Aquaponics is a technology that combines aquaculture (fish farming) with hydroponics (growing plants without soil). The Problem: Fish farms have a problem with waste disposal because the fish constantly excrete ammonia into the water. Ammonia is an irritating chemical that most of us associate with window cleaners. The usual way to remove ammonia from water is to filter or discard the wastewater periodically to prevent the toxic waste products from building up and killing the fish. In developing countries, filters are expensive and water is often a precious resource. Hydroponics require farmers to purchase expensive fertilizer. Click to Enlarge The Solution:     In an aquaponics system both of these problems are solved. The water is treated with beneficial bacteria that constantly converts the toxic ammonia into a natural plant fertilizer. The water is then circulated between plant growing beds and the fish tanks. This allows the fish to provide food for plants and the plants to purify water for the fish tanks. This creates a natural ecosystem where both plants and fish thrive. Aquaponics is an innovative solution to the fish farmer's need to dispose of fish waste and the hydroponic grower's need for nutrient-rich water. Research has demonstrated that this technology can increase crop yields by 10 - 45 fold when compared to traditional soil planting and it uses only 10% of the water needed for traditional soil agriculture. (S and S Aqua Farm literature, 2001)     Although the practices of fish farming and soil-less plant culture have been traced to ancient times, the combination of the two is quite new. NC State University, a land grant institution in our back yard, began researching this technology over 10 years ago. S&S Aquafarms have put this research into practice over the last 10 years. Members of both organizations have been and continue serve as consultants for this project. In recent years, work at the University of the Virgin Islands have demonstrated that aquaponics is commercially viable in the tropics.