Aquaponic System Research Articles

Production of tambaqui juveniles (Colossoma macropomum) and arugula microgreens (Eruca sativa) in small-scale aquaponic systems: technical and economic viability

Production of tambaqui juveniles (Colossoma macropomum) and arugula microgreens (Eruca sativa) in small-scale aquaponic systems: technical and economic viability

Microbiological contamination of lettuce (Lactuca sativa) reared with tilapia in aquaponic systems and use of bacillus strains as probiotics to prevent diseases: A systematic review.

Aquaponic systems are food production systems that combine aquaculture and hydroponic in a closed recirculation system where water provides nutrients to plants while plants purify water for fish. In this system, tilapia is the most commonly cultured fish and can be easily integrated with vegetable cultivation. However, tilapia host a diverse microbiota some of which are pathogenic and can infect humans. Previous studies have reported contamination of lettuce by pathogenic bacteria which can cause human diseases. Thus, there is an urgent need to employ effective methods to control those bacteria, and Bacillus strains have been successfully used in this context. This systematic review aimed to provide a comprehensive overview of lettuce contamination by pathogenic bacteria and the use of Bacillus as probiotics to prevent diseases in aquaponics systems. This systematic review was performed using Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis Statement (PRISMA) Guidelines. A total of 1,239 articles were retrieved and based on eligibility criteria, six articles were included after screening. The review revealed that Enterobacteriaceae, Coliforms, and Shiga Toxin-producing E. coli are the predominant bacteria contaminating lettuce leaves in Aquaponic systems, and Shiga Toxin-Producing E. coli can internalize in the lettuce leaves, putting public health at risk. The included studies did not report the presence of V. cholerae in lettuce grown in aquaponic systems, and the use of Bacillus as probiotics to control Escherichia coli and Vibrio Cholerae. Further research is needed to explore the potential of tilapia to act as a source of pathogenic bacteria that can contaminate lettuce, as well as to investigate the effectiveness of Bacillus strains as probiotics to control these bacteria and ensure food safety.

In Situ Nitrate Monitoring for Improved Fertigation in On-Demand Coupled Aquaponic Systems

In Situ Nitrate Monitoring for Improved Fertigation in On-Demand Coupled Aquaponic Systems

Socialization of aquaponics techniques for business efficiency at Aling Hydroponic Farm, Sandakan Sabah Malaysia

Aquaponics is the application of integrated agricultural techniques between the cultivation of fish and vegetables that are environmentally friendly with efficient use of inputs and optimizing production. Aling Hydroponics Farm has long applied hydroponic techniques for cultivating vegetables, apart from also cultivating fish using fiber ponds. However, the application of these two techniques has not been integrated so that it is not efficient in using production inputs. This international collaborative community service activity aims to socialize aquaponic techniques to Aling Hidroponik Farm partners as an effort to increase the efficiency of resource use in farming. The method of implementing activities uses visits and discussions at hydroponic cultivation and fish cultivation locations. This activity was attended by lecturers from the Faculty of Agriculture, Muhammadiyah University of Makassar and lecturers from the Faculty of Sustainable Agriculture, Universiti Malaysia Sabah, students and the community. The results of the activity showed that the participants were very enthusiastic about taking part in the activity, the participants actively asked questions and expressed opinions regarding the opportunities and obstacles to implementing the aquaponic system from economic and social aspects.

AN EXPERT SYSTEM FOR SOLAR-POWERED AQUAPONICS SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS AND ECONOMIC ANALYSIS

Aquaponics system is an alternative solution for food generation in urban areas where there is a scarcity of land for food production. With the advent of solar energy technologies, the energy requirement of the system will not be added to the existing power consumption of the house hold. This paper presents an expert system for solar-powered aquaponics that provides users the aquaponics system dimensions, power requirements, bills of materials, cost-benefit analysis and payback period given land area available and the type of plants and fishes to culture.

Perbandingan Jenis Media Tanam dengan Sistem Aquaponik Terhadap Pertumbuhan dan Hasil Melon Madu (Cucumis melo L.)

