs (TBH), owned and operated by Yoka De Hou- speakers. This meant that aquaponics was well repre- wer and Don Grant. TBH successfully grows, markets sented at the conference, which in turn, drew people from and sells a variety of fresh cut herbs for the NZ do- all over the world to the conference. mestic market. The growing system TBH uses is the very popular Nutrient Film Technique (NFT), a stan- One of those people was Ashley Berrysmith. Ashley is an dard hydroponic approach to culturing plants. TBH Auckland, New Zealand-based businessman who has a has approximately 1,600 m2 (15,000 sq ft) of plant large fresh-cut processing operation, New Zealand Fresh growing area within their twin skinned greenhouse in Cuts (NZFC). NZFC grows, processes, packs and dis- which they grow herbs such as Basil, Coriander tributes bagged, fresh-cut baby leaf greens to New Zea- (Cilantro), Parsley, Dill and Mint, along with a popu- land and Asian supermarkets. He approached me with a lar Salad mix and Rocket (Arugula). very exciting aquaponics project to be based in New Zea- land and asked if I wanted to be involved. As I was not The trial greenhouse has been divided into two mains working in aquaponics at the time, I jumped at the oppor- sections; the plant growing portion (approximately tunity to return to my true professional passion. 160 m2) and an insulated fish/nutrient room (approximately 50 m2). The greenhouse section is Ashley is very keen to educate the world in the use of divided into two halves; the standard hydroponic half more sustainable farming practices. He is doing this via and the aquaponic half. Therefore, the Eastern half of the establishment of the Berrysmith Foundation; a not-for the greenhouse is aquaponic plant production (4 NFT -profit foundation to encourage the use of sustainable benches), and the Western half is standard hydroponic farming practices around the world. Ashley’s idea is to production (again, 4 NFT benches). Because TBH educate by example, and therefore he is keen to adopt the utilises the NFT method for plant culture, the major- most sustainable practices for the production for his salad ity of the greenhouse area consists of NFT culturing products. For Ashley, the logical starting point was aq- channels (both the hydroponic and aquaponic sides). uaponics. In addition, there are two 2m2 semi-deep flow beds and two 2m2 Ebb & Flow tables for seedling produc- The first major project for the Berrysmith Foundation tion. Therefore, all growing systems are replicated for (BF) has been the establishment of a pilot-scale commer- both hydroponic and aquaponic growing techniques. cial aquaponic system in New Zealand. The uniqueness of the approach is that we have set up a greenhouse that The nutrient room consists of, as mentioned, a struc- houses an aquaponic system right along side a conven- ture which has been divided off as a separate room tional, standard hydroponic system. With this approach, and insulated. This room contains the nutrient sump we are able to directly compare a number of production and dosing unit for the hydroponic system and a fish parameters, and as many plant species as we like, within system for aquaponic nutrient provision. While the the two systems. This way, we can collect data to build a greenhouse has been designed to run hydroponics and technical and economic case for the viability of aquapon- aquaponics half and half, the fish system has been ics as a legitimate and successful way to farm both fish designed to a size that will enable the entire green- 16 and plants. house to act as an aquaponic system if required. In Issue # 56 Aquaponics Journal www.aquaponicsjournal.com 1st qtr, 2020 addition, the plumbing of the greenhouse has been designed so that it may also be run entirely as a stan- dard hydroponic greenhouse if required. The Design Approach: As opposed to most current commercial aquaponic system models which utilise the highly successful and practical Deep Flow or Raft Culture plant culture ap- proach, this system utilises the NFT plant culture ap- proach. NFT has been adopted as the predominant 1 plant culture method for several reasons: 1. NFT is what is used at TBH and therefore, the hydroponic expertise available via Yoka and Don may be fully utilized. 2. NFT is one of the most often used hydroponic culturing approaches for commercial hydroponic plant culture and in my mind therefore, needs to be explored fully for its potential to aquaponic adaptation. 