Aquaponics is a revolutionary system for growing plants by fertilizing them with the waste water from fish in a sustainable closed system. A combination of aquaculture and hydroponics, aquaponic gardening is an amazingly productive way to grow organic vegetables, greens, herbs, and fruits, while providing the added benefits of fresh fish as a safe, healthy source of protein. On a larger scale, it is a key solution to mitigating food insecurity, climate change, groundwater pollution, and the impacts of overfishing on our oceans. Aquaponic Gardening is the definitive do-it-yourself home manual, focused on giving you all the tools you need to create your own aquaponic system and enjoy healthy, safe, fresh, and delicious food all year round. Starting with an overview of the theory, benefits, and potential of aquaponics, the book goes on to explain:
— System location considerations and hardware components — The living elements — Fish, plants, bacteria, and worms — Putting it all together — Starting and maintaining a healthy system
Aquaponics systems are completely organic. They are four to six times more productive and use ninety percent less water than conventional gardens. Other advantages include no weeds, fewer pests, and no watering, fertilizing, bending, digging, or heavy lifting—in fact, there really is no downside! Anyone interested in taking the next step towards self-sufficiency will be fascinated by this practical, accessible, and well-illustrated guide. Sylvia Bernstein is the president and founder of The Aquaponic Source. An internationally recognized expert on aquaponic gardening, Sylvia speaks, writes, and blogs extensively about this revolutionary technique.
N Goodreads Aquaponics Gardenjng - Sylvia Bernstein 3 stars I did not appreciate the roundabout way of which Bernstein constructed this book. Rather than writing a straight concise step by step explanation as to the practicalities of construction of various Aquaponics systems, she fetters about like a school girl or elitist girlfriend being as ambiguous as humanly possible. Yes, we can end world hunger. Yes, I know its sustainable. Yes, I know it's a closed loop system. Yes, so fish poop makes plant food. I get it. But why oh why do I have to get to nearly the final chapter before you explain simple things like how the Bio filter works, how the worms don't simply drown or the fish to potential nitrate output ratio (oh wait, you never do discuss that last one)...... She spends so little time discussing the options for systems and the mechanics of which they work that you want to just scream. At one point she even admits that you should go to a website for more information. Seriously?! This is a book, not your bloody blog! The way she writes this book is much like reading the four gospels of the Bible, its nauseatingly repetitive and slightly different each time. I feel no closer to the divine truth than when I began unless I put my faith in this good book and the magic of which it reveals quite blindly. It has a great deal of filler. Quotes, testimonials, and anecdotes. People are so lazy these days.
It would of been much better had it been done as an autobiographical fiction similar to maybe Barbara Kinglslover's Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, but with more images through the seasons & varying climates to show the diversity of specs. Close-up Images of the plants as well as the fish would also be nice. And you just so happen to learn about Aquaponics rather than this anarchic setup. I shouldn't have to read your list of stupid mistakes, trouble shooting, and "rule of thumb" to learn something that should of been in the chapters themselves. Normally I cannot grade a guide if its a subject I know nothing about, but this book has taught me that apparently my knowledge of composting, gardening & ergo rational mind has made me already well-versed in the holy spirit of Aquaponics and the naiveté of its followers. Don't believe me? Riddle me this Batman....
If a gallon equals roughly 8 lbs and it takes a system of at least 250 gallon fish tank to raise plate sized fish, how much weight will the entire system come to? (taking into account pipes, media, grow beds of upwards of 1:2 ratio to fish tank)
If the bacteria in the bio filter can only thrive in temperatures of the range of 77-80 degrees Farenheit and you live in any of the majority of the United States, where will this system reside?
If the fish you raise in your system take 9-12 months to maturity, but it takes 6 weeks of cycling the system before you can even commence and intend to shut down at the end of the summer, how far along do you intend to get each year?
If it cost 400 Watts to heat 105 gallons of water, what's your electricity bill going to look like this winter?
If you own your own land, but have helicopters flying above searching out marijuana growers because its still illegal in your state, when they fly over your aquaponics greenhouse, what do you think they'll think?
If you already compost humanure, raise composting worms, and get organic pastural cow manure free from a local farm, do you really need a fish prison camp as well?
Right! Jesus!
Will I probably still try to find a way to do it? Most certainly! After seeing the benefits of humanure this is the next logical step. I just don't feel I'm getting the best information just yet. I didnt need her to try to convince me. What I needed was how best to do it! Cheaply and efficiently. I dont mind the work, but it shouldnt be in deciphering her text, it should be in monitoring my system.
I love gardening and being self suffiencet and aquaponics has always interested me. The book was well written and very informative on the entire process of setting up an aquaponic system. Unfortunately, the area I live in is not conducive to supporting an outside system.
I would highly recommend this to anyone remotely interested in aquaponics.
Good overview of aquaponic gardening. My students are working on designing one for our school....this book had me oscillating between really excited and inspired and then scared that we don't know what the hell we are doing and will kill fish and plants in spectacular fashion.
Very good beginner's guide covering a lot of best and common practices. The rules of thumb are really good references.
