A passion for permaculture and the pursuit of a sustainable lifestyle has led Craig and Araluen Hagan to experiment with an aquaponics system which produces both fresh trout and leafy greens in their own backyard using a recycled intermediate bulk container (IBC). They recently held a workshop at their Chittering home showing people how they can set up a system themselves.
After finding a strong local interest in the concept, Araluen, who has a diploma in permaculture and runs a local business Designed to Grow, invited collegue Georgina Warden from Bunbury to give a presentation on the science and history behind aquaponics to a small group on the morning of Sunday 28th June. After the academic
side was covered the group moved into the garage for the practical side, where Craig showed how easily a basic system can be put together using a cut up IBC, some simple plumbing fixtures and a store-bought pond pump.
In short, aquaponics is a food production system that combines raising fish, (or other aquatic animals such as marron or yabbies) in tanks, with raising plants hydroponically in a mutually beneficial system. In normal aquaculture, excretions from the fish accumulate, fouling the water. However in an aquaponic system, water
from the tanks is pumped through a hydroponic growing bed where the waste products are broken down by nitrification bacteria into nitrates and nitrites, which are then utilized by the plants as nutrients. The ‘filtered’ water is then recirculated back to the fish tank. In a simple system such as one made by Craig and Araluen, approximately eight trout can be grown to plate size in a few months, whilst supporting a fertile plant bed which can grow a range of vegies like lettuces, spinach, tomatoes strawberries. The plants often grow very rapidly due to the high amount of nutrients passing through the system.
If you are interested in learning more about aquaponics, permaculture or other sustainable lifestyle methods you can join Araluen’s ‘Designed to Grow’ facebook page to
keep in touch with upcoming workshops or contact her directly on 0413570414.
The term permaculture (as a systematic method) was first coined by Australians Bill Mollison and David Holmgren in 1978. Permaculture is a system of agricultural and social design principles centered around simulating or directly utilizing the patterns and features observed in natural ecosystems.
Craig Hagan and Georgina Warden fill the growing bed of the newly built system with a growing medium of clay pebbles
