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Aquaponics systems often require supplemented fertilizers because they typically treat or remove fish waste, or only partially mineralize it. This means that not all the nutrients from the fish waste are made available to the plants.
In contrast, the Integrated Aqua-Vegeculture System (iAVs) utilizes 100% of the fish waste by depositing it on the surface of the furrows, where it is exposed to atmospheric oxygen. This exposure accelerates decomposition and allows for full mineralization of the fish waste, making all the nutrients available to the plants.
Furthermore, the algae in the iAVs system acts as a nutrient bank, storing and releasing nutrients as needed. This dynamic process ensures that nutrients are consistently available to the plants, reducing the need for external supplementation.
Additionally, the soil microbiology in iAVs plays a crucial role in making nutrients available to plants. The rhizosphere exudates and siderophores produced by the soil microorganisms help to solubilize and mobilize nutrients, such as iron, that might otherwise be unavailable to plants.
This complex interplay of biological processes in iAVs creates a highly efficient and self-sustaining nutrient cycle, eliminating the need for external fertilizers.
The number and types of plants in an iAVs system should match the amount of food given to the fish. This is very important because the plants depend on the nutrients that come from the fish waste to grow.
If you feed the fish too much without having enough plants to absorb the waste, the excess waste can overwhelm the plants, causing them not to get the nutrients they need, and this can hurt them. On the flip side, if there are too many plants and not enough fish food, the plants might not get enough nutrients either. This can lead to poor growth and yellowing leaves.
So, it’s essential to find the right balance between fish food and plant growth. This ensures the plants get the nutrients they need to be healthy and prevents too many nutrients from building up, which can be harmful.
In iAVs, this balance is maintained by carefully controlling how much food the fish get and selecting the right types of plants.
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TL;DR: Unlike traditional aquaponic systems, iAVs fully utilizes fish waste allowing for complete mineralization and making all nutrients available to plants. The system’s algae and soil microbiology also play key roles in nutrient availability, eliminating the need for external fertilizers. A balance between fish food and plant growth is crucial to prevent nutrient imbalances and ensure healthy plant growth.