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⊰⊰ Give a Man a Fish and He will Eat for a Day ⊱⊱
⊰⊰ Teach a Man to Fish and He will Eat for a Lifetime ⊱⊱
⊰⊰ Enable a Man to Raise Fish and He will Feed a Village for an Eon ⊱⊱

ONE OF THE MOST ancient yet innovative farming concepts is Aquaponics.  Aquaponics can be done on a small scale on your desk or in your living room.  It can be done on a huge scale in a massive greenhouse or even outside in temperate climates. 

CONVENTIONAL farming generally utilizes massive quantities of Anhydrous Ammonia to fertilize their fields. For more information about Anhydrous Ammonia, a chemical made of nitrogen and hydrogen and stored in a gas form, click here.  

AS A NATURAL alternative, fish produce high levels of nitrogen and ammonia as waste.  Utilizing this very natural process, anyone with knowledge of fish culture and...

an understanding of fish tank health, could then potentially quadruple their production of vegetables, fruits, and herbs versus conventional farming methods. If you would like to build a system similar to this image shown above, see below for links to many of the items you would need.  Here is a link to an Aquaponics forum with tons of great information based on the experiences of it's followers.

**DO NOT use decorative fish tank chemicals with this system.  Use all natural products for maintaining the PH level in your system.  Baking Soda works perfect for raising PH.  But word of advice - a very tiny amount of baking soda in a 20 gallon system will raise the ph quickly.  Click the image to the right to learn about nutrient availability based on PH levels in Aquaponic systems. With our fish tanks, we found that a pinch of baking soda scattered across the top of the water, raised the ph significantly. 

CYCLING YOUR system can be a little challenging at first.  When setting up a new system, the ph will fluctuate wildly during the cycling process, so much that it will not be safe to introduce fish for at least 6 weeks.  Click the image to the right for a video that describes the Cycling process.  Plants can be introduced early but will suffer from nutrient deficiencies until the system is fully established.  The intitial investment in setting up a solid Aquaponics system will provide years of increased production in your garden/greenhouse and is integral to the Sustainable Farming concept mentioned in the beginning of this site.  

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Fish Tank - 20 Gal Aquarium KIt	Sterilite Clear Plastic Containers - 12 pack	Grow It Clay Pebble growing Media
Bell Siphon (set of 2)
Betta Tank Aquaponics System	Heavy Duty 4 Shelf Unit	Complete Aquaponics System
Submersible Water Pump 1110 GPH	API Freshwater Master Test Kit	Heirloom Seeds - 20 Varieties

THERE ARE multiple different types of fish that can be used in the Aquaponics system, depending on whether you choose to harvest the fish or are going to be using ornamental fish breeds. Here is a short presentation by Texas A&M giving information on fish selection and care.  For more in-depth information, see the Fish Management page for information on fish breeds and fish management.