What is the Difference between Aqua/Hydroponics and Soil Farming?
One of the most common questions we are asked is what is the difference between Hydroponics and Aquaponics.
What is Aquaponics?
Aquaponics is a soil-free, sustainable food production method which combines aquaculture (growing fish) and hydroponics (growing plants in water using chemical nutrients). The system uses fish waste as nutrients for plants.
What is Hydroponics?
Hydroponics is a soil-free food production method where plants are grown in a medium (sand, gravel, or liquid) and uses synthetically formulated chemicals as nutrients for plants.
Three Key Differences to Soil:
Water:
Typically plants get most of their water from their roots. In traditional soil farming, where water falls above ground, little water actually gets down to the roots. In an Aquaponic or Hydroponic system plant roots are directly suspended in water. As a result in an Aquaponic or Hydroponic system all the water is constantly and directly available for plant consumption and not lost to natural ground seepage or evaporation (negligible). This key difference reduces overall water consumption by approximately 97% compared to traditional soil farming.
Packing Density:
In traditional soil farming, plants grow large root structures to access water. Due to these large root structures, soil-based farmers need to plant crops far from each other. In an Aquaponic or Hydroponic system, plants are suspended in water and therefore grow significantly smaller root structures. This allows plants to be “packed” closely together and drastically increase the overall production productivity by 150%-200% per unit of area.
Grow Time:
The other key difference between Aquaponics and Hydroponics relative to traditional soil farming is the actual grow times of the plants. In Aquaponics or Hydroponics systems, plants have consistent access to the three things essentials for all plants: nutrients, water, and oxygen. In traditional soil farming, crops rely on 1) natural rainfall or consistent watering and 2) manually added fertilizer. These crops are in constant competition for these limited and fluctuating resources. Due to the 1) lack of competition and 2) consistent and ample access to resources in Aquaponic or Hydroponic systems, plants grow consistently and faster.
To learn more about Aquaponics please check out our other blog posts and informational material. If you are looking to develop a system for commercial, academic, or non-profit use, please Contact Us.