Aquaponics Basics_February 13, 2018_Hye-Ji Kim.pdf

2/19/2018
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Purdue University is an equal access/equal opportunity institution.
Aquaponics Basics
February 13, 2018
Hye-Ji Kim
Assistant Professor of Sustainable Horticulture Crop Production
“Aquaponics”
The Future Farming System
Aquaponics is a sustainable food production system that combines
hydroponics with aquaculture in a symbiotic environment.
Aquaculture Hydroponics
+
Aquaponics is a major form of “organic hydroponics (bioponics)”

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Problems with Each System
 Rearing‐tank water has to be discharged
at 10‐20% of total volume per day.
 The discharged water becomes a
pollutant.
 Commercial fertilizers are expensive
 Solution has to be replaced periodically
 Disposal/runoff is problematic
 Nutrient concentration, pH, EC all have
to be monitored, adjusted, controlled.
 Recirculating systems prone to disease.
Tilapia in an aquaculture tank
Aquaculture Hydroponics
+
 Water quality management is a challenge.
 Fish feeds are not designed for plants.
 Lack of scientific information
Source: http://m.zhongzi.net/en/news/1719.htm
Source: Aquaponics: a brief history
https://www.milkwood.net/2014/01/20/aquaponics‐a‐brief‐history/
Mari’s Gardens, HI
UVI aquponic system
Source: http://www.pentair.com
Urban Organics, MN
Green Sky Growers, FL

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Air pump
Water
pump
Grow bed
Fish tank
Sediment
tank
Biofilter
Schematic diagram of an aquaponics system
①
③
②
④
⑤
① Fish are fed fish meal and
produce ammonia rich waste. Too
much ammonia is toxic for the
fish, but they can withstand high
levels of nitrates.
② The nitrifying bacteria breaks
down ammonia into nitrites and
then nitrates. Plants take in the
converted nitrate as nutrients.
③ Plants take in the converted
nitrate as nutrients. Through this
action, the plants purify water for
the fish.
④ Oxygen enters the system
through an air pump. This oxygen
is essential for plant growth and
fish survival.
⑤ Water moves around the system
by the action of water pump.
Aquaponics Basics
Types of Aquaponics
Closed System: Recirculating or Coupled System
Open System: Drain to Waste or Decoupled System

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Nutrient Film Techniques (NFT)
Nutrient Film Techniques (NFT)
Substrate-base:
Open (Drain to Waste) System
Water base:
Closed (Recirculating) System
Types of Aquaponics: Water vs. Substrate-base
Drip irrigation
Drip irrigation
Gravels, Coco Coir Croutons
Gravels, Coco Coir Croutons
Clay‐balls
Clay‐balls
Lava‐rocks
Lava‐rocks
Deep water culture “Raft” system
Deep water culture “Raft” system
Closed (Recirculating) system
Types of Hydroponics: Open vs. Closed
 Closed systems use 20–40% less water
and fertilizer than open systems
 Consistent monitoring and maintenance
of electrical conductivity (EC) and pH is
required.
e.g. deep water culture, NFT,
aeroponics

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Aquaponics Basics
Components of Aquaponics
• Plants
• Fish
• Microbes
Types of Aquaponics
• Growing Media
Plants do well in aquaponics

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Plants do well in aquaponics
Leafy vegetables
Fruit vegetables
Root vegetables
Plants for Aquaponics
Leafy
vegetables
Fruit vegetables Root vegetables Flowers
Arugula Parsley Beans Beets Broccoli
Basil Spinach Cucumbers Carrots Cauliflower
Cabbage Swiss chard Eggplant Onions
Chive Watercress Okra Radishes Edible flowers
Kale Peas Ornamentals
Leek Amaranth Peppers
Lettuce Chia Strawberries
Mint Microgreens Squash
Mizuna Tomato
Mustard greens
Pak choi
• Deep water system (DWS)
• NFT system
• Substrate‐based system
• Substrate‐based system
• High‐nutrients‐requirements