The aquaponic plant cultivation system is used to utilize narrow urban land in order to increase urban agricultural production. The aim of the research is to determine the effect of comparing types of planting media with an aquaponic system on the growth and yield of honey melon plants (Cucumis melo L.). This research used a non-factorial Complete Randomized Design, with 4 treatment and 5 replication with the factors studied was the comparison of several types of planting media for the "M" aquaponic system consisting of M1 = 50% sludge planting media + 50% rice husk charcoal, M2 = 50% cocopeat planting medium + 50% rice husk charcoal, M3 = 50% tankos planting medium + 50% rice husk charcoal, M4 = 50% filter cake planting medium + 50% Rice Husk Charcoal. The parameters observed were plant length (cm), stem diameter (cm), number of leaves (strands), flowering age (days), fruit weight per treatment (kg), fruit diameter (cm). The results of the research showed that the comparative effect of several types of planting media in the aquaponic system had a positive effect on the parameters of plant length (cm), stem diameter (cm), number of leaves (strands), flowering age (days), fruit weight (kg), and fruit diameter ( cm) with the best treatment on M1 (50% sludge planting medium + 50% rice husk charcoal). Keywords: aquaponics, planting media, honey melon

Mediterranean Aquaponics: Fasting and Refeeding in a Polyculture Aquaponic System

The use of Mediterranean euryhaline fish and halophytes in aquaponics presents a sustainable and alternative approach to food production. The present study investigates the effect of compensatory growth on sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax) and Baltic prawn (Palaemon adspersus) co-cultivated with the halophytic glasswort (Salicornia europaea). Three autonomous systems were established, each containing forty-five sea bass, nine Baltic prawns, and eight glasswort plants, with different feeding regimes for each treatment: (i) daily feeding (treatment A), (ii) three days of feeding per week followed by four days of fasting (treatment B), and (iii) feeding for seven days followed by seven days of fasting (treatment C). The growth performance of the fish was significantly higher in treatment B. Conversely, the feed conversion ratio (FCR) was notably higher in treatment A. As for the prawns, their final body weight and length were similar across all treatments. The glasswort plants also demonstrated significantly improved growth in treatment B. These results indicate that the incorporation of feeding and fasting cycles can be an effective feed management strategy for polyculture aquaponic systems. Additionally, food deprivation had a positive impact on the growth performance of both glasswort and prawns.

Occurrence of Multi-Drug-Resistant Bacteria in Rainbow Trout–Lettuce Bio-Integrated Culture Systems in Chile

In an aquaponic system, fish and plants are cultivated together in a symbiotic environment where they mutually benefit, using significantly less water than traditional farming methods. The main aim of this study was to investigate the occurrence of antimicrobial resistance in two aquaponic systems implemented in two Chilean high schools using rainbow trout and lettuce cultures. When water samples (fish tank, biofilter, and plant raft) were analyzed over a three-month period, no resistance to oxytetracycline was detected, whereas the occurrence of resistance to florfenicol was rather small, ranging from 0.01% to 3.1% of bacterial culturable counts. Eighteen isolates were recovered from various sources as representatives of the florfenicol-resistant population, and all of them belonged to the Pseudomonas genus, showing a multi-drug-resistance phenotype and exhibiting simultaneous resistance to 7–13 antimicrobials. All isolates exhibited resistance to amoxicillin, chloramphenicol, florfenicol, and furazolidone and susceptibility to meropenem, oxytetracycline, oxolinic acid, flumequine, ciprofloxacin, and enrofloxacin. Five and two isolates carried the amphenicol-resistance-encoding genes floR and cmlA, respectively, whereas no carriage of integrons or the fexA, fexB, pexA, optrA, and cfr genes encoding for florfenicol resistance was detected. Eleven isolates carried plasmids, but only two of them were able to transfer their plasmid content by conjugation. The knowledge of the microbiome associated with aquaponic systems is still scarce, and their role as potential reservoirs of antimicrobial-resistant bacteria and related genes of these systems must be elucidated.

Concept of a Cyber–Physical System for Control of a Self-Cleaning Aquaponic Unit

The article aims to present a cyber–physical system (CPS) to support the cultivation of aquaculture in a closed aquaponic system using the deep-water culture (DWC) method. The CPS uses precision sensors as TriOxmatic 700 IQ (for dissolved oxygen and water temperature), AmmoLyt Plus 700 IQ (for ammonium), NiCaVis 701 IQ NI (for nitrites and nitrates), SensoLyt® 700 IQ (for pH), and SL-M5 (for water level). It is built with a Raspberry Pi 4, 8 GB as a server, OpenHAB 3.0 software, and other specialized software for measuring water parameters. Some of the parameters are maintained completely autonomously, while others are indirectly controlled. Basic knowledge of hydroponics and aquaculture is required to set up the system, but day-to-day maintenance can be carried out by employees who receive instructions from the CPS. A method for the physical modification of the fish tank surface by using laser processing is proposed. This results in a change in surface topography (creating diverse microstructure patterns) and its roughness, which is of crucial importance for the bacterial adhesion mechanism.

