You'll be amazed with the benefits that come with DIY aquaponics systems. This is especially true when you're faced with long-term food crisis or are in the lookout to growing organic food in the safe and effective way. Do you know that you can produce up to ten times more food with this system compared to conventional gardening? You will even save on power and water consumption too.
Conventional way of farming actually consumes no less than ten times more electricity and water when compared with aquaponics. I mean, this is just amazing to me. The system relies on the symbiotic relationship between the fish and plants you to properly function. Generally, the plants clean the water and the fish supplies the nutrients to the plants in return.
A water pump is required to circulate water in the system, which is critical for an aquaponics system to function. Depending on the size of your set-up, normally a common aquarium water pump is sufficient to do the job. Water is moved through the grow-bed to the fish tank and then back to the grow-bed again. And this cycle continues in order for the nitrogen cycle to complete. The only thing you need to do really, is to feed the fish. Even this can be automated by using an auto feeder which is commonly available in your local fish store.
The other strong point is the system is known for their ergonomics design. The application of elevated grow-beds has been proven to minimize back pain issues considerably, as harvesting is performed standing up in most cases. Hence, minimal or no stress incurred to your back.
Most important of all, food produced in DIY aquaponics systems taste remarkably good. Well, this is simply due to the fact that they are grown in a completely natural and chemical free environment. The system offers a practical and efficient eco system that works effectively and efficiently. The mini eco-system ensures the water is maintained clean all year-round.
If you do some research, you will find that aquaponics actually dates back to ancient China and Egypt. The folks back then had actually realized this positive relationship between the fish and the plants. It's a good thing that it is making a comeback, because I am pretty positive this will be the future of modern agriculture.
Do you know that you can actually produce up to 40 pounds of fish and about 600 pounds of vegetable from a 10' x 6' grow-bed system in one year time? And I'm just pulling out a very conservative number here. Now of course this depends on a few factors, like the plants you grow as well as the fish species that you opt for. The weather condition and if your set-up is indoors or outdoors, are all contributing factors to the result that you will get.
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Why DIY Aquaponics
One of the best locations to set up a DIY aquaponics system is in the cities where land is scarce and expensive to come by. With this approach, you can design the entire system to fit the free space you have and they can be really cheap to build too.
The basic items you'll need to build this include; containers to be used for a grow-bed and a fish tank. You will also need PVC piping to transfer water in the system and to drain water from the grow-bed to the fish tank. You can easily get this from your nearby hardware store for a very reasonable price.
Now on the other hand, if you already have a fish aquarium at home, this makes everything so much easier. All you need to do is get a grow-bed, hook your aquarium pump outlet to it, and then drill a hole at the base of the grow-bed for water to drain back to the fish tank. That is it.
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