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Fish for Aquaponics
Tilapia Trout Catfish Bass Goldfish Koi Pacu
Edible yes yes yes yes no no maybe
Temperature (C) 16-35 2-20 2-32 4-32 2-32 2-32 16-35
Optimal
Temperature (C)
23-27 13-18 24-30 23-27 18-24 18-24 23-27
Carnivorous or
omnivorous
omnivorous carnivorous omnivorous carnivorous omnivorous omnivorous omnivorous
Mature size 1.5lb 0.8 lb 1.25 lb 1-3 lb 4” 20 lb 60 lb
Duration to
reach maturity
9-
12months
12 months 12-18
months
15-18
months
3 yrs 3 yrs 4 yrs
Oxygen
requirement
low high low low low low low
Adapted from Aquaponic Gardening (2011).
Substrate choice for hydroponic seedling production
Substrates Synthetic media
(plugs, cubes, and blocks)
Organic
components
Mineral
components
Conventional
hydroponics
peat moss
coco coir
sand
sawdust
rice hulls
perlite
Vermiculite
Clay pebbles
• polymer bound plugs (e.g. peat
pellets, coir pellets, composted organic
material plugs, Oasis Horticubes,
urethane foam plugs)
• Rockwool cubes & blocks
• coco coir cubes and blocks
Types of Growing Media
 Good physical contact with seeds
Source: http://www.wheatgrasskits.com/product/PP
Peat pellets
Oasis Horticubes
Substrate mixture

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Types of Aquaponics
Components of Aquaponics
Aquaponics Management
• Water Quality
• Nutrients
• Other Considerations
Aquaponics Basics
Aquaponics Management: Water Quality
Nitrate
TAN Nitrite
 Water source
 Temperature
 pH
 DO (Dissolved oxygen)
 TAN (Total Ammonia Nitrogen)
 Nitrite (NO2
‐)
 Nitrate (NO3
‐)

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Plants
Fish
Microbes
The pH
The ideal compromise for aquaponics is necessary for the key water quality parameters.
Adapted from Small‐scale aquaponic food production. FAO (2014).
General Water Quality Parameters for Individual Organism
Organism Type Temperature
(°C)
pH Ammonium
(mg/L)
Nitrite
(mg/L)
Nitrate
(mg/L)
DO
(mg/L)
Plants
Warm‐season
Cool‐season
Fish
Warm‐water
Cold‐water
Microbes
Ideal Water Quality Parameters for Aquaponics
Aquaponics 20‐30 7 < 1 < 1 5‐150 > 5
24‐30
5.5‐6.5 < 30 < 1 ‐ > 3
10‐24
22‐32 6‐8.5 < 3 < 1 < 400 4‐6
10‐18 6‐8.5 < 1 < 0.1 < 400 6‐8
25‐30 7.3‐8.0 < 3 < 3 ‐ 4‐8
Water Quality for Three Organisms

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Fish feed Fish
Plant Microbes
Nitrite (NO2
‐)
NO3
‐
①
②
③
~45 essential nutrients
protein (amino acids),
fats (fatty acids), minerals,
and vitamins
Macronutrients:
N, P, K , Ca, S, Mg
Micronutrients:
B, Cl, Mn, Fe, Zn, Cu, Mo Energy source
Nutrient management
Aquaponics Management: Nutrient Management
Nutrient management
Are fish diets formulated to meet the nutrient requirements for all 3 taxa?

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Fish feed Fish
Plant Microbes
Nitrite (NO2
‐)
NO3
‐
①
②
③
~45 essential nutrients
protein (amino acids),
fats (fatty acids), minerals,
and vitamins
Macronutrients:
N, P, K , Ca, S, Mg
Micronutrients:
B, Cl, Mn, Fe, Zn, Cu, Mo
Energy source
Nutrient management
Fish diets were not formulated to meet the nutrient requirements for all 3 taxa.
Feeding rate
Feeding frequency
Feeding time
Nitrobacter
• 400 − 5 2 4
+ 195 2
2 2 → 5 7 2 400 3
− +
Nitrosomonas
• 55 + 5 2 76 2
→ 5 7 2
54 − 52 2 109 +
Photo: Stan Watson, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institut, 2010e:
Photo: W.J.Hickey, University of Wisconsin, Madison, 2006
①
②
Water Chemistry in Aquaponics
Fish
Plant Microbes
N2, NO, or N2O
Denitrification
Fish feed
Nitrification NO2
‐
NO3
‐
Nutrient uptake
(NH4
+, NO3
‐)
Solid waste
Organic N
Nitrogen flow (blue arrows) and potential loss (red
arrows) in an aquaponics system.
Nitrification

