Let’s talk about aquaponic fish tank plants. Aquaponics is a fantastic way of growing plants if you want some greenery in your home there’s nothing better than raising fish and plants together.
What Is An Aquaponics Fish Tank
In technical terms, an aquaponics system is combining aquaculture (the keeping and raising of fish and other aquatic animals) and hydroponics. (plant growth without soil.)
So the idea of aquaponics is a circle of life between fish and plants ill explain it in simple terms. Fish need oxygen which the plants provide and plants need nutrients that the fish provide, The first thing to realize is you are growing the plants without soil.
How does this work exactly?
Aquaponics Setup
In a bit more detail the plants are grown in a grow bed while the fish reside in the tank as usual. The fish poop/solid waste has made the water rich with all kinds of nutrients and beneficial bacteria. This nutrient-rich water from the fish waste is fed to the aquatic plants via this great addition the grow bed.
Plant Roots
The grow bed breaks down billions of bacteria ammonia and other nutrients helping the plants to grow. The good news is the roots in turn filter the water giving us clean water. Which is always a good idea.
Aquaponic Fish Tanks
We’ve established that the combination of aquaculture and hydroponics gives us an aquaponics tank. when we add in plants they become aquaponic plants but how do we start from scratch and set a tank up?
First, we need the right media beds as we won’t be using moist soil. we will also need to make an excellent choice as we will need plants with low nutrient requirements. We will look at what makes an excellent plant later with some good choice low nutrients and leafy crops that can grow on a large scale in small spaces.
Best Choice Media Beds
Media-based or flood and drain is the most used system with net pots filled with gravel lava rock and clay pellets/ pebbles as a grow bed. The water is forced over the bed via a bell siphon system. The plant’s roots will get the nutrients from this and then the water drains away back into the fish tank.
Fish Tank Water
Now we have a better understanding of how the water is flowing over the bed and how the drain systems work. we’ve also explained how grow media works and what’s used ie clay pebbles etc. Now we need to explain the water quality PH level, water temperatures, water pump, and the needs of the fish before we look at the best plants.
When it comes to the tank itself be as thorough as usual. Don’t use cold water in a tropical tank warm the water before adding keep the water levels as close as possible on each water change. This will aid with noticing any evaporation issues.
A great option for PH level is a neutral 7 on the scale when testing.
Water Parameters
As with all tanks always test to make sure the tank is cycled and is continuing to cycle correctly. Test nitrites ammonia and PH levels every three days. We also need to keep an eye on temperature and dissolved oxygen levels.
Why Test Water Parameters
Our fish lives depend on this as if anything goes wrong it could kill them. Also, plant life can also struggle even if the fish look ok its a balance and needs to be worked on.
Things that cause problems and issues overfeeding. When overfeeding fish feed even small fish the waste is left to decompose causing possible bacteria and algal growth. Overcrowding will produce too much waste for the system. If you see fish at the top of the tank chances are you have too much carbon dioxide. As a side note, it’s also best to keep out of direct sunlight too.
Leafy Greens
Cool, we have a good understanding of aquaponics and fish farming at this point. It’s time for some indoor gardening best house plants. We are looking for a good option for live plants that require little space. What do we want in this aquaponic setup? Spider plants Chinese money plant snake plant peace lilies. We won’t be looking at ornamental plants more the commercial growers. We will decipher some favorite house plants in our aquaponics garden with minimal care and low maintenance requirement. Even low light intensity plants that require little water let’s have a look.
Let’s have a look at the best plants for our aquaponic fish tank:
Aquaponic Fish Tank Plants
Ok, I’ve chosen a few plants that do really well in these types of tanks. These plants cope well with high humidity and warmer temperatures as well as being able to deal with less water here goes.
Peace Lily
Peace lilies are awesome and a good plant for aquaponic systems. The peace lily is known for growing well in aquariums this plant loves high humidity.
Health Benefits
What can we say about peace lilies well for one they are known as purifying plants. They can purify the air taking out some toxins and molds etc.
Making the air in the room better for you. They propagate easily a fancy way of saying they multiply and grow easily with very little maintenance.
Peace Lily Aquaponic Growers
How to grow these plants the roots need to be kept in water but the leaves and white flowers must be kept dry. Although peace lilies grow well on their own and are low maintenance they will need trimming often as they will become overgrown.
Nutritional Needs
Nitrogen phosphorous, and potassium are known as (N:P: K) ratios and are necessary for aquaponic plants. Peace lilies need other trace nutrients including boron, copper, zinc, magnesium, calcium, iron, and manganese. All of these minerals are essential for healthy plant development.
The NPK ratio as its known should be 10-10-10 for optimal health PH levels of between 6-7 temp 60-80 F or 15-26 C Avoid direct sunlight.
Water Hyacinth
Another easy plant to maintain this glorious green plant also known as Eichhornia crassipes is a fast-growing floating plant. They are known for being thick green and lush and able to grow in many conditions.
Also, the roots are a great hiding place for shrimp and baby fry. The leaves tend to grow around six inches they tend to take over spaces fast.
