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Aquaponics is a solution for sustainable production of fish and plants in a single semi-closed system, where nutrient-rich water from the aquaculture provides nutrients for plant growth. We examined the microbial communities within an experimental aquaponics system. Whereas the fish feces contained a separate community dominated by bacteria of the genus Cetobacterium, the samples from plant roots, biofilter, and periphyton were more similar to each other, while the communities were more diverse. Detailed examination of the data gave the first indications to functional groups of organisms in the different compartments of the aquaponic system. As other nitrifiers other than members of the genus Nitrospira were only present at low numbers, it was anticipated that Nitrospirae may perform the nitrification process in the biofilm.

Aquaponics (AP) is a food production system that combines hydroponic (HP) crop production with recirculating aquaculture. Different types of hydroponic systems have been used for growing crops in aquaponics. However, very few studies have compared their suitability and efficiency in an aquaponic context. The study presented here compares tomato yield, morphological (external) and biochemical (internal) fruit quality, and overall tomato plant vitality from three different HP systems (nutrient film technique, drip irrigation system, and floating raft culture) and examines the distribution of nutrients in different parts of the tomato plant. Three replicate AP systems were set up, each incorporating the three different HP systems coupled with a separate recirculating aquaculture unit growing Nile tilapia. The results showed that the choice of the cultivation system had little influence on most of the above-mentioned properties. Tomato fruit mineral content was found to be in similar range for N, P, K, Ca, Mg, Fe, and Zn as reported in the literature. Yield and fruit quality were similar in all three systems. However, the drip irrigation system did perform slightly better. The slightly higher oxygen radical absorbance capacity (ORAC) of the fruits grown in AP in comparison to commercially produced and supermarket derived tomatoes might indicate a potential for producing fruits with higher health value for humans.

Abstract:Nutrients that are contained in aquaculture effluent may not supply sufficient levels of nutrients for proper plant development and growth in hydroponics; therefore, they need to be supplemented. To determine the required level of supplementation, three identical aquaponic systems (A, B, and C) and one hydroponic system (D) were stocked with lettuce, mint, and mushroom herbs. The aquaponic systems were stocked with Nile tilapia. System A only received nutrients derived from fish feed; system B received nutrients from fish feed as well as weekly supplements of micronutrients and Fe; system C received the same nutrients as B, with weekly supplements of the macronutrients, P and K; in system D, a hydroponic inorganic solution containing N, Ca, and the same nutrients as system C was added weekly. Lettuce achieved the highest yields in system C, mint in system B, and mushroom herb in systems A and B. The present study demonstrated that the nutritional requirements of the mint and mushroom herb make them suitable for aquaponic farming because they require low levels of supplement addition, and hence little management effort, resulting in minimal cost increases. While the addition of supplements accelerated the lettuce growth (Systems B, C), and even surpassed the growth in hydroponic (System C vs. D), the nutritional quality (polyphenols, nitrate content) was better without supplementation.

Abstract:One of the main challenges in aquaponics is disease control. One possible solution for this is biological control with organisms exerting inhibitory effects on fish and plant pathogens. The aim of this study was to examine the potential of isolating microorganisms that exert an inhibitory effect on both plant and fish pathogens from an established aquaponic system. We obtained 924 isolates on selective King's B agar and 101 isolates on MRS agar from different compartments of a model aquaponic system and tested them for antagonism against the plant pathogen Pythium ultimum and fish pathogen Saprolegnia parasitica. Overall, 42 isolates were able to inhibit both fungi.Although not yet tested in vivo, these findings open new options for the implementation of biological control of diseases in aquaponics, where plants and fish are cultivated in the same water recirculating system.

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Trickling filters were used to treat wash water from a wood gasifier. This wash water contained toxic substances such as ammonium, cyanide, phenols, and PAH. The goal was to develop a system that degraded toxic substances, and achieved full nitrification of ammonia. A 1 kW model wood gasifier plant delivered wash water for the experiments, which was standardised to a conductivity of 3 mS/cm by dilution. Toxicity was assessed by bacterial luminescence detection, germination test with cress (Lepidium sativum), and pot plants cultivated in a hydroponic setup irrigated continuously with the wastewater. Treatment experiments were done in both planted and unplanted trickling filters. Plant yield was similar to conventional hydroponic production systems. The trickling filters achieved complete detoxification of phenol, PAH and cyanide as well as full nitrification. The specific elimination rates were 100 g m(-3) Leca d(-1) for phenols and 90 g m(-3) Leca d(-1) for ammonium in planted systems. In unplanted trickling filters circulated for 63 h, phenol concentration decreased from 83.5 mg/L to 2.5 mg/L and cyanide concentration from 0.32 mg/L to 0.02 mg/L. PAH concentrations were reduced from 3,050 microg/L to 0.89 microg/L within 68 days. The assays demonstrated the feasibility of using the technique to construct a treatment system in a partially closed circulation for gasifier wash water. The principal advantage is to convert toxic effluents from biomass gasifiers into a non-toxic, nitrogen-rich fertiliser water, enabling subsequent use in plant production and thus income generation. However, the questions of long-term performance and possible accumulation of phenols and heavy metals in the produce still have to be studied.

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