Carbon Harvest designs, builds and operates aquaponics (hydropnics + recirculating aquaculture) systems for commercial agriculture. Fish grown in conjunction with crop plants is a practice that can be traced back to ancient Egyptian and Aztec cultures. Farmers in China have used this technique in paddies to grow rice for centuries, and the technology is gaining interest in the U.S. as a more sustainable approach than conventional aquaculture and hydroponics.
The benefits of aquaponics are that it uses no chemical fertilizers, requires one tenth of the water needed for field crop production, and only a fraction of the water traditionally used for fish culture. Waste products are limited to digested fish waste from the bio-filter which is mixed with other organic materials to create rich organic compost or food for algae culture.
Below is a diagram of an aquaponics system showing components and process.
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Fish rearing tanks |
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Bio-filter traps solids; microorganisms convert fish waste to plant nutrients |
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Hydroponic feed line delivers nutrient-rich water to plants |
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Grow trays are flooded and drained; plants take up nutrients |
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Return line delivers clear water to fish tanks creating a closed-loop (no wastewater discharge) |