Hydroponics
Define Hydroponics
Hydroponics is a method of growing plants in a soilless medium, which is irrigated with a nutrient rich solution, which can be organic or inorganic.
Define aquaculture
Aquaculture is growing fish, shellfish and crustaceans in a controlled environment. Oxygen, animal waste and food are managed to provide optimum conditions for animal growth and development.
Define aquaponics
Aquaponics is growing of plants and aquatic animals together in various configurations whereby the animal wastewater is utilized by plants in grow beds. When the water passes through the grow beds the waste is removed. The process of photosynthesis oxygenates the water and movement of the water as it travels through the system.
What is the chemical produced in fish waste?
Ammonia
What is the pH scale?
A test to establish if a substance is alkaline, acidic or neutral.
What are the advantages of growing plants in a hydroponics system?
a. Water is recycled.
b. No weeding
c. Minimal input and output.
d. Environmentally isolated
What are the advantages of aquaculture
a. No Predators
b. Controlled environment
c. Monitor growth and development with relative ease.
d. Nutrition is precise
e. Predictable harvest time and quantity.
What are the advantages of Aquaponics?
a. Advantages of both Hydroponics and aquaculture systems.
b. The waste from the aquaculture system feed the plants system.
c. The plant system cleans and filters the water prior to it returning to the fish system.
d. dual yield / harvest
Ammonia is transformed by nitrosomonas into
nitrates or nitrites?
Nitrites
What is the optimum pH for a hydroponics system?
6.5
What are the disadvantages of hydroponics?
a. Source of power needs to be reliable to run the pump.
b. Nutrient solution needs to be a balance plant diet.
c. Water pH needs to be managed/monitored.
What are the disadvantages of aquaculture?
a. Food can be expensive depending on the species of aquatic animals.
b. Managing levels ammonia, oxygen.
c. Water has to be filtered to remove ammonia and nitrites.
d. damages natural environment surrounding farm.
What are the disadvantages of aquaponics?
a. Food can be expensive depending on the species of aquatic animals.
b. system can collapse if one component fails
c. overharvesting will reduce the systems capacity to function.
How are nitrates produced?
Nitrobacter consumes nitrites and excretes nitrates (double points)
bacteria consume nitrites and produce nitrates.
What is the optimum pH for an aquaponics system?
7.5
Name the components of a hydroponic system.
Grow Beds, sump, pump
deep sea ocean nets, oxygen pumps
Name the components of the schools aquaponics system.
Fish tank, pump, sump, bell siphon, grow bed
Describe how the nitrogen cycle works in an aquaponics system
Fish poo in the water, the water is pumped into the grow beds, bacteria fix ammonia into nitrates, plants consume nitrates, clean and oxygenated water returned to fish tank.
Accurately describe the climate of the Redlands. Outline the seasons, temp and rainfall. Must include info on all three
S- D,J,F
A - M,A,M
W - J, J, A
S - S, O, N
Intense periods of rainfall during the summer months. Long periods of dry in the winter months.
Temperatures range from as low as 3oC during the night in winter to 35oC during the day in summer.
Aside from marijuana, which plants can grow well hydroponically. Additional points if you can describe why they grow so well.
Name 2 for points
Which fish species are the most intensively farmed in aquaculture. Name 2 for points.
Salmon, Trout, Prawns
Which fish species are most effective in aquaponics systems? Why? and why are they illegal in QLD?
Tilapia, fast growing, fast reproducing, great eating fish.
Once they escape they overrun natural places and out compete native fish species.
What would happen to the cycle if rocks from the grow bed were removed. (Must provide an accurate / descriptive response)
Everything would die because the bacteria that fix the nitrogen would be removed from the system.
Which system is best and why?
Aquaponics - combines the best things from both hydro and aquaculture and you increase your growing potential.