One note -- a local aquaponics expert has explained to me that it is a very bad idea for media plant beds to double as solid waste filtration. The solids build up over the media, creating an anaerobic barrier, which creates a bad environment for plant roots. If the media bed is also serving as a biofilter, the aerobic microbes won't be able to live in all the solid waste gunk. It might take a few seasons for this problem to become apparent, but it definitely will.
Small second criticism -- personally, I would prefer the math to be written more explicitly, succinctly, and in generalized formulas. Not sure if the methods described in this book would be easier or more confusing to someone who isn't comfortable with algebra, but it wouldn't be hard to include both. To be fair though, if you're into engineering get the Timmons textbook on recirculating aquaculture. The last chapter is about aquaponics.
This is the only book I could find on Aquaponics after looking for 30 minutes. I hadn't started my own aquaponics set-up yet, but am extremely interested in doing so. I wanted something that would help me understand all of the systems required, how to plan a build, and what to expect once it's set up. "Aquaponic Gardening" did a good job of answering all of the first round of questions I had. Next is acting and following up on forums full of others doing similar work. I can't wait.
With this book at my side, I'm more than confident that I can get an aquaponic garden set up and producing food without a hitch. That is exciting.
A good intro, but like most hydro or aquaponic books, there is a little bias towards products available for purchase on the author's website with much less discussion about alternative products. Lots of websites listed as sources, some scholarly sources.
Are you ready to grow a great portion of your own food in a perpetual, healthy and fun way?
Sylvia puts it all together for those that desire to grow their own pesticide and chemical free vegetables and fish right in your own home, garage, backyard or bedroom.
Bernstein's explanation of aquaponics is thorough, and she provides plenty of personal experience as well. She keeps it simple while explaining the whole process. Her book outlines the optimal environmental aspects to provide the best fish and plants. This is a good read for someone who wants to get into aquaponics, but doesn't know where to begin. This is also good for people who are already involved in it but would like some additional advice or see what others are doing.
This covers everything from the whys to the hows of planning, building, and running an aquaponics system. It's full of useful information. I look forward to flipping back through it for years to come as we prepare for and eventually embark on our own aquaponics journey.
A decent overview of aquaponics but NOT a “step by step guide”. As one reviewer pointed out (and I concur) this reads like a concatenation of blog posts. Starter book, yes, but one-stop-shop, not quite.
Can't really go wrong with this book if you are interested in Aquaponics. Such detailed research gives you a literal step by step guide on how to start and perfect your long awaited home project.
After spending a lot of time learning about aquaponics, watching videos, reading articles, and even exploring some unusual scenarios with ChatGPT, I didn’t expect a 15-year-old book to teach me much. But I was wrong. This book is still incredibly relevant and a great source of information for anyone looking to discover some of the nitty-gritty of aquaponic systems.
N Goodreads Aquaponics Gardenjng - Sylvia Bernstein 3 stars I did not appreciate the roundabout way of which Bernstein constructed this book. Rather than writing a straight concise step by step explanation as to the practicalities of construction of various Aquaponics systems, she fetters about like a school girl or elitist girlfriend being as ambiguous as humanly possible. Yes, we can end world hunger. Yes, I know its sustainable. Yes, I know it's a closed loop system. Yes, so fish poop makes plant food. I get it. But why oh why do I have to get to nearly the final chapter before you explain simple things like how the Bio filter works, how the worms don't simply drown or the fish to potential nitrate output ratio (oh wait, you never do discuss that last one)...... She spends so little time discussing the options for systems and the mechanics of which they work that you want to just scream. At one point she even admits that you should go to a website for more information. Seriously?! This is a book, not your bloody blog! The way she writes this book is much like reading the four gospels of the Bible, its nauseatingly repetitive and slightly different each time. I feel no closer to the divine truth than when I began unless I put my faith in this good book and the magic of which it reveals quite blindly. It has a great deal of filler. Quotes, testimonials, and anecdotes. People are so lazy these days.
It would of been much better had it been done as an autobiographical fiction similar to maybe Barbara Kinglslover's Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, but with more images through the seasons & varying climates to show the diversity of specs. Close-up Images of the plants as well as the fish would also be nice. And you just so happen to learn about Aquaponics rather than this anarchic setup. I shouldn't have to read your list of stupid mistakes, trouble shooting, and "rule of thumb" to learn something that should of been in the chapters themselves. Normally I cannot grade a guide if its a subject I know nothing about, but this book has taught me that apparently my knowledge of composting, gardening & ergo rational mind has made me already well-versed in the holy spirit of Aquaponics and the naiveté of its followers. Don't believe me? Riddle me this Batman....
If a gallon equals roughly 8 lbs and it takes a system of at least 250 gallon fish tank to raise plate sized fish, how much weight will the entire system come to? (taking into account pipes, media, grow beds of upwards of 1:2 ratio to fish tank)
If the bacteria in the bio filter can only thrive in temperatures of the range of 77-80 degrees Farenheit and you live in any of the majority of the United States, where will this system reside?
If the fish you raise in your system take 9-12 months to maturity, but it takes 6 weeks of cycling the system before you can even commence and intend to shut down at the end of the summer, how far along do you intend to get each year?
