The practices of aquaponics and Aeroponics are actually very similar. In fact, after reading this article you may feel that Aeroponics is a type of aquaponics. In a way it is. The Aeroponics system took the basic aquaponics system to the next level of medialess or dirtless gardening.
Aquaponics is the practice of growing plants outside of dirt. You may use a growing medium to substitute for dirt. It works like dirt to hold the plant stable and wicks the water to the plants roots. Dirt also holds nutrients which plants feed on. In an aquaponics system the nutrients must be added to the water. This is an essential difference between dirt gardens and aquaponics growing plants. The growing medium must also be loose to allow air to reach the plants. aquaponics systems are designed to provide everything the plant needs directly to the roots. This way your plants spend as much time as possible growing vegetation rather than sending out long roots to search for water and nutrients. In a way you are nurturing your plant with nutrients.
The different types of aquaponics are passive, ebb and flow, drip feeding, wicking, nutrient film techniques, etc. Passive aquaponics is the simplest form of aquaponics and it makes extensive use of growth medium. Ebb and flow aquaponics gardening allows a timed flow of nutrient rich water fill the plants pots and then drain away, providing water, and nutrients while flushing the aquaponics system regularly. Drip feeding is similar to ebb and flow except that it provides a continuous trickle of water. Wicking is a setup that allows the roots to get water via a wick which brings the water to the plant from a separate container of solution. A nutrient film technique is interesting because the plants are set into a channel or tray set at a slight angle with a thin layer of nutrient rich water running over it. The plants grow through holes in a thin sheet of plastic set over the tray.
Aeroponics is the growing of plants without a growth medium. This is very expensive method of aquaponics and you would probably be a serious aquaponics gardener if you were involved in this form of aquaponics garden.
There may be an initial amount of growth medium used to get the plants started, then they would be transferred to an Aeroponics system. In the Aeroponics system, plants roots are suspended in a chamber that contains a mix of nutrient solution and water. A pump inside this chamber sprays the solution or fogs it into the air around the plant roots at a relatively constant rate. The unabsorbed water drips off of the roots into the reservoir. This is an effective method of aquaponics and is very good at recycling nutrients and water
NASA is credited with leading to the creation of Aeroponics because of research they’ve done into aquaponics as a method of growing food in space. Both Aeroponics and aquaponics may never become widely used in commercial enterprises because the setup is so expensive and it takes more involvement with the plants to get them to grow well. If you want to grow plants indoors, or are looking to grow plants without exposing them to possible bacteria and parasites aquaponics and Aeroponics is the best way to go.