With the prices of food rising and the want to go organic an ever increasing trend then it is no wonder that aquaponics has taken off in such a big way. The thing that puts a lot of people off getting started is that they think it would be difficult to set up a system that needs you to care for fish and tend to vegetables at the same time. In truth aquaponics is easy and a basic diy set up can be up and running in well under a month.

Growing an aquaponics garden is easier than growing a garden in the traditional soil method. You place your seeds in a netting pot rather than digging through hard soil and rocks. The timing of planting the seeds is of utmost importance. This goes hand in hand with monitoring the quality of your water – just as you would fertilize your garden’s soil. This is how you are guaranteed excellent vegetation.

Of course, you can use commercial aquaponics kind of fish you want in aquaponics. But if you plan to sell the fish as well, then you’ll need to use some of the following. They are marketable and in high demand in most places.

The basic requirements for an aquaponics system are fish, plants and water. Many kinds of fish have been used in these systems with success. These species include cod, trout, bass and perch. However, the fish that seems to thrive the best is tilapia. They are more tolerant of changes that can occur in the system. Combined with their high demand, this makes them an almost perfect choice for the system.

Your choice of the aquaponics diy tank shape is important because you will then secure a growing bed that would fit the shape. Oftentimes, aquaponics system experts would recommend the poly rectangular tank since it is cheaper. Basically, it is a wise choice if you will have one. Moreover, the shape will give an enormous impact on the water quality of the system. In round shaped tanks, a circular flow of water will be seen thus the solid particles in the water will easily settle in the middle. Cleaning will be easy then. If you have a round cone bottom tank, it has also an advantage. The bottom part will meet at a certain point. Then, solids will easily settle on the bottom part of the cone so dirt can be easily drained.

The flood-and-drain aquaponics system also used a media of gravel or clay where the plant roots receive their nutrients. This method controls the water flow within the grow bed of the hydroponics system. The media in the grow bed is frequently flooded and drained of water. This process provides nutrients to the plants and causes the gravel or clay media to be filled with bacteria. This bacteria turns ammonia that has built up in the water, to nitrates that can be used by the plants. In this system a pump is used to fill the grow bed to the desired level. Once this level is reached, a switch is used to sense this and cause the pump to shut off.

The latest type of gardening without soil is known as aquaponics and turns out to be a simple way to grow a garden. The great thing about this type of gardening is that you can grow vegetables while growing eatable fish providing a diversified variety of food.

When you first set up your fish aquaponics system, you are not yet going to have the healthy balanced system that you will have after your system matures. You will not be able to grow healthy plants if any at first. It may take a few months for the nutrient levels and the bacteria that convert the nutrients to get established. Until then you may have to add supplemental nutrients to the system. These may include nitrogen, potassium, calcium, and iron. There are organic sources of these that you can add.

These are some of the reasons most people don’t grow their own food. Instead, they go to the grocery store and buy food, sometimes paying inflated prices for “organic” food. But it doesn’t have to be this way. Many people are discovering just how simple and practical it can be to grow clean organic food in their own homes. That’s right, I said inside their homes.

Aquaponics systems are an excellent way to grow both fish and vegetables. It has only recently started to become popular and we have yet to see what the future will hold for this revolutionary way of gardening.