5.4 Water Sources

Water is the key medium used in aquaponic systems because it is shared between the two major components of the system (fish and plant components), it is the major carrier of the nutrient resources within the system and it sets the overall chemical environment the fish and plants are cultured within. Therefore, it is a vital ingredient that may have a substantial influence over the system.

In an aquaponic system, water-based environment context, the source of water and what that source water contains chemically, physically and biologically are a major influence over the system because it sets a baseline for what is required to be added to the system by the various inputs of the system. These inputs, in turn, effect and set the environment that the fish and plants are cultured within. For example, some of the major inputs in terms of nutrients to any aquaponic system include, but are not limited to, the fish feed (a primary nutrient resource for the system), the buffers applied (which assist to control and set the pH values associated with both the fish and plant components) and any external nutrient additions or supplementations required to meet the nutrient needs of the fish and plants (Lennard 2017).

Fish feeds are designed to provide the nutrition required for fish growth and health and therefore contain nutrient mixtures and quantities primarily to aid the fish being cultured (Timmons et al. 2002; Rakocy et al. 2006). Plants, on the other hand, have different nutrient requirements to fish, and fish feeds rarely, if ever, meet the total nutrient requirements of the plants (Rakocy et al. 2006). Because of this, aquaponic systems that culture fish and plants solely using fish feed-derived nutrient resources may efficiently and optimally produce fish, but they rarely do so for the plants. The best aquaponic system designs recognise that the ultimate outcome is to produce both fish and plants at optimal and efficient growth rates and therefore, also recognise that some form of additional nutrition is required to meet the total plant nutrient requirement (Rakocy et al. 2006; Suhl et al. 2016).

Classical, fully recirculating aquaponic systems generally rely on fish feeds (after the fish have consumed that feed, metabolised it and utilised the nutrients within it) as the major nutrient source for the plants and supplement any missing nutrients required by the plants via some form of buffering regime (Rakocy et al. 2006) or via additional nutrient supplementation (e.g. adding chelated nutrient forms directly to the culture water or by adding nutrients via foliar sprays) (Roosta and Hamidpour 2011).

The best example of this classical recirculating aquaponic approach is the UVI (University of the Virgin Islands) aquaponic system developed by Dr. James Rakocy and his UVI team (Rakocy and Hargreaves 1993; Rakocy et al. 2006). The UVI design principally adds nutrients for both fish and plant culture via fish feed additions. However, fish feeds do not contain enough calcium (Casup+/sup) and potassium (Ksup+/sup) for optimal plant culture. The bacteria-mediated conversion of fish wastedissolved ammonia to nitrate causes system-wide production of hydrogen ions within the water column, and the proliferation of these hydrogen ions results in a constant fall in the system water pH towards acid. The buffering regime employed adds the missing calcium and potassium by adding basic salts (often salts based on carbonate, bicarbonate or hydroxyl ions paired with calcium or potassium) to the system that assist to control the system water pH at a level that meets both the shared pH environmental requirements of the fish and the plants, whilst providing the additional calcium and potassium the plants require (Rakocy et al. 2006). In addition, the UVI system adds another major nutrient for plant growth that is not available in standard fish feeds, iron (Fe), via regular and controlled iron chelate additions. Therefore, the potassium, calcium and iron the plants require that are not found in the fish feed are available via these two additional nutrient supply mechanisms (Rakocy et al. 2006).

Decoupled aquaponic designs adopt an approach to culture the fish and plants in a way whereby the water is used by the fish and the fish waste nutrients are supplied to the plants, without recirculation of the water back to the fish (Karimanzira et al. 2016). Decoupled designs therefore allow more flexibility in customising the water chemistry, after fish use, for optimised plant production because supplementation of the nutrients not present in the fish feed (and fish waste) may be achieved with no concerns of the water returning to the fish (Goddek et al. 2016). This means decoupled designs potentially may apply more exacting nutrient mixtures and strengths to the culture water, post fish use, for plant culture, and this may be achieved with more exacting and intense nutrient supplementation.

In both cases (recirculating and decoupled aquaponic system designs), an understanding of the chemical quality of the source water is vital so that as close to optimal nutrient concentrations for the plants may be achieved. If, for example, the source water contains calcium (a case often seen when ground water resources are utilised), this will affect and change the buffering regime applied to recirculating aquaponic designs and the extent of the nutrient supplementation applied to a decoupled design because the calcium present in the source water will offset any required supplementation required for plant calcium needs (Lennard 2017). Or, if the source water contains elevated sodium (Nasup+/sup) concentrations (again, often seen with ground water resources and a nutrient plants do not use and which can accumulate in system waters), it is important to know how much is present so management methods may be applied to avoid potential plant nutrient toxicity (Rakocy et al. 2006). The chemical nature of the source water, therefore, is vital to overall aquaponic system health and management.

Ultimately, because source water chemistry can affect aquaponic system nutrient management and because aquaponic operators like to have the ability to manipulate aquaponic water and nutrient chemistry to a high degree, a water source with little, if any, associated water chemistry is highly desirable (Lennard 2017). In this sense, rainwater or water treated for chemical removal (e.g. reverse osmosis) is the best source water for aquaponics in a water chemistry context (Rakocy et al. 2004a, b; Lennard 2017). Ground waters are also suitable, but it must be ensured that they do not contain chemicals or salts in concentrations that are too high to be practical (e.g. high magnesium or iron concentrations) or contain chemical species that are not used by the fish or plants (e.g. high sodium concentrations) (Lennard 2017). River waters may also be suitable as aquaponic source water, but as for other water sources, they should be tested for chemical presence and concentrations. Town water sources (i.e. water reticulated and supplied for domestic and consumptive purposes) are broadly applied in aquaponics (Love et al. 2015a, b) and are also acceptable if they contain acceptable nutrient, salt or chemical concentrations. In the case of townor municipal-supplied water resources, it should be noted that many supplies have some form of sterilisation applied to make the water drinkable for humans. If this source of water is to be used for aquaponics, then it is important to ensure that any chemicals that may be applied to achieve sterilisation (e.g. chlorine, chloramine, etc.) are not present in concentrations that could harm the fish, plants or microorganisms within the aquaponic system (Lennard 2017).

The chemistry associated with source water is not the only factor that needs consideration when supplying source water for aquaponic use. Many natural waters may also contain microbial and other microorganisms that may affect the overall ecological health of the aquaponic system or present a discernible human health risk. Rainwaters rarely contain microbes themselves; however, the vessels or tanks the rainwater may be stored within may contain or allow microbial proliferation. Ground waters are usually good in terms of microbial presence but may also contain high microbial loads, especially if sourced from areas associated with animal farming or human waste treatment. River waters may also contain high microbial loads due to farming or human waste treatment outflows and again should be checked via detailed microbial analysis (Lennard 2017).

Because the chemical and microbial nature of the source water used in aquaponic systems can have potential effects on system water chemistry and microbiology, it is recommended that any applied water source be sterilised and treated for chemical removal (e.g. reverse osmosis, distillation, etc.) before being used in an aquaponic system (Lennard 2017). If sterilisation is universally applied, the chance of introducing any foreign and unwanted microbes to the system is substantially lowered. If water treatment and filtration is applied, any chemicals, salts, unwanted nutrients, pesticides, herbicides, etc. will be removed and therefore cannot contribute negatively to the system.

A clean water source, free of microbes, salts, nutrients and other chemicals allows the aquaponic operator to manipulate the system water to contain the nutrient mixture and strength they require without the fear that any external influences may affect the operation of the system or the health and strength of the fish and plants and is a vital requirement for any commercial aquaponic operation.