This is a combination of hydroponics and aquaculture in which fish and other aquatic life are grown. It does away with the proprietary nutrient solutions used in hydroponics, replacing it with the nutrient-rich water discarded from aquaculture tanks.
The system uses an inert medium that gets colonized by microorganisms capable of breaking down aquaculture waste products. The water thus cleaned and filtered by the hydroponic bed gets recirculated into the aquaculture tanks.
A simple replication of aquaponics would be growing herbs, watercress or microgreens on Styrofoam sheets floating in an aquarium tank with their roots absorbing the nutrients generated from fish waste.
It is truly amazing the number of plants that can be grown without soil. If you are ready for a change from conventional gardening why not try your green thumb at water gardening?
