Presentation on aquaponics by Md. Nazmus Sakib. Student of Fisheries & Aquaculture, Sher-e-Bangla Agricultural University, (SAU) Dhaka. Contact : +8801680017163 +8801790777163 +8801970017163 email : mdnsanik@gmail.com

1. 1

2. 2
• Introduction
• How it works
• Components
• Types & Design
• Cultivable Species
• Harvesting & Time period
• Why Aquaponics

3. 3

4. The combination of
aquaculture (raising fish) and
hydroponics (the soil-less
growing of plants) that
grows fish and plants together
in one integrated system. The
fish waste provides an organic
food source for the plants, and
the plants naturally filter the
water for the fish.
4

5. How it works

6. How it works

7. Components
1. Fish Tank
2. Clarifiers
3. Bio-filters
4. Oxygen Systems
5. Sump Tank
6. Stand Pipes
7. Grow Bed
8. Plants and Fish
9. Pump
10. Bell siphon

8. 8 8
Fish Tank

9. Clarifiers
9

10. 10
Bio-filters
Keeping the water clean and
balanced in your aquaponics
system is essential to keep it
running efficiently.

11. Bio-filter

12. Oxygen
Systems
12

13. 13
Pumps

14. Stand Pipes
14

15. Sump Tank
15

16. Bell siphon
16

17. 17 17
Grow Bed

18. 18
Plants and Fish

19. TYPES
19

20. Media Based

21. Media Based
A media-filled bed system uses a tank or
container that is filled with gravel, perlite or
another media for the plant bed. This bed is
periodically flooded with water from the fish
tank. The water then drains back to the fish
tank. All waste, including the solids, is broken
down within the plant bed. Sometimes worms
are added to the gravel-filled plant bed to
enhance the break-down of the waste. This
method uses the fewest components and no
additional filtration, making it simple to
operate.

22. Media Based

23. Media Based

24. Media Based

25. 25 25
Media Based
Self cleaning
A media bed performs three filtering functions:
Mechanical ( Solids removal):
Constraint

26. Nutrient Film
Technique

27. Nutrient Film Technique
NFT (Nutrient Film Technique) is a method in which the plants
are grown in long narrow channels. A thin film of water
continuously flows down each channel, providing the plant
roots with water, nutrients and oxygen. As with the raft
system, water flows continuously from the fish tank, through
filtration components, through the NFT channels where the
plants are grown and then back to the fish tank. In NFT, a
separate bio filter is required, however, because there is not a
large amount of water or surface for the beneficial bacteria to
live. In addition, the plumbing used in a hydroponic NFT
system is usually not large enough to be used in aquaponics
because the organic nature of the system and “living” water
will cause clogging of small pipes and tubes.

28. Nutrient Film
Technique

29. Nutrient Film
Technique

30. NFT

31. NFT
Most important step is
that, the flow of the water
from fish tank should be
continued all the time.

32. Important Note for NFT-
It is not suitable for all plants but best for leafy green
vegetable. Such as
NFT

33. Deep Water

34. 34 34
Deep Water

35. Deep water

36. Deep water

37. Deep water
Important Note:
• Water ratio for fish tank and
grow bed is 1:1
• In grow bed there should be an
air pump for remaining current
in water.

38. Cultivable
Fish Species
Fish that we have raised in aquaponics
with good results:
 tilapia.
 blue gill/brim.
 sunfish.
 crappie.
 koi.
 fancy goldfish.
 pacu.
 various ornamental fish such as angelfish,
guppies, tetras, swordfish, mollies

39. Cultivable
Fish Species
Other fish raised in aquaponics:
• carp
• barramundi
• silver perch, golden perch
• yellow perch
• Catfish
• Large mouth Bass

40. Cultivable Plants
Plants that will do well in any
aquaponic system:
• any leafy lettuce
• pak choi
• kale
• swiss chard
• arugula
• basil
• mint
• watercress
• chives
• most common house plants

41. Cultivable Plants
Plants that have higher
nutritional demands and will only
do well in a heavily stocked, well
established aquaponics system:
• tomatoes
• peppers
• cucumbers
• beans
• peas
• squash
• broccoli
• cauliflower
• cabbage

42. Stocking Density
106/𝒎 𝟑
for Tilapia
Varies from species to species
1.25 kg of fingerlings per 400
liter of water is very productive
for most of the fishes.

43. Parameters
Parameters Value Range
Water Temperature ( 0 C) 28-33
pH 8.07-8.53
Alkalinity 40-78
Nitrite-Nitrogen (mg/L) 0.01-0.50
Nitrate-Nitrogen (mg/L) 0.03-1.16
Dissolved oxygen (mg/L) 6.2-8.5

44. Fish Feed
• Commercial fish feeds contain exact
protein, carbohydrate & other vitamin
according to the requirements of specific
fish
• Plant proteins can include soya meal, corn
meal, wheat meal etc
• Most of the feeds are between 10-35%
protein
• Alternative feeds should be considered
like duckweed, insects, worms or black
soldier fly larvae
• Fish meal based feed needs to be avoided
as this source is not sustainable

45. Feeding
Fish
• On an average, fish eat about
1.5-2% of their body weight
daily
• If 35-40 kg fish in the system,
daily feed required 0.525-0.6 kg
• Don’t just rely on the
calculation, observation need to
determine the proper amount of
fish.
• Fish don’t eat in cold and
extreme temperature

46. Aurum
Tons/ha/5 months
Red amaranth
Tons/ha/5 months
Tomato
Tons/ha/ season
Ladies finger
Tons/ha/season
Lettuce
Tons/ha/ 4 months
19.44 5.87 127.74 102.62 571.53
Fish & vegetable production
Fish production: 116-142 tons/ha/ 115-150 days
One notable thing is that the vegetable grown in aquaponics system
not only grows well but fruiting time is longer than the soil grown
vegetable.

47. Continuous Harvests, 365 days per year
The vegetable crops from these systems can be harvested daily
to meet market demand 365 days/year. Each commercial system
uses multiple fish tanks for staggered harvesting. With tilapia
that means you will harvest a tank full of fish every 4 or 6
months.

48. 48
Why Aquaponics
1 2 3 4 5

49. 49
Why Aquaponics
6 7 8 9 10

50. Tips &
Tricks
• Regular wash gravel media before putting
in the system otherwise , it will get dirty
• Test pH
• Use of air pump to bubble out chlorine
and chloramine from tap water
• Never use cleaning products, pesticides,
fertilizers like substances.
• Avoid direct sun light on fish tank.
• Never change more than 35% of water at
a time. It will destroy bacteria growth.
• Cover the out door plants during
scorching summer sun.
• Make sure to available for pumps and
aerators.

52. THANK YOU