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Parameter Tomato Basil Lettuce
TAN* (mg/L) 3.5±0.4 3.4±0.4 3.4±0.4 ns
Nitrite (mg/L) 3.8±1.5 3.8±1.5 2.5±0.9 ns
Nitrate (mg/L) 60.5±4.6 108.0±7.6 161.6±13.2 ***
Phosphate (mg/L) 22.6±0.6 23.3±1.0 21.8±0.5 ns
DO (mg/L) 6.7±0.1 6.5±0.1 6.7±0.1 ns
Temperature (°C) 26.3±0.2 25.9±0.2 26.1±0.2 ns
pH 6.8±0.1 6.7±0.1 6.7±0.1 ns
EC 523±18 832±43 912±52 ***
*Total ammonia nitrogen
Water quality parameters as affected by plant species
0
500
1000
1500
2000
2500
0
2
4
6
8
0 7 14 21 28 35 42 49 56 63 70 77 84
EC (µS/cm)
pH
Days after Ttransplant
Aquaponics
Electrical conductivity (EC) dynamically changes in aquaponics.
0
500
1000
1500
2000
2500
0
2
4
6
8
0 7 14 21 28 35 42 49 56 63 70 77 84
EC (µS/cm)
pH
Days after Transplant
Hydroponics Lettuce Basil Tomato
*The pH was adjusted with a mixture of
KOH and Ca(OH)2 in both systems.

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Plant crop Production
system
Yield (g FW) / 3 months N use efficiency
(%)
Marketable
Part
Unmarketable
Parts
Plant Plant
+ fish
Tomato
Aquaponics 152 a 868 b 512 a 13.5 18.6
Hydroponics 115 a 1661 a 338 a 14 14.0
Basil
Aquaponics 233 b – 124 b 2.5 7.0
Hydroponics 287 a – 170 a 4.3 4.3
Lettuce
Aquaponics 121 b – 24 b 1.3 5.8
Hydroponics 197 a – 31 a 3.0 3.0
Comparisons of aquaponics and hydroponics in yield and nutrient
use Efficiency
• Aquaponics facility structure and layout
• Lighting
• Cooling and heating
• Aquaponics pest control
• Processing and marketing
Other Considerations
Source: Ceres Greenhouse Solutions

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Major Challenges of Aquaponics
• Knowledge of fish, bacteria, and plant production is essential to be
successful.
• Daily management (e.g. water quality management) is mandatory.
• Aquaponics alone will not provide a complete diet (nutrient
management).
• Fish and plant requirements do not always match perfectly.
• Reduced management choices compared with stand‐alone aquaculture or
hydroponic systems.
• Energy demanding: requires reliable access to electricity
• Expensive initial start‐up costs compared with soil or hydroponics
vegetable production
Economic Feasibility of Aquaponics
Case Study : Purdue University (Temperate climate)

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Economic analysis results from Purdue University:
“Commercial scale aquaponics is economically feasible, only if
aquaponics produce are sold as organic produce from the third
year of aquaponic business”
 Vegetable production is the major driving force of economic
success.
 Fish production of tilapia in aquaponics is currently not profitable.
 High‐value fish should be introduced in aquaponics.
Case Study:
Economic Analysis of Aquaponics and Hydroponics Operation
Operating revenue and costs for aquaponics Operating revenue and costs for hydroponics
Flores, R.M.V., H.J. Kim, and K. Quagrainie. 2017. Economic analysis of
aquaponics production in the US Midwest. Journal of Applied Aquaculture.
Case Study 2:

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• Aquaponics has great potential to be a future farming system.
• Aquaponics provides wellness tourism opportunity.
• Aquaponics provides unique educational opportunity to
nurture for future farmers.
• Aquaponics can be profitable, if…
• you are equipped with knowledge.
• your vegetables are sold as organic produce.
• you have local government support.
• Challenges need to be addressed:
• Scientific research is needed to be done for successful operation
of aquaponics system with higher productivity and profitability.
• Proper aquaponics design is necessary for optimal crop yield.
• Suitable fish/plants/fish feed combinations for high profitability.
Kim’s Lab
Current Lab members
Teng Yang
Meng‐Yang Lin
Seunghyun Choi
Yi‐Ju Wang
Sujoung Shim
Huijia Liu
Zilong Ye
Undergrad Researchers
Jeffrey Bates
Brittany Weerts
Gaotian Zhu
Youssef Karam
Brandon Horn
Hye Su Lee
Mitchell Ankney
Questions?
At HLA Fall Fling, Purdue Meigs Farm
Email at hyejikim@purdue.edu

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