They want some aspect of help from us, and we try to accommodate them and help them as much as we can.” We get calls from both hobbyists and homeowners interested in using these techniques, as well as larger farmers. “We have a lot of people that are interested in these two areas. Aquaponics combines hydroponics with aquaculture, growing fish.Ī Virginia Cooperative Extension (VCE) horticulture specialist at Virginia State University (VSU), Mullins frequently gives workshops on these growing methods and fields questions about hydroponics and aquaponics from the general public, especially since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, when interest in soil-less growing increased. Hydroponics is growing plants in a nutrient solution without soil. The water then flows back into the fish tank and the cycle is closed.Chris Mullins educates local farmers about hydroponics and aquaponics, and he’s fishing for new ways to help them decide what systems will be cost effective for their operations and what crop and fish combinations grow best together.

The water enriched with this now flows into the hydroponic system, where the plants extract the nutrients from it and thus clean it. The contaminated water continues to flow into the biofilter, where bacteria convert the ammonium, using oxygen from the air, to nitrite and finally to nitrate.

The suspended particles settle there and can be used as fertilizer. The excrement and waste that the fish release into the water is pumped into the solids filter. The young fish are placed in the fish tank and fed until they have reached their slaughter weight after 4-6 months. The main components are the fish tanks, the solidfilter, the biofilter and hydroponics which are connected to each other via pipes and pumps.

Modern aquaponic tank