Rules of thumb in aquaponics

pH Oxygen Fish Plants Biofilter System design

pH

• • • • Balancing acids in the system pH and ammonia Adding base ▫ KOH ▫ Ca(OH)2 1kg of fish feed to ~0,25 kg of base

Oxygen

• • • • ▫ ▫ Safe ratio 1:1 Deep aeration Move water not air Removing solids ▫ 25% of feed becomes TSS ▫ Radial flow clarifier/swirl separator radial-flow settler 190 lpm/m2 Settling basins, drum filters Proper tank design

Fish

• Fish stocking ▫ Final weight 10-20 kg/m3 • • Feeding rates Constat feed input ▫ Staggered production  20-30% harvest ▫ Multiple fish size

Plants

• • Daily feeding rate ▫ 10-25 g/m2 LAI – leaf area index ▫ LAI = leaf area / ground area, m 2  / m 2 LAI < 0.6 feed only 50% of daily feed  LAI > 1 feed 100% of daily feed • Visual evaluation ▫ Coverage in %  fish feed % of daily

Biofilter

• • Flood and drain system ▫ No other filtration – 1:1 or 1:2 ratio Solids removal ▫ SSA(specific surface area) ▫ kg TAN/day produced(0,3% of feed) ▫ gTAN/m2/day removed

System design

• Keep it simple ▫ One pump ▫ Short pipelines ▫ Oversized pipes

Thank you for your attention

Matej Leskovec