Overall, aquaponics has some disadvantages, but it’s important to remember that it has quite a few advantages as well. It is a more complete version of natural life cycles and therefore requires less human intervention and less chemical support than either hydroponics or aquaculture. Substantially less waste is produced, less water is used, with a higher yield per square foot than either “green” alternative. Compared to traditional methods of agriculture and fishing, though, there isn’t really any comparison.
Of course, no artificial system that attempts to replicate a fully natural environment will be 100% successful and aquaponics are no exception. In a successful setup, a symbiotic relationship between fish and plants is established, where the fish provide food (indirectly) for the plants and the plants maintain water quality for the fish, but human involvement is still required. Nutritious food for the fish (preferably organic) must be provided daily, and various equipment, including water pumps, monitoring stations, heaters or fans must operate continuously. In fact, the power requirements of an aquaponics setup is usually counted as the biggest negative, although sustainable power options are under development, particularly for remote and underdeveloped parts of the world. Yet, when compared to the production costs of traditional agriculture, especially damage to the environment, including chemical fertilizers, chemical weed control, fossil fuel powered equipment, and transportation across thousands of miles to your local grocery store, the power consumption of a good aquaponics system is pretty reasonable.
