Fish. Roots. One living system.
Aquaponics field guides
Follow the full system—from viable fish and measured feeding to biological filtration, water balance and healthy crops.
System designs ↗
Raft, media-bed and channel growing, with connected fish, treatment and return systems.
Fish. Filters. Roots.
Explore the living system between a fish tank and a growing bed. Separate water movement from waste handling, biological filtration, and the needs of the plants.
14 min + model exploration →System designsMedia-bed aquaponics: grow without hiding the waste
Design an accessible aggregate bed, verify flood and drain behavior and preserve its biological function.
6 min + guided practice →System designsRaft, NFT and decoupled aquaponics
Compare the plant side of the system while keeping fish treatment requirements visible.
6 min + guided practice →System designsChoosing a fish tank for aquaponics: materials, working volume and access
Compare a tank by its intended use, serviceable layout and actual water inventory. Separate container capacity from the biological capacity of the complete system.
Interactive tool · 6 min + guided practice →Comparisons ↗
Side-by-side decisions between system designs, fish and equipment, with the trade-offs and their sources made explicit.
Media bed, raft or decoupled: choose by treatment and service
Choose an aggregate bed, a raft trough or a separated plant loop by where solids and nitrification happen, what the published depths and ratios imply, and what each demands when you service it or the pump stops.
8 min + guided practice →ComparisonsTilapia, trout or catfish: choose by the water you can hold
Choose between three food fish by the water temperature you can hold through the year, then follow the choice through oxygen, energy, legality and crops.
Interactive tool · 8 min + guided practice →Fish & feeding ↗
Compare viable species, source stock, acclimate fish and manage feed and biomass.
Choose viable fish: temperature, feed and purpose
Compare six practical fish groups, then narrow them by your actual water conditions and a verified hatchery plan.
Interactive tool · 6 min + guided practice →Fish & feedingFeeding, biomass and stocking
Use fish mass and actual feed intake as operating inputs, with capacity checked independently.
Interactive tool · 6 min + guided practice →Cycling & water balance ↗
Nitrogen conversion, oxygen, alkalinity, pH, solids handling and feed-to-plant balance.
Balance fish feed and planted area
Turn feed grams per day into a transparent area comparison, then check the biological and hydraulic limits.
Interactive tool · 6 min + guided practice →Cycling & water balanceFishless cycling: prove the biofilter works
Establish nitrification with a known input and repeated measurements before stocking.
6 min + guided practice →Cycling & water balanceWater quality: pH, ammonia and alkalinity
Track the interacting measurements that govern fish, roots and nitrification.
Interactive tool · 6 min + guided practice →Cycling & water balanceSolids removal and biological filtration
Separate particle collection from dissolved nitrogen conversion and design maintenance access into both.
6 min + guided practice →Cycling & water balanceChoosing an aquaponics water-test kit: parameters, units and running costs
Buy measurements you can interpret. Match the test range, reporting basis, calibration and replacement supplies to the questions a fish-and-plant system needs answered.
6 min + guided practice →Cycling & water balanceAquaponics solids filters vs biofilters: choose the function you need
A vessel that catches particles and a surface that supports nitrification solve different problems. Compare their loading assumptions, service access and evidence before buying.
6 min + guided practice →Cycling & water balanceAmmonia spikes in aquaponics: confirm the reading and trace the cause
Read total ammonia with temperature, pH and its reporting basis. Restore failed system functions, reduce the immediate load and document a response before making chemical changes.
6 min + guided practice →Plants & growing media ↗
Choose crops, support roots and manage plant nutrition without compromising fish.
Operation & resilience ↗
Daily care, health observation, quarantine and power-failure resilience.
Oxygen and outage resilience
Measure oxygen where it matters and rehearse a recovery plan before fish depend on it.
6 min + guided practice →Operation & resilienceFish health, quarantine and daily operation
Prevent avoidable introductions, observe fish before symptoms escalate and keep records useful for diagnosis.
6 min + guided practice →Operation & resilienceChoosing backup aeration for aquaponics: delivery, runtime and testing
Compare a battery air pump, a UPS and a spare pump by the failure each one covers. Calculate an energy budget, then verify actual air delivery and runtime before fish depend on it.
6 min + guided practice →Operation & resilienceAquaponics system planner: equipment, operating costs and commissioning
Prepare a purchasing worksheet for the complete fish-to-plant loop. Separate equipment costs from biological capacity, and include the work and reserves that protect a living system.
Interactive tool · 6 min + guided practice →Original teaching models and worked examples, with extension and manufacturer sources where applicable. Independent specialist review is pending. Numerical tools verify accounting equations; they do not certify a crop recipe or fish system.