An important part of the fish farm is aquaponics. This happens through the Nitrogen Cycle. The Nitrogen Cycle turns waste made by the fish into food or nutrients that the plants need.

This is what happens.

Firstly the fish waste/fish poop mixes with the bacteria in the water. Then that becomes ammonia. Ammonia can kill the fish if there is too much of it but bacteria will attack this and turn it into Nitrites.

Too many Nitrites can still kill the fish but it’s not as deadly as the ammonia. When bacteria attacks the ammonia, it becomes nitrates. The plants will take the nitrates out and these help the plants grow.

You can see the amounts of ammonia and nitrates using a testing kit. You can buy testing kits in pet shops and Woolworths and also online shops. The testing kits come with a test tube, 2 solutions and a chart telling you how much ammonia or nitrates is in the water.

By Samadarshi Lingampally & Thien-An Dang