Aquaponics: How the “Friendship” Between Fish and Plants are Fueling a Greener Future
- Caleb Margolis
- May 12
- 7 min read
Humans are a complex species each individually different from the other. However, one factor that binds us all together is the persistent need to eat. Agriculture serves as the backbone for human survival. One of the most crucial human innovations was the ability to grow food. With an abundance of food our species evolved from small hunter gatherer communities to urban civilizations. To date, half of earth's habitable land is used for the means of agriculture. In the United States, 34 million American jobs are supported by the agricultural industry and as of 2023, agriculture contributed 1.53 trillion dollars to the U.S. economy. Being a critical juncture in human survival, agriculture is deeply rooted in our politics, economics, and most importantly our environment.
Unfortunately, in the wake of agricultural growth comes many environmental and human health concerns from the most commonly recognizable issues to the things most people never see. Modern day agriculture is responsible for over ¼ of the world's greenhouse gas emissions. As such it plays a massive role in the current environmental crises of global warming and global climate change induced by the trapping of heat via greenhouse gasses. Additionally, 70% of all freshwater used by humans goes into agriculture. In a growingly water insecure world, this extreme water usage endangers peoples access to drinkable water. Furthermore, agriculture threatens the health of our environment as it often requires large plots of land for its practice. This can lead to habitat destruction and fragmentation which harm the biodiversity of the surrounding environment. In addition, what people are most unaware of is that agriculture is considered to be the cause of 78% of global ocean and freshwater eutrophication. Induced by the runoff of harmful chemicals present in pesticides and fertilizers, eutrophication is the development of “dead-zones”, areas of excess algae growth, that deplete oxygen levels making inhabitants impossible. As a result, the aquatic ecosystem becomes unstable and loses biodiversity.
That being said, the practice of agriculture isn’t going anywhere. By 2050 it is estimated that 2 billion people will be added to the global human population. As a result, agriculture will need to produce 60% more food worldwide. Modern society is too dependent on this practice to just throw it out the window simply because of the toll it pays on our environment. Therefore, the solution to this environmental influencer should not come from inhibiting it but rather continuing to support it through sustainable means. One remarkable innovation that has existed throughout history but is starting to take the spotlight once again as a sustainable agricultural hero is aquaponics.
Interestingly enough, the development of this “hero” can be traced back to the ancient civilization of the Aztecs. The Aztecs utilized an agricultural technique of floating gardens called chinampas. These were gardens placed atop freshwater lakes which used the naturally occurring nitrogen cycling of the body of water to supply nutrients to the plants. Today, modern agricultural technology is improving upon this method and it is called aquaponics.
Aquaponics is the combination between aquaculture, the farming of fish in a water environment, and hydroponics, growing plants with water instead of soil. Through an almost symbiotic relationship between fish and plants, aquaponics artificially simulates the nitrogen cycle, fueling both plant and fish growth.
As the fish excrete waste containing ammonia, which can be deadly to fish in high concentrations, bacteria from the genus Nitrosomonas convert the ammonia into nitrites. Then Nitrobacter converts these nitrites into nitrates allowing the plants to uptake this nitrogen. The water is then filtered through plant grow beds which typically consist of gravel or clay pellets, placed either next to or on top of the fish tank. As this nitrate filled water is filtered, the plant roots take up necessary nitrogen to fuel their growth. In turn, the water filtered by the plants are returned back to the fish tank, providing them with a chemically balanced environment for their own benefit.
The innovative practice of aquaponics speaks to a new form of agriculture that doesn't just grow crops or fish, but sustainability. Being a closed loop system protected from external environmental conditions, aquaponics is extremely eco-friendly. Due to the nature of its contained system, aquaponics does not need chemical fertilizers and pesticides which means no harmful chemical runoff and no eutrophication. In addition, because the system is closed loop, it's extremely water efficient. Aquaponics use 90-99% less water than traditional agricultural practices. This massive amount of water conservation is vital in a world where more and more people require drinkable water every day.
Due to aquaponics' ability to be set up in controlled environments, aquaponics allows for growing nearly any crop in nearly any place in the world. This reduces our dependence on seasonal changes to begin growing crops, allowing for year-round production. In turn, this process fills gaps in time where traditional agricultural farming cannot produce anything, making it easier to feed the ever growing human population.
