You can design an aquaponics at home system that can produce fresh organic vegetables and raise fish at the same time. Taking a lesson from fish farming otherwise known as aquaculture and the practice of raising plants without soil known as hydroponics a marriage of the two worlds are created to form aquaponics.
Aquaponics at home can be a very basic system designed to grow a small herb garden or an aggressive system designed to raise organic vegetables to feed an entire household.
Aquaponics at home cultivate fish and plants by growing plants in containers filled with gravel, your plants get their food from the waste of your fish, a process that is very beneficial to both plants and the fish. Your fish are going to be healthy and more than likely resistant to infections and various diseases. As a result, they are far more likely to be less stressed than those in other aquaculture systems that may have chemicals that leeched in the water.
Your plants will be healthy as well; and return excellent yields in a shorter period of time, more cost efficient with no chemicals to buy, reduced plant food expenses and no need to invest in expensive treatments to combat infections.
It is a great symbiotic relationship; by bacteria already being present in the plant beds it breaks down the waste products from your fish tank which is then used by your plants to get their nutrients. After which the water has been purified and recycled into the fish tank. You will use far less water than you would use if you were using a soil based garden.
Aquaponice at home is a great win win scenario however it can also be used on a much larger scale to feed developing countries. Eco friendly and affordable it may be the perfect solution for a growing problem, pun intended.