The best type of aquaponics is when we look after the fish. As with all things, there are good apples and bad apples. Candy has formal training within aquaculture and aquatic husbandry, her ethics and integrity is based on animal welfare. This means she teaches you how to be ethical with your aquatic husbandry. It is important to not over stock or crowd your fish. Finding the balance needed to maintain your aquaponics systems in a healthy way for the fish makes the system ethical.

Aquaponics is the most sustainable way we have of gardening these days. Our soil is depleted and often contaminated and needs rest and rejuvenation, and gardening adds to its stress. With many areas experiencing water restrictions, droughts and weather extremes that the soil cannot manage, aquaponics is closed loop and not impacting the environment. It helps to remove the stresses.

Aquaponics is a man-made (or woman-made) ecosystem, replicating nature. This is not to be confused with hydroponics, which is an artificial setup using synthetic nutrients to grow veggies. Hydroponics uses no fish or natural ecosystem.

Being a closed loop system, water is constantly flowing through each section of the aquaponics system. As a result, it is not running down a drain. The only times you need to top up your aquaponics system, is for water loss due to evaporation and the water used by the plants. No more wasting water. Water in the aquaponics system is recycled and filled with fertiliser from the fish waste, ready for the veggies to use.

Almost any type of veggies can be grown within aquaponics, including root crops and even small fruit trees. care should be taken in designing an aquaponics system to cater for specifically for these veggies and fruit trees, but it is possible. From broccoli to turnips with everything in between. While you CAN grow almost anything, a pearl of wisdom for you ~ don't grow anything from the mint family. It is more invasive within aquaponics than it is the soil, and will clog your plumbing.

Absolutely! Everything we do in life is a learned skill. That includes caring for fish. We learn how to do it. Starting off small, with fish that are cheaper is a good way to begin if you are nervous. With just a little time you will start shooting for the stars with your desire to relax with your fish.

The hard question to answer, but also the exciting one. You can design an aquaponics system to be as big or small as you like. With the fundamentals in place, you can build something for your desk or kitchen bench or a feature for your loungeroom. Alternatively you can go bigger and fill up your entire spare bedroom, your courtyard area or build it to feed your family and the neighbours too! You build it to the space you have, and the size you want to give it. We do not sell aquaponics kits .With our aquaponics courses you are taught to determine what will work for you. You can design an aquaponics system that will fit in the space you have available, and will be suitable for your needs.

Keeping aquaponics simple and easy, and braking down the core concepts in my aquaponics courses is my desire for you. Keeping aquaponics simple is the easiest thing you can do. Stay in the flow, and let the ecosystem do the work. Many people tend to complicate aquaponics by altering layouts and adding extra bits. This is fine (I do this too), but it tends to complicate things more. Aquaponics at its roots (pardon the pun), can be extremely simple to build and simpler to run. This is especially the case when you start small and learn how it works.

The main ongoing cost is the water pump, especially for smaller systems. The larger the system, the larger the pump which will increase the cost. The small Courtyard Aquaponics System water pump costs me $10 per year to run. You can check a watts calculator to see what the ongoing electricity cost will be. There will also be costs of seeds, fish food and fish if you plan to eat your fish. If the fish are your 'friends', however, then a one off fish cost is all.

Like anything you start from scratch, there will always be a start-up cost. With some guidance and support, however, especially if you are willing to use recycled items, you can greatly reduce the cost.

I have build small aquaponics systems for under $50AUD.

Designing an aquaponics system smaller will obviously reduce the costs. You can also use recycled materials to be more sustainable and eco-conscious, as well as save money. It is hard to give a definitive price as we don't sell aquaponics kits but show you how to build your own. As you are creating your own DIY aquaponics system you can choose the parts you want, with some guidance. Every backyard aquaponics system I have ever built (15 years worth), have paid for itself so many times over that I've lost count. As a bonus, I usually have veggies spare for the neighbours (which they love).

Aquaponics is a freshwater ecosystem, so you need to use freshwater fish. If you have your aquaponics system outside, choose a fish that is local to your area, otherwise they may be affected by temperature issues. If you want an indoors home aquaponics system, then there are a lot of options for fish choice. With the ornamental fish there are so many options available from guppies to crayfish.

One of the best things about aquaponics is that you build it to the size that YOU have available. Some people have a big yard and build a big aquaponics system. Some people rent and pop a mini aquaponics system on their benchtop.

Keep the fundamentals the same, the key elements, then build and design to your needs. This is what makes aquaponics incredible.

Hydroponics is an artificial form of gardening. It generally occurs in a artificial environment in order to reduce pests, and it uses synthetic nutrients to grow fruit or veggies.

Aquaponics on the other hand, is an ecosystem that is intended to replicate nature. It is filled with living parts that each function to support each other and the whole system. Read more in our What is Aquaponics page.

Often, when people talk about "hydroponics with fish" they are actually referring to an aquaponics system.