Nitrous Oxide Emissions in Aquaponic Systems: a Systematic Review

Objective: The study sought to analyze work related to the aquaponics system and the emission of this greenhouse gas. Initially, 143 articles were selected, resulting in 14 final articles, using the PRISMA protocol. Result and Discussion: The study concluded that further research is needed to increase the efficiency of Nitrogen use and reduce denitrification, since these variables are directly related to the emission of N2O and its consequent harmful effects on the environment. The cultivation systems evaluated had the following distribution: The Cultivation Bed system represents 60% of the studies, followed by the DWF - Deep Wather Culture system with 26.7% and the NFT - Nutrient Film Technique system with 13.3% of the samples evaluated

Egyptian aquaponic celery (Apium graveolens): Phenolic and volatile profiles analysed using HPLC-MS/ms and gc-ms/ms

Recently, water scarcity has been a substantial problem facing agriculture in Egypt, with a great impact on food security and hence makes it a challenge to satisfy food demand. An aquaponic system with minimum water needs is considered a substitute technique to meet the demand of food shortages. Celery (Apium graveolens) is a widely cultivated herb belonging to the family Apiaceae and widely consumed as a popular ingredient in a wide range of dishes and food recipes. A total of 13 phenolic metabolites were detected and quantified using HPLC-ESI-MS/MS. Chlorogenic acid was detected as the most abundant phenolic compound accounting for 3471.58 mg kg−1. Moreover, 65 volatile compounds belonging to 12 different classes were detected using GS-MS with an abundance of aromatic hydrocarbons at ca.68.15%. and the main constituents were 6-phenyltridecane, 6-phenyldodecane, and 5-phenylundecane at ca.6.78%, 6.62%, and 6.13% respectively. It is the first time to report metabolic profile in celery grown in an aquaponic system.

Growth, Ecophysiological Responses, and Leaf Mineral Composition of Lettuce and Curly Endive in Hydroponic and Aquaponic Systems.

Against the backdrop of climate change, soil loss, and water scarcity, sustainable food production is a pivotal challenge for humanity. As the global population grows and urbanization intensifies, innovative agricultural methods are crucial to meet rising food demand, while mitigating environmental degradation. Hydroponic and aquaponic systems, has emerged as one of these solutions by minimizing land use, reducing water consumption, and enabling year-round crop production in urban areas. This study aimed at assessing the yield, ecophysiological performance, and nutritional content of Lactuca sativa L. and Cichorium endivia L. var. crispum grown in hydroponic and aquaponic floating raft systems, with Oreochromis niloticus L. integrated into the aquaponic system. Both species exhibited higher fresh biomass and canopy/root ratios in hydroponics compared to aquaponics. Additionally, hydroponics increased the leaf number in curly endive by 18%. Ecophysiological parameters, such as the leaf net photosynthesis rate, actual yield of PSII, and linear electron transport rate, were also higher in hydroponics for both species. However, the nutritional profiles varied between the two cultivation systems and between the two species. Given that standard fish feed often lacks sufficient potassium levels for optimal plant growth, potassium supplementation could be a viable strategy to enhance plant development in aquaponic systems. In conclusion, although aquaponic systems may demonstrate lower productivity compared to hydroponics, they offer a more sustainable and potentially healthier product with fewer harmful compounds due to the reduced use of synthetic fertilizers, pesticides, and the absence of chemical residue accumulation. However, careful system management and monitoring are crucial to minimize potential contaminants.

Consumer perspectives towards aquaponics: Products and native fish cultivation

Abstract Aquaponics is a farming system that integrates hydroponics and aquaculture. Many questions and concerns about the feasibility of aquaponics to sustain food productivity and its potential market remain unknown. One of them is the consumer’s perception and willingness to pay for aquaponic products. This study presents findings and analysis regarding consumer perception, knowledge and acceptance of aquaponic products in Malaysia, particularly native fish species cultivated within aquaponic system. A total of 385 respondents participated in this study from all regions (northern region, central region, east coast, southern region, Sabah, and Sarawak) in Malaysia. Overall, a significant proportion of consumers (84%) had not practised aquaponics, and 63% had not made purchases of any aquaponic products before. Consumers’ decisions to purchase aquaponic products is primarily influenced by price (79.2%) and food safety (67.8%). Other significant factors include food nutrition (52.7%), cultivation methods used in production (39.7%), taste and texture of aquaponic products (33%), accessibility to these products (0.5%) and concerns related to zoonotic diseases in aquaponic products (0.3%). Overall, consumers had a positive outlook on the benefits of aquaponics and its products. However, they had a neutral attitude towards purchasing and were willing to spend more on aquaponic products compared to products produced using conventional farming. Consumers also had a positive attitude towards culturing native fish species in aquaponics systems and had a neutral attitude when asked to buy native fish species cultivated in aquaponics systems. The study’s findings show a potential market for aquaponic products in Malaysia. However, more efforts are needed to increase awareness and promote aquaponics systems in Malaysia.