If it cost 400 Watts to heat 105 gallons of water, what's your electricity bill going to look like this winter?
If you own your own land, but have helicopters flying above searching out marijuana growers because its still illegal in your state, when they fly over your aquaponics greenhouse, what do you think they'll think?
If you already compost humanure, raise composting worms, and get organic pastural cow manure free from a local farm, do you really need a fish prison camp as well?
Right! Jesus!
Will I probably still try to find a way to do it? Most certainly! After seeing the benefits of humanure this is the next logical step. I just don't feel I'm getting the best information just yet. I didnt need her to try to convince me. What I needed was how best to do it! Cheaply and efficiently. I dont mind the work, but it shouldnt be in deciphering her text, it should be in monitoring my system.
A great book to start from, I totally recommend it. the only thing missing is more photos and/or diagrams which are an essential part of any DIY instruction. for ex. I had to research the internet to find out what some plumbing parts look like. The best example book I came across of clear explanatory methods is Rainwater Harvesting for Drylands and Beyond. I believe that in the next edition of this Aquaponics book more photos and/or diagrams are needed.
I had only a slight clue of what aquaponics is, I knew nothing of how it works from the inside. This book helped me make my first system of barrel-ponics and set me to to a road of discovery with all the tools and references I need for the journey. I built my system right at the beginning of the book becouse i couldn't wait (something that the book doesn't recommend) but I can say it went well for me with a lot of attention and getting the help of the book to trouble shoot the system's problems that poped up. Now I'm helping others build different kind of systems, feeling really strong of having demystified what Aquaponics is.
It's important to say that I did use a bell-siphon system and I bought the siphon ready from an aquaponics supplier. The bell siphon is the pumping heart of the system and I was lucky to find it ready made to start from a good point. Now I can build the simple siphon myself :)
For those not familiar with the topic, imagine combine hydroponics with raising fish. The system as a whole, involves only feeding fish, who create the nutrients that are ultimately broken down by several different types of bacterial and worms, which is then used to feed plants. In addition to feeding the plants, this process removes the toxic chemicals the fish inherently produce from breathing (ammonia).
There's numerous different ways to achieve the above setup, depending on your familiarity of plumbing, available space, and general preferences.
My only complaint is that after a while it does get a bit heavy with the whole, aquaponics is going to save the whole world. Is there some good basis for thinking this can help with food production overall and reduce some ecological footprint. Sure, but it's not the be-all, end-all solution.
Regardless, worth a read if you're interested in the topic.
Aquaponic Gardening was a mostly-good, simple introduction to aquaponics. In the end, I decided that aquaponics isn't very sustainable in most locations, but I'm still glad to get enough solid data to come to that conclusion.
I docked a star mostly because the author kept citing websites as if they were scientific sources. While I don't mind at all being pointed toward a website to read more about a basic topic, I'd rather have no citation at all for a fact (common knowledge) than to have a run-of-the-mill website listed as the source.
I also got annoyed by the long, boring chapter on world problems. This now seems to be a mandatory element in books related to gardening and homesteading, but it's very annoying since you're preaching to the choir and not presenting anything new.
Aquaponics gardening is the process of raising fish and growing produce in the same water without any soil, fertilizer, or pesticide. Fish waste fertilizes the plants and the plant roots cleans the water for the fish. The result is an efficient system of growing organic fish and produce.
The author, Sylvia Bernstein, provides a detailed description of how to build and maintain a complete aquaponics system. She also provides references where you can purchase complete systems if you are not interested in doing it yourself.
The book is well sourced throughout, so it is easy to learn more. A trouble shooting guide and several appendices round out thorough discussion of aquaponics.
The author's enthusiasm shines throughout. It is encouraging to know that there is such an efficient method of farming that can be used in cities and anywhere there is a little space.
Great guidance by a passionate and experienced gardener and researcher
This book covers every important part of building an aquaponic system and introduces the rest of the concepts around in a very handy and enjoyable way. The passion of the author is really helpful as she makes sure to explain the ideas from general to specific on a very successful structure, including summarizing rules of thumb, and common mistakes.
This is a really great, readable guide to aquaponic gardening. My 10 year old son did a science fair experiment on aquaponics, and the book takes you through setting everything up. The author made the book very fun to read and easy to understand, we both really enjoyed it. I highly recommend it if you are thinking about setting up your own aquaponic garden.
i was very disappointed. she touches on alternatives but has her way which includes naming the fish so in the end she doesnt eat them. what??? all superficial. at the same time i bought Gardening indooors hydoponics by van patten. it has more ideas per page than aguaponics has in the book. it seemed to me anyway.
This is a great step by step guide to help out the brand new aquaponic gardener. I liked how she gives many options to readers from the type of fish to sizes of tanks. Giving the pros and cons to what works and why or why not. If anyone is looking at starting aquaponics I would recommend this book.
I sooooo wish I had the time and resources to do this where I live. It's like a perfect solution, or at least as close to one as we can get.
Raise fish. Fish poop. Said poop fertilizes and feeds plants.
Pure genius.
On top of that, this book is easy to read and has a decent amount of pictures. Pretty much everything you would need to plan out your own aquaponic garden.