Plants and Fish: An Introduction

When people ask what I do with my free time now that I’ve completed my degree, aquaponics isn’t the last thing they’d think of, it’s something they have never heard of. A little over two months ago neither did I. Curiosity led me to where I am now, sitting in front of a rather odd compilation of wood, glass, PVC pipe, water, fish, and vegetable plants that I call my aquaponics system: construction in progress. The term "aquaponics" refers to the coupling of aquaculture (fish farming), and hydroponics (growing plants in water). On April 26, 2012 Merriam Webster listed this term in the "New Words & Slang" category of their dictionary, but doesn't specify which one it is. Within an aquaponics system, the waste from fish is transformed by bacteria into useful nutrients for plants and is then pumped into soilless containers where the plants filter out the nutrients. The  cleaned water is returned to the fish. Feed the fish and the cycle repeats; that’s the basics of it. Presently seven gold fish and three dozen vegetable plants are hoping I get this right. Five Koi fish wished I had done things differently.

                When I first started finding information on aquaponics it originated from my search for 55 gallon plastic barrels on craigslist. I had recently completed a rain barrel system that holds 180 gallons of delicious precipitation.  Rain barrels fill up very quickly. I utilized a large amount of 2 inch PVC piping to connect all three barrels together and to attach a spigot. My excitement that emerged from melding various combinations of plastic and glue led me to look for other useful variations that employed a similar set of materials. It turns out that a lot of people use 55 gallon barrels for aquaponics fish tanks.

                I am not a carpenter, builder, or in any other way a construction oriented individual, but glue, saws and hammers do have a certain appeal to me. I am not a green-thumbed gardening genius. I can keep orchids alive, the phalaenopsis variety, since mine seem to enjoy being neglected and forgotten. They tend to bloom after a particularly long period of intermittent watering. I take it as a sign that they want attention. I place them in a prominent spot on the coffee table for the time their blooms are full and then send them back to my office desk once the blooms have fallen off. It’s not a perfect relationship, but I am hoping to expand my gardening knowledge with this foray into aquaponics.

                I am 25 years old with a degree in English. I know vastly more about Chaucer than I do about growing spinach or eggplants. However, my spinach seedlings seem to be growing just fine right now! I don’t really know why I’ve forsaken dirt for water except that I’m hoping to raise some tilapia and end the growing season with a nice fillet or two. The success of aquaponics originates in the waste the fish deposit in their tank. The ammonia that fish create will attract bacteria to the tank called nitrosomonas. The job of this critter is to change the toxic ammonia into nitrites, which is even more toxic to the fish. The presence of nitrites will then attract another microscopic friend, nitrospira which is a nitrobacter. These bacteria will transform the toxic nitrites into harmless nitrates that plants love and devour.  This is clearly book/Internet knowledge that I am attempting to put into practical application. In the process, I figured I’d write about my triumphs and learning experiences.