Cost and Space Efficient Aquaponics
By Istvan Siposs
Using mostly recycled and very cheap materials I was able to put together a very rudimentary yet functional aquaponics system to grow plants and vegetables in my backyard without taking up a lot of space, money, or time. My project aimed to demonstrate how aquaponic gardens could be made to fit in very small locations without excessive materials or costs.
This was done by first planning the main functions of the system to see what exactly I'd be needing, to then gathering the materials, and lastly putting it together. I found my grow bed and fish tank at Goodwill for 4 dollars altogether, the piping for the water pump at Ace Hardware for 3 dollars, and the solar powered water pump online for 20 dollars. I also spent 12 dollars on the soil medium, and another 8 for fish food. To the left is what my system looked like indoors and empty. As you can see by the images, making your own system only need three simple parts, and it can fit virtually anywhere with the right materials.
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In the picture above, you can see my empty system in the process of cleaning off the potentially clogging contaminants in the soil medium. The water color became much clearer once I had drained out all the larger debris from the soil and water, then it was ready for plants and fish.
In this image to the left, I had not yet added the soil medium, and was in the process of testing both the water tightness of the bins as well as the ability and functionality of the water pump. |