What Exactly is Aquaponics?

What Exactly is Aquaponics? Aquaponics is a technique that combines many of the benefits of hydroponic setups for growing fresh fruits and vegetables by leveraging fish waste as food for your indoor garden. Not only do you end up with organic produce, you also can harvest fresh fish from the comfort of your own home (depending on the type of fish used). Hydroponic systems rely on providing nutrient rich water directly to the root systems of plants. Not grown in a soil medium, these plants require elaborate plumbing systems to operate but typically produce higher yields in a shorter period of time than traditional soil farming. 

The biggest drawback to hydroponics, however, is the need to add artificial nutrient solutions on a regular basis. Because the plants are not able to draw nutrients from the soil, hydroponic farmers and gardeners need to duplicate these conditions using chemicals that allow the plants to grow. Aquaponics is very similar to hydroponics in the way nutrients are delivered to the plants. What sets aquaponics apart as a unique, futuristic solution for long-term indoor gardening is the source of the nutrients required by the plants. 

Instead of adding synthetic chemical solutions to water, aquaponics systems rely on fish waste to produce yields that can be as much as four times larger than traditional growing methods. Fish excrete solid waste as well as ammonia through their breathing process. In their natural state, these waste products are not beneficial to plant life. However, aquaponics systems rely on helpful bacteria to convert ammonia into nitrates and nitrites that can be used by the plants as food. An aquaponics system has a variety of components inherent to its design that mimic the natural order of the ecosystem throughout the world. 

Fish tanks are used to house fish while they grow to maturity. These fish are fed on a daily basis and produce solid waste and ammonia as byproducts of their metabolic process. A pump moves this water at a regular interval from the fish tanks into the grow beds of the system. These grow beds are filled with inert medium such as crushed granite, expanded clay, or a variety of synthetic materials. The ammonia-rich water floods the grow beds. Aerobic bacteria digest ammonia and produce nitrogen-based products as part of the metabolic process; leaving these helpful plant nutrients in the growing medium. Worms are usually added to the growing medium as well. 

These animals are able to break down solid fish waste into usable plant food as a result of their metabolic process. A drainage system allows water to drain back into the fish tank. The digestive processes that occur in the grow bed convert the ammonia enriched water (which is harmful to fish in large concentrations) into nitrates used by the plants. These nitrates are harmless to the fish. The process that occurs in the grow bed acts like a biofilter making the water suitable for the fish. This constant cycle of filtration and conversion mimics natural processes and represents a truly sustainable option for producing food.

Raccoon Dog

The Raccoon Dog is native to East Asia; it was brought to European Russia at the beginning of the nineteenth century and has since spread to other parts of Europe. Because of the white area around its snout, it strongly resembles a Raccoon, but the black band on its face is broken into two parts. The forehead is light, and an even lighter, almost white area stretches over the entire neck. The ears have dark borders, the back is mottled grey with dark stripes. 

The chest, belly, and legs are black, the tail is unstriped and dark on top, light underneath. The legs are all the same length. Raccoon Dog is about 60–80 cm long, and the tail measures up to 20 cm. Its height at the shoulder is 20–30 cm, and it weighs up to 10 kg. The Raccoon Dog’s thick fur exaggerates its true size. Raccoon Dogs live in deciduous or mixed forest with thick underbrush, usually near water or swamps, and in open landscapes with wet areas and areas with bush cover. 

It is not a shy animal, so you might also see it near or in inhabited areas.Raccoon Dogs do not hibernate, but like Eurasian Badgers, they remain in their den for several days if there is a severe frost or heavy snow. The prints of Raccoon Dog always show four toes set an equal distance from the central pad print, as well as clear claw marks. 

The front footprint is 4–5.5 cm long and about 4.5 cm wide, the rear footprints are somewhat smaller, 4–4.5 cm long and about 3.5 cm wide; the stride is about 40–60 cm. The tracks can resemble those of a fox, although the latter are more elongated. There is essentially no visible difference between the tracks of a domestic dog and those of a Raccoon Dog, and the latter may also be confused with the tracks of a domestic cat, even though the cat’s footprints never show claw prints. 

A male and female often hunt together, and one often sees the prints of two animals in the same place. The footprints are often found on the muddy shores of lakes or streams or in marshy areas. At the water’s edge, one may often also find paths that are regularly used by the animals.A Raccoon Dog can dig its own den, but it will also use old Eurasian Badger and fox dens, or live in natural cavities: in hollow trees, under roots, or between stones and rocks. One will almost always find the remains of prey close by. 

Raccoon Dogs live in family groups in established territories, which are, however, not defended vigorously. Like Raccoons and Eurasian Badgers, Raccoon Dogs are omnivores, but they consume mainly small rodents. The scat is somewhat twisted, 5–8 cm long, 1.5– 2 cm thick, and often contains much hair. It resembles domestic dog scat, but is left in piles—in latrines near the burrow or along the edge of territory. 

Beware! Raccoon Dog scat should not be touched since it can contain eggs of the dwarf tapeworm (transmitted by foxes), which can be dangerous to human beings. In many places in eastern Europe, this is the reason mushrooms and berries are not gathered in the wild.