Aquaponics - briefly explained

Aquaponics is a procedure that combines aquaculture – i.e. the rearing of aquatic animals such as fish, crabs, snails, or shrimps, in water tanks – with hydroponics – i.e. the cultivation of crops such as vegetables or herbaceous plants in water. In this setting, nitrifying bacteria convert the ammonia from fish excretions into nitrates, which are then used as nutrients by the plants. This therefore represents an efficient closed-loop system. The idea is not completely new; the Mayans already used a similar cultivation method long ago. What is new, however, is the modern measurement and control technology that monitors and controls the system, and which is being intensively researched by the Bioprocess Technology working group at TUAS Wildau.