History
Two theories of the first aquaponics systems are:
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What is Aquaponics?
Aquaponics is combination of hydroponics and aquaculture. Hydroponics is growing plants without the usage of soil, often done in sand, gravel, or liquids, with added nutrients. Aquaculture is the growing of aquatic animals or plants. Aquaponics brings these two together allowing the growth of plants and fish, without the problems with soil.
Why Aquaponics will help
When we hear that the oceans are being overfished, it is a sad consequence to a Tragedy of the Commons (when everyone has access to the same resource, it will be depleted as soon as possible without consideration for future generations). A quick fix to this was the idea of fish farming or aquaculture. Fish did grow, but at the risk of decreasing genetic variation. Low genetic variation would increase the chance that a disease may come along and wipe out the entire farm. These aquaculture fish farms are often outdoors exposing them to these possible diseases. Aquaponics, being indoor would greatly decrease exposure to these diseases. Another fish farm problem is waste clean up. With aquaponics, fish waste will be pump to plants and be used as a source of nutrients.
Advantages
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