If you have a dog or a cat, you have probably been confronted to the problem of the holidays… Who is going to take care of the pets while you are on holiday? It can be a real problem…When it comes to aquaponics it’s very different and not a source of stress during holiday.
Who is going to take care of the pets while you are on holiday? It can be a real problem…
When it comes to aquaponics it’s very different. The fish are in an ecosystem and the water is constantly purified thanks to the bacteria and plants. The fish environment remains adapted and no human action is requested.
What about feeding the fish?
You may be thinking: ”I am going on holiday for 2 weeks, who is going to feed the fish?” or even: “I don’t want to commit to aquaponics as I like going on holiday and I will not be able to manage the fish during this period”.
What are the options?
You may have heard of little devices able to feed the fish automatically and thought that it was a great option. WRONG! The automatic feeder will feed your fish every day but who will be there to check that the fish are actually eating the whole quantity of food? Who will be there to chek that everything is going well and yes, the fish are able to eat today?
You see in aquaponics you never feed a fish that is stressed. We never feed if there is a problem in the tank or if the water pump is not working and therefore the “filtration” is not in process.
If the water pump stops and the fish are fed by the automatic feeder, a quantity of ammonia will accumulate into the fish tank until it reaches the lethal limit of your fish and they will simply die…
What is the solution then?
Don’t feed the fish! As simple as that!
The fish are able to fast for very long period of time and are naturally doing it in their natural environment. Obviously it is easier for them to fast in winter. They are cold blood animals and their body activity (including digestion) will decrease with low temperature. However they are also able to fast in summer and will survive for weeks without food.
What should you do to your aquaponics before holiday?
- Clean your water pump and pipes
- Top up the water levels
And this is it!
By doing this you will avoid 99% of the possible problems. Even if for some reasons the water pump stops, as long as you have a low fish density and the air pump running the fish will survive. Remember, ammonia are released by fish food and fish dejections. If you don’t feed your fish, even without biological filtration the ammonia level will remain low. This will allow you fish to survive for a long period of time without water pump!
You can now go on holiday and enjoy your trip without having to stress for your aquaponics system
You will probably be interested to discover Jonathan’s six steps to build and manage an Aquaponics system. Click here to access for free! Thanks and good reading 🙂
