By Karl Schmidt

Introduction Hello everyone, I suppose you are wondering what is an aquaponics system. Don’t worry about that now I'll tell you later. I will show you the steps to build an aquaponics system and the things you will need to build it.

What is a Aquaponic system Basically the Aquaponic system is like a life cycle. It is a great way to save water, grow fish and grow plants. When all the fish do a poo the poo itself has ammonia in it( which is a very bad chemical if there is to much of it) but then with the help of bacteria the ammonia will turn into Nitrites and then it turns into Nitrates. Then with the help of a pump, you pump the water to the plants, then the plants eat all the nitrates and clear the water and the water goes back to the fish.

What You Need Here is a list of the things you need: A Grow bed A glass tank (the same size as the grow bed) A bag of clay balls ( or as much you need in the grow bed) Fish ( it depends on how big your glass tank is and the size of the fish) A pump A oxygen pump (so the fish can breath) A timer( to turn the pump on everyday) A house brick (or a stone) A guard ( with drilled holes in it) A drain pipe ( it should come with a plastic nut. It has to be 3 cm shorter then the top of the grow bed) Pebbles ( and any thing else to put in the glass tank with all the fish) 2 old hoses Sea sol PH water testing kit

How to build it 1. Get the grow bed and drill a hole big enough to put the drain pipe through the hole, then thread the nut on the other side. 2. Get the guard and drill a few holes in it, then put it over the smaller pipe. 3. Get your house brick and put it over the guard. It has to stay there for 3 days. 4. Get your bag of clay balls and put them in the grow bed. Make sure the clay balls don’t go inside the guard. You might need more than one bag of clay balls,it depends on how big your grow bed is.

Other steps 5. Get your old hose and connect it to the pump. Connect the timer to a PowerPoint. Make sure the timer turns the pump on every 15 minutes. 6. Put a few buckets of water till the glass tank is half full. See if it works by turning the pump on, the water should look brown. Leave it on for a few hours, then it should look little bit cleaner than before. Water should be coming out through the pipe. 7.Now turn on the oxygen pump to see if it works.

Planting Make sure you do NOT use ground plants like carrots, potato's and plants like that. When you get your plants make sure you wash the roots so there is no dirt on them. Then you get your plants, make a hole deep enough to bury the roots. You have to put sea sol every two days so the plants can grow.

What to do when you get your fish After 2 weeks it is time to put your fish in. But before you put your fish in check the Ph, if it is the perfect color as shown on the PH chart. If it is near either end of the chart, the testing kit should of come with a powder, it reduces the acid in the water and increases the alkalinity. Here are the steps to put them in: 1. When you get your fish put them in a plastic bag then put it in the glass tank. 2. After 15 minutes try to open the bag. 3. Every 20 minutes move the opening of the bag nearer and nearer till it reaches the bottom of the glass tank. 4. Just leave the bag alone, the fish will get out of the bag in their own time.

DVD By Karl Schmidt Edi Upper primary school (schools number) Music by Karl Schmidt Thanks to (The following) Mr Cross