Herbaceous plants as part of biological filter for aquaponics system

Abstract

Aquaponics is a recirculating aquaculture system (RAS), where plants and aquatic animals are grown using the same water. In these systems, plants act as part of biological filters. The cultivation of O. basilicum, Menta x piperita and M. spicata is commonly integrated to the production of O. niloticus in aquaponics. The aim of this study was to evaluate the ability of these herbs as part of biological filters for tilapia intensive production in aquaponics. Various physicochemical parameters were evaluated as water quality indicators. N and P content in the different elements of the system were also measured. Results showed that for tilapia growing the three herbaceous evaluated could be used as part of the biological filters in aquaponics, because they remove significant concentration in nitrogen compounds and phosphates; however, there were no differences among species. There was a positive relationship between the time and the levels of NH4 and therefore NO3− in the water. The pH, temperature and dissolved oxygen were kept at appropriate ranges for tilapia. The electrical conductivity and total dissolved solids were in suitable levels for growing herbaceous, which adapted to flooded substrates, with water constantly moving and high concentration of dissolved oxygen. A key parameter to consider is the oxygen concentration in water when herbaceous is used in aquaponics, due to the high input of this element for these species need, especially basil. Tilapia largely incorporated N and P entering the system.

Evaluation of Biomass Yield and Water Treatment in Two Aquaponic Systems Using the Dynamic Root Floating Technique (DRF)

“…In the case of the NO3 − -N, the concentration of both treatments was within the previously reported range of 5 to 32 mg/L in aquaponic systems [9,24,[31][32][33] and the plants did not present visual nitrogen deficiencies symptoms. However the concentration was lower than the minimum reported by several authors [10,18] for hydroponic production and could be the cause of the pak choy low weight.…”

“…These are higher values than those reported in the present work. The FCR obtained in all treatments was higher than the 1.4 value reported for Al-Hafed et al [9] and for the 1.37 value obtained for Espinoza Moya et al [24] for tilapia of similar weight in an aquaponic system, but similar to the values reported for Rakocy et al [7] for tilapia in aquaponic systems.…”

Effect of support medium, hydraulic loading rate and plant density on water quality and growth of halophytes in marine aquaponic systems

“…In aquaponic systems, plants are produced simultaneously with fish in a RAS. The aquaponic industry has grown rapidly over the last 30 years resulting in research on a range of system designs and various combinations of aquatic animal and plant species (Rakocy ; Espinosa Moya, Angel Sahagún, Mendoza Carrillo, Albertos Alpuche, Álvarez‐González & Martínez‐Yáñez ; Trang & Brix ; Hu, Lee, Chandran, Kim, Brotto & Khanal ). However, most aquaponic systems previously studied have used obligate freshwater aquatic animal and plant species, with little prior research on marine fish or plant species.…”

Economically viable aquaponics? Identifying the gap between potential and current uncertainties

“…), filtration methods (Trang & Brix ; Espinosa Moya et al . ; Silva et al . ) and fish feed (Liang & Chien ; Medina et al .…”