Performance Evaluation of Hydroponic Grow-Outs in An Innovative Coldwater Aquaponic System Featuring Rainbow Trout and Lettuce

A 45-day trial was carried out to assess the production performance of different hydroponic media in a novel do-it-yourself (DIY) low-tech re-circulating aquaponic system for temperate regions with rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) and lettuce (Lactuca sativa). Rainbow trout juveniles (average weight of 35.59 g) were stocked in the experimental units at 2.8 kg.m-3 and fed with commercial floating pelleted feed at 8 % of their body weight in three treatments and a control. The lettuce saplings were randomly planted in the river stone bed (T1), crushed stone bed (T2), raft/deep water culture (DWC) unit (T3) and control (C) soil bed (fortified with NPK fertiliser) with equivalent planting intervals of 42 saplings.m-2. The system, designed with low-tech simplicity, was managed without alkalinity correction and depended entirely on plant growth and metabolism for biofiltration. The water quality parameters such as temperature, pH, dissolved oxygen (DO), dissolved free CO2, hardness, total alkalinity, ammonium, nitrite, and nitrate varied significantly (P < 0.05) among the treatments compared to the control. The final individual weight, biomass gain, specific growth rate (SGR), and feed conversion ratio (FCR) of rainbow trout were significantly better (P < 0.05) in media beds (crushed stone and river stone) compared to control and DWC systems. The final mean weights of rainbow trout in river stone (12.33 ± 0.002 g and crushed stone (12.39 ± 0.054 g) treatments were significantly higher (P < 0.05) than in DWC (12.1 ± 0.023 g) and control (12.09 ± 0.002 g) treatments. The production of lettuce was significantly greater (P < 0.05) in all three treatments (river stone: 4.33 ± 0.123 g, crushed stone: 4.53 ± 0.09 g and DWC: 4.31 ± 0.163 g) compared to the control (3.31 ± 0.172 g). The DWC including the media bed systems facilitates the improved performance of lettuce saplings in terms of final height and leaf number. These results show that a low-tech media bed system without a supplementary biofiltration unit can achieve sustainable production of both fish and vegetables in temperate hilly terrains.

Joint cultivation of fish and vegetable crops in an aquaponics system using floating beds

Comparative results of the cultivation of Silver crucian carp in conditions of aquarium circulation systems are presented, in one of which aquaponic cultivation of tomatoes and peppers on a floating bed in a fish tank was used. In comparison with the control, a significant improvement in hydrochemical parameters for dissolved oxygen and a group of nitrogen-containing compounds was noted in the experimental aquarium. The ratio of the specific formation as a result of the vital activity of fish and the absorption of nitrates by plants was 0,8 units. The results showed that for 1 kg of ichthyomass, 26 tomato plants or 34 bell pepper bushes can be planted on a floating bed. In the obtained fruits, the nitrate content turned out to be 2 times lower than the MPC for open and 4 times lower than the MPC for protected soil. The increase in the total ichthyomass of crucians in the experiment turned out to be 1,6 times higher, and feed costs 1,5 times lower than in the control. At the same time, the fish productivity of the aquarium with a floating vegetable garden increased by 9,7%.

Connection between the gut microbiota of largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides) and microbiota of the aquaponics system environment.

The significant role played by the gut microbiota in fish growth, development, immunity, and overall health has been widely established. Nevertheless, there remains a lack of clarity regarding the interaction and origin between the environmental microbiota and the gut microbiota of aquaculture species within the aquaponics coupling system. Thus, we conducted an analysis of the gut microbiota of largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides) obtained from an indoor enclosed circulating water aquaponics coupling system located in greenhouses in northern China. Additionally, we examined the microbiota of the fish pond water and tomato rhizosphere soil using high-throughput sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene. Our results demonstrated significant differences in the compositions of fish pond water, rhizosphere soil, and the gut microbiota of largemouth bass. Moreover, these compositions changed throughout the culture period. Approximately 11.99% of the bacterial composition in the gut microbiota of largemouth bass could be attributable to the rhizosphere soil microbiota, while 62.01% of the bacterial composition could be attributable to the fish pond water microbiota. However, the proportion of bacteria in the gut microbiota from the fish pond water microbiota remained respectively 40.90% and 56.15% in May and September, which increased markedly to 88.97% in July. Similarly, the proportion of bacteria in the pond water microbiota from the tomato rhizosphere soil microbiota were respectively 0% and 8.95% in samples collected in May and September, which increased markedly to 69.26% in July, and the proportion of bacteria in the gut microbiota from the tomato rhizosphere soil microbiota were respectively 0.07% and 0% in samples collected in May and September, which increased to 0.45% in July. The research results offer essential insights into the interactions and origins of environmental microbiota and gut microbiota in the aquaponics system of cultured fish. This knowledge could enhance green aquaponics practices for largemouth bass.