Health Benefits
As well as being an excellent purifying plant it’s also a great way of getting toxins and metals out of your water tank. That’s right this plant that hails from South America is not only great for water clarification. The water Hyacinth soaks up all the excess nutrients minerals and metals protecting your fish.
The roots are also excellent fresh food for shrimp and fish fry.
Water Hyacinth Aquaponic Growers
This plant can be immersed in water and will also float. will grow easily and rapidly and will need plenty of space a minimum of 60 gallons or 300 liters is recommended. Not suitable for a 3-gallon tank more for larger systems. They do well in light and need moderate to high lighting.
Nutritional Needs
Water Hyacinth only needs fairly low nutrients and should be fine in this environment. A very hardy plant that can deal with most conditions temperatures between 50-100 F and 10-40 C. With PH ranging from 6-8 so plenty of scope.
Chlorophytum Comosum
This plant is more commonly known as the spider plant and is perfect for this type of aquaponic system. As the spider plant likes it wet well the roots do anyway. Place a cutting in your net pots and lay them in the grow beds and watch the roots grow within only a few days.
Chlorophytum Comosum Aquaponic Growers
Although this crazy plant’s roots love to be wet the leaves need to be kept dry. If they get too moist for too long they will start to rot. The spider plant also grows very quickly and needs to be trimmed often.
Health Benefits
Fun fact this plant does have a healing superpower! The spider plant has been known within a hospital setting to lower heart rates and blood pressure of patients. Excellent so keep this plant and relax.
Nutritional Needs
Spider plants like a PH of between 6-7 and temperatures of between 70-90 F or 21-32 C so pretty varied making them fairly easy to keep.
Chinese Money Plant
The Chinese money plant is perfect for this type of aquaponic system. As these plants are another that grows fairly fast and look after themselves with low maintenance.
The Chinese money plant has big leaves that sprout little white flowers.
Health Benefits Of The Chinese Money Plant
This beautiful plant has incredible air-purifying abilities. Yes, this plant is great for removing airborne pollutants including Benzene Formaldehyde Carbon Monoxide, and even Xylene amongst others.
That’s not all the Chinese money plant is also known to reduce stress and have a calming effect lowering anxiety. Probably the biggest benefit is the mental clarity that it gives us allowing for better thought processes and productivity.
Chinese Money Plant Aquaponic Growers
They are great for beginners growing a foot tall when fully grown. they produce lots of offshoots that can be easily separated and put into separate pots. Again the leaves need to be kept dry if they start turning yellowish they are getting too wet.
Remember to trim the leaves fairly often as they grow fast.
Nutrient Needs
They need lots of light but not direct sunlight. Keep the aquarium lights over them but not too close as heat will cause them issues.
PH of 6-7.5 and a temperature range of 55-86 F or 12=30 C they can deal with a wide range of ph and temperatures but again not direct heat of the lights.
Snake Plants
This plant the snake plant is another plant that’s great for beginners. With long sword-shaped leaves of lush green and a yellow outline to each leaf. The snake plant is native to West Africa and grows with little water. This plant grows very slowly and when fully grown will be around two feet tall with six-inch leaves.
For extra growth, you can give this plant a few hours of direct sunlight each morning. Beware that the snake plant can be toxic to cats and dogs.
Health Benefits Of The Snake Plant
The snake plant seems to have an array of health benefits. These include the plant being an air filter able to remove toxins and pollutants from the room.
The snake plant has some healing properties and is good with allergies to varying degrees. Also, snake plants have been proven to aid in mental health increasing energy and bringing good vibes to a room. This has even had the knock-on effect of the plant being lucky.
Snake Plant Aquatic Powers
You can take a cutting from the snake plant. Take a leaf from the base and place it in a bed or jar with a little water. This does work but the better way of growing is by seed. Snake plants need a wide bed for growing once grown they will need pruning and are susceptible to gnats, spider mites, and white flies amongst others.
Snake plants are lush green with a creamy yellow outline on the leaves. They can grow a beautiful white flower between leaves although they rarely bloom.
If the leaves start to turn brown you either have a pest have overwatered or the roots are rotting. Curling leaves are caused by thrips a particularly nasty little pest. Simply cut away any curling leaf and spray some neem oil.
Nutrient Needs
Maintenance low PH of between 5-85 so incredibly versatile with temperatures of between 55-85 F or 12-29 C again so varied and easy to care for just keep above 50 F around 10 C as they are a tropical plant.
Also, these plants actually thrive on direct sunlight so give them a few hours in the morning if possible.
Aquaponic Fish Tank Plants & Fish Together
So there you have five perfect plants. aquaponic fish tank plants that work well together you can keep all these plants in the same tank environment. Knowing full well with peace of mind that the fish will give enough waste along with some food waste.
Bacteria will then form in the guise of microbes and worms and break down the waste. Turning waste into fertilizer for our plants. The plants take all the nutrients from the fertilized waste and they push back fresh clean water for our fish. Ah, the cycle of life.
Aquaponic Fish Tank Plants A Conclusion
Hopefully, we all know a little more about aquaponics and aquaponic fish tank plants. How the cycle of raising plants and fish together works and how to keep our plants happy and healthy together. Please feel free to look around our site and keep on keeping fish.