DIY Aquaponics System

Aquaponics is a combination of hydroponics--the growth of plants in water without soil--and aquaculture, the rearing of fish. The waste from fish is full of nutrients that are beneficial to the plants and, when the water for the fish is filtered through the plants, the water comes back clear for use in the fish tanks once again. It is a time- and money-saving technique that is being used commercially to grow vegetables and edible fish, but it can also be used at home to avoid cleaning the tank and add extra nutrients to your houseplants.

Active and prepared five gallon fish tank with live fish
Small submersible water pump
One gallon planter with a single one inch drain outlet
Two two-foot sections of one inch rubber hose
One gallon of garden pebbles
One seedling
Crazy Glue

Instructions

- 1
  Insert one end of one section of the rubber hose to the drain outlet on the planter and secure it with crazy glue.
- 2
  Fill the planter with the garden pebbles and place on a windowsill, table or shelf no higher than two feet above the fish tank. The planter must be higher than the tank to utilize gravity in the water circulation process. The pump will pull the water from the fish tank and the clarified water will flow down the tubes into the tank again.
- 3
  Insert the other end of the piece of rubber hose into the fish tank that sits below it.
- 4
  Attach the small pump to the second rubber hose by placing the end of the hose in the pump and submerging the hose into the fish tank.
- 5
  Insert the other end of the hose into the pebbles that fill the planter.
- 6
  Plant your seedling in the pebbles by burying the roots under the gravel.
- 7
  Operate your aquaponics system by turning the pump on for a few minutes a day to water the plant. Feed the fish regularly and watch how your plant and fish thrive on the beneficial sharing of nutrients.

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