Aquaponics
Drew and Pratt’s middle school group threw this aquaponic system together this afternoon.
The simple explanation, the one we explained to our preschool and younger school age kids goes like this…..Everything that eats poops, the fish poop in the water and the water gets pumped up to the plants and seeds, the “poopy” water provides “food” for the plants and the plants and pebbles help clean the water for the fish when it drips back down into the fish tank. Everybody is working together and everybody is happy. The “nature nuts” get it. Symbiosis. ( see below for a more formal explanation, that doesn’t use the word “poopy”)
Stop by the Pratt Nature Center on your way through New Milford and check it out!
Aquaponics
Aquaponics /ˈækwəˈpɒnɨks/ is a sustainable food production system that combines a traditional aquaculture (raising aquatic animals such as snails, fish,crayfish or prawns in tanks) with hydroponics (cultivating plants in water) in a symbiotic environment. In aquaculture, effluents accumulate in the water, increasing toxicity for the fish. This water is led to a hydroponic system where the by-products from the aquaculture are filtered out by the plants as vital nutrients, after which the cleansed water is recirculated back to the animals. The term aquaponics is a portmanteau of the terms aquaculture and hydroponic.
Aquaponic systems vary in size from small indoor or outdoor units to large commercial units, using the same technology. The systems may contain fresh or salt water, depending on the plants and animals desired
