https://doi.org/10.4081/ija.2017.1012

Hydroponic systems and water management in aquaponics: A review

Vol. 13 No. 1 (2018)
Submitted: 8 May 2017
Accepted: 17 June 2017
Published: 1 September 2017
Water consumption, nutrient film technique, floating raft, medium-filled grow beds.
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Authors

  • Carmelo Maucieri • carmelo.maucieri@unipd.it Department of Agronomy, Food, Natural Resources, Animals and Environment, University of Padova, Legnaro (PD), Italy; Institute of Natural Resource Sciences, Centre Ecological Engineering, Zurich University of Applied Sciences, Wädenswil, Switzerland.
  • Carlo Nicoletto Department of Agronomy, Food, Natural Resources, Animals and Environment, University of Padova, Legnaro (PD), Italy.
  • Ranka Junge Institute of Natural Resource Sciences, Centre Ecological Engineering, Zurich University of Applied Sciences, Wädenswil, Switzerland.
  • Zala Schmautz Institute of Natural Resource Sciences, Centre Ecological Engineering, Zurich University of Applied Sciences, Wädenswil, Switzerland.
  • Paolo Sambo Department of Agronomy, Food, Natural Resources, Animals and Environment, University of Padova, Legnaro (PD), Italy.
  • Maurizio Borin Department of Agronomy, Food, Natural Resources, Animals and Environment, University of Padova, Legnaro (PD), Italy.
Aquaponics (AP), the integrated multi-trophic fish and plants production in quasi-closed recirculating system, is one of the newest sustainable food production systems. The hydroponic component of the AP directly influences water quality (in turn influencing fish growth and health), and water consumption (through evapotranspiration) of the entire system. In order to assess the role of the design and the management of the hydroponic component on the overall performance, and water consumption of the aquaponics, 122 papers published from 1979 to 2017 were reviewed. Although no unequivocal results were found, the nutrient film technique appears in several aspects less efficient than medium-based or floating raft hydroponics. The best system performance in terms of fish and plant growth, and the highest nutrient removal from water was achieved at water flow between 0.8 L min–1 and 8.0 L min–1. Data on water consumption of aquaponics are scarce, and no correlation between the ratio of hydroponic unit surface/fish tank volume and the system water loss was found. However, daily water loss was positively correlated with the hydroponic surface/fish tank volume ratio if the same experimental conditions and/or systems were compared. The plant species grown in hydroponics influenced the daily water loss in aquaponics, whereas no effect was exerted by the water flow (reciprocating flood/drain cycle or constant flow) or type (medium-based, floating or nutrient film technique) of hydroponics.

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Supporting Agencies

Cost Action FA1305, Department of Agronomy, Food, Natural resources, Animals and Environment

How to Cite

Maucieri, C., Nicoletto, C., Junge, R., Schmautz, Z., Sambo, P., & Borin, M. (2017). Hydroponic systems and water management in aquaponics: A review. Italian Journal of Agronomy, 13(1), 1–11. https://doi.org/10.4081/ija.2017.1012

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