The benefits of aquaponics does not exclusively provide sustainability benefits. Due to the variety of locations in which aquaponic systems can be set up, aquaponics can help build community. By fostering agricultural education to areas with arable land such as cities, aquaponics can provide experiential learning through agricultural farming to places that would otherwise struggle doing so. As a result, aquaponics can foster a deeper societal appreciation for the important practice of agriculture and educate the next generation on sustainability and the importance of nature in modern day farming.
While aquaponics fosters sustainable agriculture, it struggles to become more commonplace. Despite the lack of direct opposition to aquaponics system usage, many farmers are unwilling to implement such a system. According to a survey conducted by Mckinsey & Company, 90% of U.S. Farmers are knowledgeable of various means of sustainable agricultural practices but do not implement them due to the dominant desire for farm maintenance assistance and financial return. This means that farmers in most cases will implement the practices that will most benefit their farm and allow them to continue to support the American people regardless of sustainability. Therefore, aquaponics is inadvertently opposed by its lack of ability to compete with traditional agricultural practices, and from an economic stand point, this is blatantly clear. On a global scale, in 2023 the aquaponics market made a sum total revenue of 770.72 million dollars. However, in total, agricultural farming made a sum total revenue of 13.1 trillion dollars. Comparatively, aquaponics, while being an agricultural practice, contributes very little to agriculture's overall revenue and as such has little influence on our economy. Therefore, modern day aquaponics is quite frankly not good business. As a result many business owners, economists, and farmers avoid or don't consider the implementation of these systems as other investments are more insured in profitable outcomes.
Even if aquaponics systems gain more investment and sponsorship, those businesses will struggle competing with the prices of modern day agriculture. Due to a far lower crop yield and smaller scale production, for the business to stay afloat they will have to charge more per crop than traditional farms that mass produce these products. As a result, people will likely financially support traditional farming over aquaponics because of their cheaper prices. Thus, it becomes extremely difficult for aquaponics to take precedence.
However, people are still not giving up on aquaponics. NOAA, a U.S. governmental agency on the front lines for environmental protection and conservation has developed the largest aquaponics system in the U.S., “Superior Fresh”. Spanning more than 13 acres this massive aquaponics facility produces 1.5 million pounds of salmon and over 3 million pounds of leafy greens each year. This is a massive annual yield especially for a non-traditional agricultural practice. As such, the “Superior Fresh” aquaponics facility shows that the continual innovation and improvement of these systems could allow for aquaponics to become more commonplace in U.S. agriculture.
That being said, aquaponics does not necessarily need to become a larger and more efficient system to become more widespread. One way to bypass the inadvertent economic issue hindering aquaponics implementation is if people take this sustainable practice into their own hands. By making at home aquaponics systems people will depend less on large scale agricultural business to provide them with the goods they need. As such, not only will people be consuming more sustainably produced foods but will in some way relieve the massive crop yields demanded from large agricultural corporations. In turn, U.S. agriculture will naturally become more sustainable.
A misconception about aquaponics is that its systems are too costly and too complex. However, everyone can set up an aquaponics system in their own home. There are a variety of organizations that provide a step by step breakdown on how to set up an at home aquaponics system including Go Green Aquaponics, Earth Easy, and or Youtube. On the most basic level, to set up an aquaponics system you need a fish tank, a grow bed, and a pump. The fish tank size is going to depend on your desired scale of your system; they are typically sized on 1-2 gallons per 1 square foot of grow bed. Next you are going to need a grow bed. The most common form of at home aquaponics systems utilize a media-based technique which consists of clay pellets, gravel or lava rock in a tank of depths reaching 12-18 inches. After that you will need to find a pump to circulate water between the fish tank and the grow bed for your plants. The pump should be able to circulate the entire volume of the fish tank at least once per hour. Additionally, if your systems are going to be set up in-doors you will need to purchase LED grow lights to help your plants grow. Make sure to not use this as the only source for which to begin setting up your own aquaponics system and consult external resources to provide you with more specific details on what to purchase, where to purchase it, and how to set up the system as a whole.
Agricultural farming is vital to the survival of the human race. Aquaponics may not be the solution towards replacing this foundational U.S. and global practice. However, it offers a nuanced perspective and technological opportunity to improve upon agricultural practices; in an effort to make humans more sustainable and protect the environment for the future to come. To reach the sustainability goals of the future in which we peacefully coexist with the environment around us, we must constantly re-think and re-consider more sustainable and e-conscious alternatives. Bringing this historical practice of aquaponics back into our society can be an opportunity for humanity to start building a greener future.
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