Instead of letting the nutrients go to waste, you can turn your aquarium into an aquaponics system and feed these nutrients to hydroponic plants.
The fish waste floating in the fish tank water is rich in nutrients that absolutely go to waste when filtered out by the aquarium’s water pump.
What if you, instead, used it?
This article will dive deep into the questions above and then provide a “How-to-guide” you could follow to turn your fish aquarium into a hydroponics system.
Why integrate hydroponics into an aquarium?
In its basic form, every fish tank has a filter.
This filter acts as an air pump whose purpose is water aeration.
It filters debris, floating matter, decaying materials, microbes, and fish waste.
Fish, like other organisms, excrete body waste into the aquarium water.
If the waste is not removed, the fish will eventually get poisoned by their waste. Specifically, ammonia is one of the biggest dangers to the fish in your aquarium.
Fish poop is rich nutrient-rich, containing high ammonia, nitrogen, and beneficial algae loaded with phosphorus.
Well, What does this mean for us hydroponic fans?
The filter in your fish tank strains the debris and other unwanted stuff with these nutrients.
Meaning you are throwing away excellent natural fertilizer.
Plants need minerals like nitrogen, potassium, calcium, and phosphorous for healthy growth.
Nitrogen is especially essential for leafy plants.
The conventional fish tank filter needs to be cleaned regularly, and the water needs to be changed too.
What if we could get around this?
Essentially, combining your hydroponics plants with aquarium water delivers these nutrients to the plants while achieving all the filtration goals of a standard filter.
Technically, raising fish and plants in the same system is the science referred to as aquaponics, but let’s not get too technical here.
Now that we have covered why you should combine an aquarium with a hydroponic system, let’s see how you can do that.
How can I convert an aquarium into a hydroponic system?
To upgrade an aquarium into an aquaponic system, you need to replace the filter that comes with the fish tank with an aquaponic filter.
You can make your aquaponic filter by purchasing the necessary components and following tutorials, some of which are available on YouTube and other sites.
I’ll be honest; it’s much easier to buy an aquaponics kit like the one listed below for the upgrade instead of spending hours messing around with tools and equipment.
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Below, we’ll go over the “How-to.”
We will demo how to convert your fish tank from hydroponics to aquaponics using the Aqua duo 20-gallon aquaponic filter.
Let’s get started.
- For Any Tank Type: Whether freshwater, saltwater or reef aquarium tanks,...
- No Stuck Fish: The filter shroud is adjustable and can reach to the bottom...
- Fits Your Needs: Can be used as natural aquaponic filtering with plants...
- Great Look: Clean design and suitable for a variety of beautiful plants...
Step 1
You need to have an aquarium (obviously); if you do not, you can always buy one.
The Elive Aqua Duo 3 Gallon Half Circle LED Aquarium is a good starter kit for newbies.
It’s a combination of a 3 Gallon clear acrylic reservoir together with the aquaponic filter.
- Natural Water Cycle: Fish waste is broken down into less toxic forms,...
- Everything in One Kit: Your aquarium comes with filter, filter cartridges,...
- Great Look: The filter planter is suitable for a variety of beautiful...
- Fits Your Needs: Can be used as natural aquaponic filtering with plants...
- Trusted Name: Elive has been a high quality manufacturer of aquarium...
(other fish tanks are made from clear fiberglass)
In this guide, the discussion is based on a 10-gallon plastic fish aquarium alive with the usual pet fish like goldfish, catfish, carp, or any other you prefer.
Step 2
Purchase an aquaponic filter from your local store or online.
Again, the Elive Aqua duo 20-gallon filter is a great brand.
When you unbox the Elive Aqua Duo, here’s a list of the components coming with the product;
- For Any Tank Type: Whether freshwater, saltwater or reef aquarium tanks,...
- No Stuck Fish: The filter shroud is adjustable and can reach to the bottom...
- Fits Your Needs: Can be used as natural aquaponic filtering with plants...
- Great Look: Clean design and suitable for a variety of beautiful plants...
- The filter housing is fitted with the traditional filter.
- The clay pebbles that serve as the grower medium and the biological filter
- Two top covers. One cover is designed to be used with the conventional filter. The aquaponics filter is customized to be used when growing plants.
- The power adapter that’s plugged into the mains power
- Remember to refer to the user guide that comes with each kit.
Step 3
Open the filter housing and remove the conventional filter since you will not use it.
Step 4
Put the solid clay pebbles in a container, for instance, a colander, and rinse them with fresh, cold, clean water.
Step 5
Add the clean clay pebbles into the filter housing up to the 3/4 level.
Step 6
Choose the right plants to grow.
You can find sources with advice on the best aquaponic house plants.
Some ornamental plants include lilies, spinach, lettuce, kale, cucumbers, and strawberries.
Remove potted plants from their containers and thoroughly clean the garden soil from the roots.
Preferably, start with small plants.
Be gentle when cleaning the dirt, or the plant roots may get damaged.
Step 7
Once the plants are clean, place them on the growing medium.
Add more clay medium to cover the roots slightly.
Adjust the plants to the desired position, and fit the aquaponic cover.
At this point, your filter housing is ready to be immersed in the aquarium.
Step 8
You can now place the filter housing into the aquarium using the hooking grove that allows the filter case to hang snugly on the aquarium wall.
If you have purchased a new aquarium, such as the Elive Aqua Duo 3, complete the aquarium setup first, and add fish before placing the filter into the fish water.
Step 9
Plug the filter’s power cable into the mains power source, and turn it on. Confirm the filter is sucking water and draining it back into the fish tank.
If everything works correctly, congratulations, you have successfully turned your aquarium into a hydroponic system.
Step 10
After this, all required is to keep the water clean and feed the fish normally. The plants absorb the water’s nutrients, and the fish enjoy a clean environment.
Can you use fish water to grow plants?
Absolutely!
Water in a fish aquarium is suitable for plant growth, and fish excrement has a high concentration of nutrients that plants need.
Traditionally, fish tanks have a water filter that cleans the tank.
The filter strains out dirt, uneaten food, fish poop, and any decaying material in the water, materials that contaminate the water, alter PH levels a water condition that could harm the fish.
The advantage of using an aquaponic filter is that the nutrients in the fish water do not go to waste.
When added to the fish tank, the hydroponic section purifies the water for the fish, and the nutrients benefit the plants.
Upgrading an ordinary fish tank to include a hydroponic system is easy.
Purchase a customized aquaponic filter and follow easy step-by-step guidelines, like the ones above, on preparing and installing the equipment and starting the plants.
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