Aquaponics Technology

1. Mehulee Sarkar, 4th Year, BSc( Ag.)
BHU

2. ●A system that grows fish and plants
together

4. • Fish meal
• Azolla and duckweed
• Composting worms
• Labor and building materials for construction
• Electricity
• Water
• Fertilizers
• Pesticides
• Labor to plant and harvest
• Labor to wash, pack and deliver

5. Plants
●Light
●Water
●Carbon
Dioxide
●Nitrates
(nutrients)
Fish
● Food
● Clean Water
● Oxygen

6. ●Oxygen and Sugars
through
photosynthesis
●Clean Water

7. ●Waste in the form
of ammonia
●Carbon dioxide
through respiration

8. ● Plants take in carbon dioxide
● Plants produce oxygen, and sugars (plant
biomass) through photosynthesis
● Fish consume sugars and breath in oxygen
● Fish produce carbon dioxide through
respiration
●Complete!

9. 1. Fish eat food
2. Waste is rich in ammonia NH4
3. Ammonia converted to Nitrite NO2 by
nitrosomonas
4. Nitrite converted to Nitrates NO3 by nitrospira
5. Nitrates used by plants a nutrients
6. Plant material eaten by fish
7. Dead plant and animal material decomposes
and releases ammonia also

10. Media Beds
• Media like gravel in 1 feet deep beds
• Plant support
• Solids filtration
• Biofiltration (surface area for bacteria to grow on)
• Simple
• Cheap

12. Deep Water Culture (DWC)
• Fish tank water is sent through several filters
• Solids settling filter
• Suspended solids filter
• Biofilter
• Floating rafts holding plants in net pots
• Filters keep roots from getting clogged

14.  Goldfish
 Koi carps
 Salmon
 Catfish
 Trout
 Tilapia
 Etc.!

16. • Lettuce
• Basil
• Herbs
• Tomatoes
• Peppers
• Leafy vegetables
• Fruiting plants
• Ornamentals
• Need special arrangement for root crops, deeper,
wicking

18. Small scale system Large scale system

20. ●Symbiotic relationship between plants and fish
(both thrive due to one another)
●Reduction in waste (polluted fish water is
used)
●90% REDUCTION in water use vs.
conventional farming techniques
●Minimal need for land
●Produces an organic food source

22. ● Small seasonal or perennial ponds.
● Small cage/hapa (fixed with bamboo poles).
● Raft(s) made up of Normal plastic bottles
(recyclable drinking water bottles).
● Belly carved plastic bottles (incorporated into
the raft made above).
● Manual pelletizer/extruder (for feed making).
● Longitudinally split bamboo poles (to be laid with
concave side-up on the pond bottom).

23. ● Fingerlings
● Advanced fry (>5 gm weight) of Magur
and/or Singhi.
● Inoculum of edible aquatic plants (like water
spinach, Ipomea, etc.) from other water bodies in
locality.
● Inoculum of babylon snails from other
bodies.
● Low protein pellet/mashed feed.
● Fertilizers/manures.

24. ● Initial fertilization or manuring followed by
liming to done.
● IMC seeds to be stocked in pond at low
densities.
● Seeds of catfishes to be stocked in the
cage/hapa fixed within the pond.
● Inoculum of live edible aquatic plants to be
transplanted within the cavity of carved plastic
bottles supported by air filled plastic bottle raft –
floating within the ponds.

25. ● Plants to be transplanted in carved bottles in
such a way that the root stay underneath
water while the shoot remains above.
● Babylon snails to be inoculated on the
concave side (cavity) of the split bamboo,
which is then rested on the pond bottom.
● Supplementary feed to be given to the
stocked IMCs following normal aquacultural
procedures.
● The same feed may be given in small
amounts to the catfish in cage.

26. ● A light trap maybe installed in the evening
above the catfish-cage in pond for luring insect
(feed) for the catfishes.
● Periodically babylon snails to be collected from
split-bamboo substrates from pond bottom.
● The collected snails alone or with small
amounts of raw ingredients like rice bran, oil
cakes introduced into the pelletizer for a
compost feed preparation.

27. ● Growing edible aquatic plants to be thinned
(trimmed) from plastic bottle rafts and sold in
local markets almost daily.
● Snails to be harvested periodically and sold to
the local market frequently.
● Fresh inoculums of snails can be re-placed on
the voided bamboo substrates anytime.
● Catfishes to be harvested and sold based on
market price occasionally, thus thinning the
caged stock gradually.

28. ● Low nutrient build up in the system and eco-
friendly.
●Higher return, security through saleable product
diversification – edible aquatic plants, snails
(preferred in poor rural households), catfish and
IMCs.
● More regularized income through frequent sale
of edible aquatic plants and snails.
● Full savings on high protein catfish feed.
● Zero input costs for aquatic plants, snails.

29. Item Quantity Rate(in
dollars)
cost
Fish
production
component
Rearing tanks 2 1440 2880
Net tanks 1 500 500
Clarifiers 3 1000 3000
Fingerlings(140
0 in a box)
2 389 778
Piping-water
(feet)
250 1.50 375
Piping –air 420 1.50 630
Shade cloth 1 530 530
valves 500 500
Fibre glass
water holding
1 625 625

30. Blower 1 1450 1450
Metal heat diffuser 1 80 80
Filter netting 4 30 120
Crib for baby fish 1 155 155
Circulating pump 1 240 240
Water for initial fill-
gallons
16000 .005 80
TOTAL 38318.24
Produce production
component
Hydroponic bed 4 1012 4048
Cups 3 0.09 302
Polystyrene rafts 72 431 1526
Labour and
construction
21.20 25000
Germinating tables 6 20 120
Germinating
trays(100 packs)
2 140 280
Gravel yards 64 28.13 1800
Pond (sq.feet) 1500 0.22 330

31. Greenhouse 2 11103 22160
Seeds and
transplants
200 3 600
Miscellaneous
expenses
6280
Total 64217.80
System total 102536.0
Average cost
per system
51,268.2
Variable cost
Fish
Fingerlings 1450 .28/unit 406

32. Feed {adult}
pounds
333 0.5 170
Harvesting and
processing
1 130 130
Bags and labels 400 0.56 224
Vegetable
variable cost
Seedling
transplant
1600 0.04 64
Coconut coir 7 13.53 94.7
Coarse
vermiculite
1 24 24
Total fish
variable cost
1130
Total vegetable
variable cost
261.46
1391.46

33. ITEM HARVEST QUANTITY PRICE PER
UNIT
MONTHLY
REVENUE
PRODUCE 32 440 PLANTS 4 4693
FISH 4 1000 FISH 6 2000
TOTAL
REVENUE
80320

34. Revenue YEAR 1 YEAR 2 YEAR 3 Year 4 Year 5
Produce 56320 103428 182000 182000 182000
Fish 24000 540000 66000 66000 66000
Total
revenue
80320 15728 248000 248000 248000

35. THANK YOU