3. I have developed a commercial aquaponic system design philosophy and approach which allows me to adapt ANY hydroponic culturing method to 2 aquaponics, so this project has allowed me to test my theories with the NFT technique. NFT as the hydroponic component has been utilised in aquaponic systems before with varying success. However, NFT appears not to be favored among many aquaponic researchers and operators for various reasons. I have heard and been directly told several reasons why NFT is an inferior or less preferred hy- droponic component for aquaponic systems, includ- ing: 1. Deep Flow affords more water volume in the sys- tem, which makes it easier to operate and allows 3 for “more room for mistakes,” while NFT has far lower water volumes. 2. NFT requires additional or more refined filtering components. Usually increased solids filtration and the addition of a separate biofilter, which in- creases expense. 3. NFT uses small diameter feed lines (4 – 5 mm black poly tubes as used for drip irrigation sys- tems) and these block too easily and increase maintenance. People who know me understand that I am always “up for a good argument.” Therefore, when state- ments like those above are put forward, Photos on right: I am keen to test these things for my- 1. Finished greenhouse self. I set about designing the aq- 2. Completed fish system 4 uaponic system using my Symbiopon- 3. Solids filter manifold icsTM design approach. This approach is 4. Hydroponic System Sump & plumbing based on completely balancing fish nu- 17 Issue # 56 Aquaponics Journal www.aquaponicsjournal.com 1st qtr, 2010 trient output with plant nutrient Current Outcomes: uptake, so that the system works The systems (both hydro- as efficiently as possible and ponic and aquaponic) there is no possibility of positive have been up and running or negative nutrient accumula- now for approximately 13 tion within the system. Aq- weeks. The hydroponic uaponic fish to plant ratios have component has had a very not been well researched to date, good workout and shake- with only my good friend and down by being used for colleague Dr Jim Rakocy (of the the entire month of De- University of the Virgin Islands) cember to assist TBH and myself (as far as I am aware with its pre-Christmas anyway) developing commercial rush for product for the fish to plant ratio models. As market. We have pro- many people know, the commer- duced large quantities of cial aquaponics world is rightly fresh herbs over a 5 week dominated by Dr. Rakocy’s period. All herbs have model, which has been around grown very well and have and completely successful far met all the growth rate longer than anyone else’s, in- and quality requirements cluding mine. I want to make it of Yoka and Don at TBH, very clear here, my management and were successfully approach to aquaponics is almost integrated into the TBH identical to what is currently util- production line. ized by many commercial aq- uaponic designs, including Ra- First aquaponic crop of Tasman Bay Herbs The aquaponic system kocy’s. The major technical dif- spring lettuce mix. has had fish (Grass Carp ference in my approach is that I – chosen because it is a always utilise a separate biofilter and fine solids filtra- vegetable eater and one of the core interests in the trial tion in my designs; no matter what hydroponic compo- is to try and produce a fish feed made from the green nent. In addition, I also utilise 100% solids mineralisa- waste produced from the system) in it for over 3 months tion with ultimate return of all nutrients bound in the now, but few plants, because my management approach solid fish waste component to the system. This ap- is to build a background of fish waste nutrient in the proach allows what I think are several advantages: system for several weeks before adding plants to the 1. Both components (fish and plants) may be de- system. This means as soon as plants go in, there is suf- coupled from each other whenever required and ficient quantity and mixture of nutrients in the system to can/do operate independently of each other if re- produce good plant production results. Therefore, we quired. I believe this is important in a commercial have not utiliszd the entire aquaponic plant growing situation because it allows fish or plant production area available but have tested two major crops (the to continue when and if there are any problems with TBH Salad blend and Dill) with excellent results (150 the other component. bunches of Salad mix and 300 bunches of Dill). The 2. The fish component is not dependent on the plant Salad blend grew from seed to harvest size in 5 weeks, component for biofiltration requirements and there- as did the Dill.
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