A smart monitoring and observation framework for aquaponics ecosystem

Aquaponics is a sustainable and efficient agricultural system that integrates aquaculture with agriculture. This system integrates Internet of Things (IoT) technology in aquaponics systems with the potential to change sustainable agriculture by combining farming of fish (aquaculture) and soilless cultivation of plants (hydroponics) into a single, efficient ecosystem. This paper explores the design and development of a smart aquaponics system that allows aquaponic farming at commercial scale feasible, leveraging IoT to continuously gather data through various sensors, monitor environmental conditions, and automate control processes. The proposed system architecture is based on a three-tier model, ensuring scalability and maintainability. The proposed system consists of a three-layer architecture: the Perception Layer for measuring different environmental factors and controlling them, the Network Layer for data transmission, and the Application Layer for data storage, manipulation, and user interaction. The key components include sensors for monitoring pH, humidity, temperature, sunlight, oxygen levels, and water proximity; devices such as lights, water pumps, fans, and oxygen pumps for environmental control; and an ESP8266 microcontroller for system management. The system's software is developed using C# DOT NET CORE 8.0, React, MySQL, C, and Arduino. The system allows users the ability to maintain optimal conditions for fish and plant growth, notify users of irregularities, and allow remote control through a web application, proving it to be an intelligent, flexible, low-cost, and stable solution for large-scale aquaponics.

N-AquaRAM: A Cost-Efficient Deep Learning Accelerator for Real-Time Aquaponic Monitoring

AbstractAquaponics is an emerging area of agricultural sciences that combines aquaculture and hydroponics in a symbiotic way to increase crop production. Though it offers a lot of advantages over traditional techniques, including chemical-free and soil-less farming, its commercial application suffers from some problems such as the lack of experienced manpower. To operate a stable smart aquaponic system, it is critical to estimate the fish size properly. In this context, the use of dedicated hardware for real-time aquaponic monitoring can greatly resolve the issue of inexperienced handlers. In this article, we present a complete methodology to train a deep neural network to perform fish size estimation in real time. To achieve high accuracy, a novel implementation of swish function is presented. This novel version is far more hardware efficient than the original one, while being extremely accurate. Moreover, we present a deep learning accelerator that can classify 40 million fish samples in a second. The dedicated real-time system is about 1600 times faster than the one based on general-purpose computers. The proposed neuromorphic accelerator consumes about 2600 slice registers on a low-end model of Virtex 6 FPGA series.

GROWING OF GREEN CORAL LETTUCE AND RED HYBRID TILAPIA IN COMPACT AQUAPONIC PROTOTYPE AT DIFFERENT RECIRCULATION RATES

In this work, a compact-size aquaponics prototype was designed and fabricated. One of the current challenges in compact aquaponics systems is optimizing the balance between fish waste production and plant nutrient uptake. The objective of the work is to assess the impact of different pump recirculation rates on the crops cultivation at such compact aquaponics unit. Main components included a 50 litres fish tank, a filter unit that combines the mechanical filter and biological filter counterparts, and nutrient film technique (NFT) grower. Production of food was carried out for 10 weeks at two different recirculation rates i.e. at 50 L/hr and 75L/hr. According to the data attained, the specific growth rate (SGR) was around 5.4-5.7% with a food conversion ratio (FCR) of about 1.8-2. Moreover, the fish survival rate was 80%, and plant growth yield is about 1.5-2 cm/week. Although the level of ammonia was slightly off the acceptable limit, no yellowish colour on the leaves of the green coral lettuce was observed. The data attained signify the successful operation of compact-size aquaponics for the production of organic leafy plants and freshwater aquaculture.

Influence of direct supplementation of different levels of black soldier fly larvae (Hermetia illucens) frass to a recirculating aquaponic system: focusing on fish (Cyprinus carpio var. specularis), plant (Lactuca sativa var. ramosa Hort) and water quality

Influence of direct supplementation of different levels of black soldier fly larvae (Hermetia illucens) frass to a recirculating aquaponic system: focusing on fish (Cyprinus carpio var. specularis), plant (Lactuca sativa var. ramosa Hort) and water quality