With this article I want to avoid you to make the 5 most common aquaponics mistakes.
Some things may seem quite intuitive when you begin aquaponics. However, the more you gain experience, the better you get to understand the existence of numerous traps. Any little mistake can be harmful to your ecosystem.
Here is the list of the five things you should strictly avoid.
Grow one type of crop
The general food production system grows food in monoculture. Which means only one species of plant is grown. In contrast, in a forest you always find different species living together. they balance the ecosystem. In aquaponics, we are working with natural principles. We must respect the natural balance.
If you grow only one crop at high density, then expect to face some problems such as pest invasion. Growing a multitude of crops avoid the pest to multiply and spread on the rest of the plant sections. Furthermore, it will afford an appropriate biotope to an extensive range of predators. They will be ready to regulate the pest population.
Spray your system
It is so much frustrating witnessing pest invasion at your farm. Especially when you have dedicated all your effort towards the growth of it. Most people in this situation consider a very poor solution… Spraying the crop with pesticides to get rid of the insects.
Unfortunately, this practice will generally damage the bacteria population. it can lead to much more severe complications.
The solution?
Work with a wide biodiversity in the variety of plants you are growing. The number of predators present in the setup will quickly take care of the issue.
Feed fish while on holiday
We all want to keep our fish in the best condition. Therefore, we want to make sure they don’t miss of anything, even when we are on holiday. Hence, many people instal an automatic feeder to take care of the fish while they go away. In my view that’s a big mistake and it can cost the life of your aquaponics fish.
Why? Let me explain…
Imagine you are on holiday and for some reasons your water pump stops working. In this case, the water is not “filtered” by the bacteria. If you are not feeding the fish, the toxic nitrogen molecules such as ammonia and nitrite will remain low. However, if you have an automatic feeder, it will continue feeding the fish. The ammonia and nitrite will eventually increase over your fish tolerance. As a result, the fish will die. Hence, the best thing to do is to cut off the food supply while you go on holiday.
Pushing the system too much
Every aquaponics structure is designed and able to accept a maximum fish biomass. Meaning, there is a limit regarding the quantity of fish able to live in a particular aquaponics system. Alternatively, there will be a significant risk of killing all of them as a result of water toxicity. Don’t make the mistake to overstock your fish tank
Use of an over-sized water pump
Designing a good aquaponics system also calls for installing the right size water pump. In the free 6 step process aquaponics guide, we explain ways of choosing appropriate ones for any of your aquaponics setup.
Backyard aquaponics are generally flood and drain grow-bed systems. You must ensure it is capable enough to supply sufficient oxygen for your bacteria. An air pump can provide the oxygen for the fish (in the fish tank).
Most beginners equip their system with a massive water pump thinking it’s better for the fish. Unfortunately, the large pump consumes an extra power which makes it non-economical to run.
Avoiding the 5 aquaponics mistakes mentioned above offers you a lee-way over 60% of potential concerns likely to affect your farming.
You will probably be interested to discover my six steps to build and manage an Aquaponics system. Click here to access for free! Thanks and good reading 🙂
